What I want you to take away from this article is that people will always step in and tell you that what you’re doing is either wrong, offensive, or unacceptable. This is the nature of human beings. We are social creatures, so that means we feel that other people’s lives are our business. On the day this story takes place, I was wearing a funny t-shirt. I cannot tell you what this funny t-shirt might have said, because I want to share my story to people of all ages…and, honestly, the t-shirt may have been a bit offensive.
The day all of this happened was actually a pretty good day. I had gone to Memphis to visit my girlfriend at the time, and our time together had been really fun up to this point in the story. We toured around Memphis and did lots of sightseeing. There were people in town that I knew, and many of them were meeting up at a local greasy-spoon restaurant. The plan was to stop by this diner, have a cup of coffee, and then reconvene at a later time for some adult beverages.
Let me be frank about something here. I know that the funny t-shirt that I was wearing that day was probably pretty uncouth. What happened in the bathroom of that diner was not the appropriate response, however. If something someone does offends you, threats are not the answer. A better response would have been to politely make a note of the offensive material and leave it in the hands of the offender to make it right. Anything but social politeness is offensive in and of itself, and then the situation becomes a self-devouring worm.
I really needed to go to the restroom when I got to the diner. I had been walking around Memphis for hours and there was some urgency involved. As soon as I walked through the door I said hello to my friends and made a bee line for the bathroom. As I was washing my hands after using the toilet, a cop walks in behind me. I said hello and he told me that some very serious business was about to go down if I didn’t reverse my funny t-shirt and hide the print across my chest.
I am still not sure is that cop was threatening me with legal action, or if he wanted to hit me in the face. Either way, I don’t get backed down that easy. I was about to make a scene in that stupid restaurant, but the thought of my extremely shy sweetheart jumped into my brain. I just couldn’t do that to her. I held my tongue, did as I was told, and went back out to sulk with my friends. I have never felt so powerless in my life, and I will never forget the day that someone kept me from expressing myself however I wanted.
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