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I was cruising through the Virginia countryside one day last week when my truck lost a lot of power and started shimmying when I tried to pull a hill. I called up my company’s breakdown hotline and they said it sounded like a fuel filter problem and instructed me to head up the road about 18 miles to the closest truck mechanic. I limped on in there just barely making it before the truck really started having trouble and possibly leaving me on the side of the road. I’d like to thank all the fellas at the Virginia Truck Center in Weyers Cave, Virginia for their fast and friendly service. I was all fixed up and ready to go in two hours and that’s pretty good for an unscheduled appointment. Hey, you never know, someone who works there might read this posted on the internet somewhere.
Despite my pleasant experience with the crew at the shop there was another driver there that seemed determined to shit on my day. I’ll call him Adolph and you will soon see why. The service manager guided me to the driver’s lounge after I got my truck checked in. That’s where I met Adolph.
I was sitting there for a few minutes watching some mindless day time TV when Adolph came into the room and asked me what I was there for. I told him about my fuel filter trouble and he explained that his truck was running really rough as well and they thought that it might have something to do with the fuel system as well.
I thought I was going to have a pleasant conversation with the guy, but not 2 minutes after he sat down he started in on a racist rant. He talked about blacks and Hispanics needing to go back where they came from using all of the ugly slang that this guy somehow thought was appropriate. Then he started in on a little story about these three black guys in a truck stop restaurant. He said they were saying rude things to a waitress and generally making asses of themselves. He said they were so big that they looked like they could be playing on the offensive line of the Steelers. Then he decides that he’s had enough of the bad black guys and draws on his experience as a Marine Corps drill instructor to tell them to cut the crap. Adolph is about 5’8”, 200 pounds, 48 years old, and soft in the middle. I doubt some 6’6” 300 pound guy would be too intimidated by him. But ol’ Adolph saved the day and said he talked some sense into those unruly black guys.
I’ve heard guys like Adolph tell stories like that and they are usually full of shit. You can tell when somebody is talking themselves up like they’re something special and I think that was the case with Adolph.
I sat there for a minute as I listened to him on his racist rant and thought about what I was going to say to the guy. Shut the fuck up you racist bastard came to mind, but that’s really not my style. I’m very easy going. Besides, I didn’t want to get into a fight with the guy. So when he finished his little hate speech I simply said:
“I’ve seen white drivers give a waitress a hard time, too.”
It was like throwing salt on a slug. The guy squirmed a couple times in his seat; stammered a little; and his voice went up an octave when he said:
“N-N-Not as much as, uh, blacks.”
That guy had taken a look at me and saw a white guy and assumed that I shared his views about diversity. There was a time in my life when I would not have said anything to the guy, but now that I’ve got my head together I won’t let some asshole get away with erroneous assumptions.
Speak out white boys and girls. Your silence equals complicity. Don’t let them racist fuckers get away with that shit.
Adolph and I finished our time together talking about that compelling Price is Right game show.
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