I Was Right. I Hate That!

Think back to my first blog post here. Remember my saying that the only difference between one place or another is the "redneck-to-normal-person ratio?" Today's lucky winner in "Places To Be Ashamed Of" is ................

Salmon Creek (Vancouver), Washington.

As I was heading out of Vancouver to drive back home to Utah, I stopped at the Salmon Creek 7-11 to buy a bag of ice and some snacks. While I was struggling to decide between SlimJim and Jerky, I overheard the female clerk talking to a male customer.

"First, we gotta get rid of that thing in the White House," she said.

"What?" he responded on his way out.

She repeated, loudly, "First, we gotta get rid of that thing in the White House!"

Several thought ran through my head along with the disgust and shock. Snappy comebacks like "racist much?" or "got racism?" occurred to me, but I decided the irony of getting shot by a clerk in a 7-11 was too much, and not the way I wanted to go.

As much as I disliked W, it never occurred to me to hate him that much, to objectify him as an object of disgust and offense. And I wonder if she said the same thing about Bill Clinton. I'm sure she didn't like him, but did she call him a "thing?"

The vitriol and ugliness that I have seen out of some of my fellow Americans since Barack Obama was elected is both alarming and depressing. I'm not suggesting everyone has to love him or agree with him, but a basic level of human respect and some dignity afforded the office maybe? He has, overall, conducted himself in a respectful and respectable manner, I think. And while you might disagree with him and hate his policies, I see no reason to hate him, or call him a thing.

To summarize: There is at least one really hateful, racist beee-otch in Salmon Creek, Washington. And she works at the 7-11 on Highway 99 near the freeway ramp for I-5.

I know I've said before that Obama's election is like turning on the lights in the kitchen at night - you see the cockroaches run. Well, I'm actually getting a little tired of the cockroaches. Can't the cockroaches just stay in the metaphorical garbage can where they belong?