• Menu
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Before Header

  • About Us
  • Lexicon
  • Contact Us
  • Our Store
  • ↑
  • ↓
  • ←
  • →

Balloon Juice

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Authoritarian republicans are opposed to freedom for the rest of us.

Everybody saw this coming.

When someone says they “love freedom”, rest assured they don’t mean yours.

I’ve spoken to my cat about this, but it doesn’t seem to do any good.

That’s my take and I am available for criticism at this time.

Battle won, war still ongoing.

Usually wrong but never in doubt

Incompetence, fear, or corruption? why not all three?

Damn right I heard that as a threat.

I was promised a recession.

Let’s finish the job.

Schmidt just says fuck it, opens a tea shop.

Infrastructure week. at last.

A democracy can’t function when people can’t distinguish facts from lies.

Proof that we need a blogger ethics panel.

I see no possible difficulties whatsoever with this fool-proof plan.

Republicans are the party of chaos and catastrophe.

Let’s delete this post and never speak of this again.

It may be funny to you motherfucker, but it’s not funny to me.

White supremacy is terrorism.

They love authoritarianism, but only when they get to be the authoritarians.

The cruelty is the point; the law be damned.

I’d try pessimism, but it probably wouldn’t work.

Is it negotiation when the other party actually wants to shoot the hostage?

Mobile Menu

  • Winnable House Races
  • Donate with Venmo, Zelle & PayPal
  • Site Feedback
  • War in Ukraine
  • Submit Photos to On the Road
  • Politics
  • On The Road
  • Open Threads
  • Topics
  • Balloon Juice 2023 Pet Calendar (coming soon)
  • COVID-19 Coronavirus
  • Authors
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Lexicon
  • Our Store
  • Politics
  • Open Threads
  • War in Ukraine
  • Garden Chats
  • On The Road
  • 2021-22 Fundraising!
You are here: Home / Open Threads / Almost Blew It

Almost Blew It

by John Cole|  April 9, 20212:49 pm| 116 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads, Assholes

FacebookTweetEmail

Whenever I have to go out in public, I have one main goal (other than the reason I am in public), and that is to make it safely home without going viral or being today’s twitter star. That’s it.

And I almost blew it today, when three jackasses age 50-70 were behind me in line at the deli, one with a Donald Trump mask, two without masks, and they started yammering about how awesome Trump was, how he got cheated, etc. I kept my cool and said nothing and was doing fine until one of them referred to Obama as “the Kenyan” and asserted he is actually running the show and calling Biden every morning, and I just fucking lost it, turned around, looked at them, and bellowed “FUCK DONALD TRUMP AND WHERE ARE YOUR GOD DAMNED MASKS?”

It was quiet from that point on and I managed to escape without becoming a youtube star.

FacebookTweetEmail
Previous Post: «Ugly Truths, Good People and Hope for a Better Future Derek Chauvin Is A Fucking Monster
Next Post: Is President Biden Looking Out For YOU? I Got the Shot! (Month 2) 2»

Reader Interactions

116Comments

  1. 1.

    WaterGirl

    April 9, 2021 at 2:51 pm

    Did they just stand there in shocked silence?

  2. 2.

    varmintito

    April 9, 2021 at 2:51 pm

    Respeck.

  3. 3.

    Bill K

    April 9, 2021 at 2:51 pm

    Heh.

    Being old geezers they didn’t have the reflex to whip out their phones and start filming. So no Youtube for you.

  4. 4.

    John Cole

    April 9, 2021 at 2:52 pm

    @WaterGirl: Yes.

  5. 5.

    Avalie

    April 9, 2021 at 2:53 pm

    You said what had to be said. I admire your restraint.

  6. 6.

    germy

    April 9, 2021 at 2:53 pm

    @John Cole: 

    I applaud you.

  7. 7.

    TaMara (HFG)

    April 9, 2021 at 2:53 pm

    @John Cole: That’s because they were stunned to realize everyone does not live in the same bubble they do.

    Good for you.

  8. 8.

    wenchacha

    April 9, 2021 at 2:54 pm

    Oh, to be a large, intimidating White man!

    Also: excellent work!

  9. 9.

    zhena gogolia

    April 9, 2021 at 2:54 pm

    I love you, John Cole.

    When you said one was wearing “a Donald Trump mask,” I immediately pictured a full-face Halloween-type mask, like the Guy Fawkes mask in V for Vendetta.

  10. 10.

    Benw

    April 9, 2021 at 2:56 pm

    Awesome.
    I hope you had your FRONT TOWARD ENEMY mask on!

  11. 11.

    Sloane Ranger

    April 9, 2021 at 2:56 pm

    Never mind worrying about becoming a YouTube star, you were running the risk of being the next gun violence statistic. Don’t take those sorts of risks. What would happen to this blog if you weren’t here to front it? What would happen to the Cole menagerie?

  12. 12.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    April 9, 2021 at 2:57 pm

    I managed to escape without becoming a youtube star.

    Ya could have been an influencer Cole, think of the FREE STUFF!

  13. 13.

    Sister Golden Bear

    April 9, 2021 at 2:58 pm

    Another day, yet another effort by the bible humpers to eradicate trans people from public life (and I don’t use that term lightly).* The Arkansas bill would enable teachers to intentionally deadname and misgender their students. This will kill kids.

    Studies show more than half of trans/non-binary teens have seriously considered suicide — because yes, life is that fucking tough for them — but also that rate was cut in half when their pronouns were respected.

    *Comes two days after the state legislature overrode the governor’s veto in order to pass a bill banning trans kids from getting necessarily healthcare until age 21. They’ve also introduced a “bathroom bill” for a total of nine anti-transgender actions by this legislature.

    Four are law: No transgender girls in sports; refusal of medical services by conscience; prohibition of medical services to minors; discouragement of discussion of LGBT issues in school. Another bill to allow the attorney general to sue over transgender sports participation is pending.

  14. 14.

    trollhattan

    April 9, 2021 at 2:58 pm

    Aww damn, well, idiots walk among us. Tip-o-the-hat to you, good sir.

  15. 15.

    dlwchico

    April 9, 2021 at 3:02 pm

    The hero we need.

  16. 16.

    Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony

    April 9, 2021 at 3:02 pm

    I imagine they were shocked. I have no doubt they assumed you held the same political beliefs they do because you didn’t look like the stereotypes they have in their heads for ‘Demoncrats’.

  17. 17.

    JPL

    April 9, 2021 at 3:02 pm

    @Sister Golden Bear:  North Carolina introduced a bill that would have similar effects. Pro life my ass. Someone should call children services on them, because it’s abuse.

  18. 18.

    RobertDSC-Work

    April 9, 2021 at 3:03 pm

    John G. (Karen) Cole. Love to see it.

  19. 19.

    bluefish

    April 9, 2021 at 3:05 pm

    Good for you. Plus glad you won’t become an even a bigger star than you already are. This comes with spring. And summer and fall and winter.

    Take it easy. Hang out with yr house, cooking, and nature over there in lovely West Virginia.

    • And write more, please, about what a gorgeous spring we are having. It’s good to blow while shopping. And inevitable. Plus Balloon Juice. Plus good for you.

    Almost cut my hair. Happened just the other day. Remember all that? I surely do.

  20. 20.

    dmsilev

    April 9, 2021 at 3:05 pm

    @zhena gogolia: I’m thinking more ‘mask that TFG should be wearing’. Silence of the Lambs being the point of reference here.

  21. 21.

    bluefish

    April 9, 2021 at 3:06 pm

    @RobertDSC-Work: LOL. Peace out. So funny.

  22. 22.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    April 9, 2021 at 3:06 pm

    You are my hero, Cole

  23. 23.

    geg6

    April 9, 2021 at 3:06 pm

    @John Cole: ​
     
    Exactly what happens when I lose it on the fucking assholes around here who pull that shit until I lose my mind on them. Tough guys aren’t so tough then.

  24. 24.

    Jeffro

    April 9, 2021 at 3:06 pm

    @RobertDSC-Work:John G. (Karen) Cole. Love to see it.

    Wait…did Cole ask to see the manager, too?  =)

     

    @Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony:imagine they were shocked. I have no doubt they assumed you held the same political beliefs they do because you didn’t look like the stereotypes they have in their heads for ‘Demoncrats’.

    Exactly this.  Let them find some other ‘safe space’ where they can get their hate on

  25. 25.

    PaulWartenberg

    April 9, 2021 at 3:06 pm

    Not all heroes wear capes.

    All heroes wear masks, and insist the morans around them do the same.

    /salute

  26. 26.

    WaterGirl

    April 9, 2021 at 3:07 pm

    @John Cole: Good for you!  thanks for sharing.

  27. 27.

    CaseyL

    April 9, 2021 at 3:07 pm

    *applauds* Thanks, John – well done!

    @Sister Golden Bear: ​
      I wonder if these new laws can be subject to litigation; I certainly hope so. Has anyone sued yet? The Arkansas Court will find for the state, no doubt; but even SCOTUS might have a tough time explaining how public schools have a right to impose “deeply held religious beliefs” on the student body.

  28. 28.

    fancycwabs

    April 9, 2021 at 3:08 pm

    Good on you for doing the job the deli isn’t able to do in the age of negative Yelp reviews.

  29. 29.

    Wag

    April 9, 2021 at 3:08 pm

    @John Cole:   Nicely done.

  30. 30.

    Sister Golden Bear

    April 9, 2021 at 3:08 pm

    @John Cole: Thank you for bursting their bubble and giving them a badly-needed clue-by-4!

  31. 31.

    currants

    April 9, 2021 at 3:08 pm

    @John Cole: @WaterGirl:

      Perfection, then.

  32. 32.

    Nicole

    April 9, 2021 at 3:10 pm

    Good for you.  They assumed that OF COURSE the white guy in front of them would think the same as they do.  You totally upended those biases.

  33. 33.

    WaterGirl

    April 9, 2021 at 3:10 pm

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:  I’d donate a hundred bucks worth of your books to the library if you would say that to the non-mask-wearers in your book club. :-)

    “FUCK DONALD TRUMP AND WHERE ARE YOUR GOD DAMNED MASKS?”

  34. 34.

    BamaLib

    April 9, 2021 at 3:12 pm

    Because sensible people aren’t willing to waste their breath telling pig-headed old white men that they’re wrong, the MAGAts can delude themselves into thinking that their point of view is universal outside of ethnic minorities and nose-ringed college students.  They assume that everyone around them must agree with them, since they get no pushback to their asinine racist blathering.  I think you did a public service by reminding them that most Americans – even some of the white males – think they are jackasses.

  35. 35.

    Sis

    April 9, 2021 at 3:13 pm

    This is what I would love to do if I had more guts and more of a backbone. I’ll echo the comment above: you’re my hero.

  36. 36.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    April 9, 2021 at 3:16 pm

    @WaterGirl: LOLOL. Tempting but I can’t storm out of the store and never these people again.

  37. 37.

    Sister Golden Bear

    April 9, 2021 at 3:16 pm

    @CaseyL: All of these, plus similar laws passed in other states, will end up in court. I wish I shared your optimism about the current Supreme Court.

    But even if Arkansas and others lose in court, they succeeded in other ways — much like with the voter suppression bills. They force the trans communities to spend time, effort and money fighting them, all of which could otherwise be directed at more productive purposes; and they also are intended to intimidate trans people, and especially trans kids, to drive us back into the closet or keep us from ever coming out.

  38. 38.

    JaneE

    April 9, 2021 at 3:21 pm

    Well done.

    It has been my experience that those on the left don’t expect everyone to share their opinions have no problem engaging in discussions of them and those on the right are shocked to find out that not everyone shares their opinions and can rarely come up with anything to support them if challenged at all.  That was not the case 40 years ago, or even 30.

    You did a good thing in reminding them that not everyone agrees with them, shocking as that may be to them.

  39. 39.

    MisterForkbeard

    April 9, 2021 at 3:24 pm

    @Jeffro:I have no doubt they assumed you held the same political beliefs they do because you didn’t look like the stereotypes they have in their heads for ‘Demoncrats’.

    This is what I was thinking. Either these guys assumed JC was a Trumper (older, white, etc.) and let their racist flag fly, or they just assumed that everyone was totally cool with them being racist fuckwads in public.

  40. 40.

    NotMax

    April 9, 2021 at 3:25 pm

    @bluefish

    Yuppers.

    :)

  41. 41.

    bbleh

    April 9, 2021 at 3:25 pm

    @John Cole: omg you CANCELED them! Why, the unfairness of it, the terrible lack of civility! Don’t you know that only straight White Republican men are allowed to talk that way? Sounds to me like somebody needs to learn his place!

  42. 42.

    Raoul Paste

    April 9, 2021 at 3:26 pm

    I gotta say, when I go out in the morning my first thought is not “I don’t want to end up on a viral YouTube video today”

    Still, you are heroic.  My wife scolds me out of these impulses, because she is aware that so many people are carrying guns

  43. 43.

    James E Powell

    April 9, 2021 at 3:26 pm

    I’m impressed that you didn’t include a “FUCK YOU GUYS”

  44. 44.

    NotMax

    April 9, 2021 at 3:31 pm

    Handing out business cards embossed with

    balloon-juice.com
    READ IT!
    .

    doesn’t cut the proverbial mustard, eh?

  45. 45.

    JanieM

    April 9, 2021 at 3:33 pm

    Cole, will you come with me when I go to the store?

  46. 46.

    WaterGirl

    April 9, 2021 at 3:37 pm

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: I am disappointed, but I understand.

  47. 47.

    Suzanne

    April 9, 2021 at 3:38 pm

    @JaneE:

    It has been my experience that those on the left don’t expect everyone to share their opinions have no problem engaging in discussions of them and those on the right are shocked to find out that not everyone shares their opinions and can rarely come up with anything to support them if challenged at all. 

    Yes.
    Shocking them into silence isn’t as awesome as changing their minds, but it’s a close second.

    WRT stupid Arkansas…. fuck them. I took Spawn the Elder to get his first shot today and I insisted that he be called by his preferred name and pronouns. And everyone at the vaccination site was very polite about it. That’s all he wants. He doesn’t give a shit about their approval. He has friends and family for that. He needs respect so he can live his life in a low-friction way.

    So I just resigned from my job. Starting a new one on May 10. It’s been an emotional week.

  48. 48.

    Cameron

    April 9, 2021 at 3:38 pm

    I don’t waste my time with people like that.  They’re not going to learn anything, just feel lots of self-righteous, butt-hurt grievance.  Though it would be nice if they’d wear masks.

  49. 49.

    John Revolta

    April 9, 2021 at 3:39 pm

    I’ve had a couple of similar incidents and I’m usually pretty easygoing. Now that I’m dosed and Mrs. R is on her way I’m hoping to calm down a bit. It’s the fucking arrogance that galls me.

  50. 50.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    April 9, 2021 at 3:39 pm

    @bbleh: Don’t you know that only straight White Republican men are allowed to talk that way? Sounds to me like somebody needs to learn his place!

    That’s the thing, John is a white dude too. These MAGAtwits don’t know what to do when when white privilege meets white privilege. What were they going to do ; whine at John “The only part of my ass that isn’t fish belly white is were my cat bit me” Cole about how the White Man is the real victim?

  51. 51.

    Another Scott

    April 9, 2021 at 3:40 pm

    JC speaks for me today.

    In other news, Biden proposes big increases in non-Defense spending, except at DHS:

    President Biden on Friday put forward a preliminary budget proposal for fiscal 2022, outlining funding priorities that would comprise a substantial 16% increase in discretionary spending at non-defense agencies.

    In announcing the blueprint, administration officials said the end of 10 years of spending caps required by the 2011 Budget Control Act provided an opportunity to replenish funds and staffing at agencies across government. While lawmakers passed bipartisan budget agreements to augment spending above those caps in every year since 2013, the administration said federal programs have been starved of adequate resources for a decade and it was striving to reverse that trend.

    “This year’s appropriations process comes at a particularly important moment,” an administration official told reporters on Friday. “For the past decade, due to overly restrictive budget caps, our country has underinvested in core public services, benefits and protections that are incredibly important to our success.”

    Every federal agency’s budget proposal previewed in the “skinny” document on Friday marked at least some spending boost, with the exception of the flat-funded Homeland Security Department. An official noted a president’s budget is merely an opening gambit in the upcoming negotiation with Congress and Biden’s proposal is meant to “start a discussion about the right size of discretionary spending.” The White House is planning to release its full fiscal 2022 budget in “late spring.”

    [graph]

    Here is a look at some of the initiatives and agencies that would see the biggest increases under Biden’s proposal:

    Education Department: Education would see a whopping 41% increase over its current funding level—the biggest uptick of any agency—with a $36.5 billion allocation. A sizable chunk of that boost would go toward Title I grants for schools that serve low-income families, which would see a 121% increase. The White House also called for $3 billion in additional funding for Pell Grants. Education saw the biggest net loss of staff during the Trump administration.

    Public Health: To address future pandemic response and other priorities, the White House called for boosted funding to an array of public health programs. It identified $10.7 billion for combating the opioid crisis, a 57% increase. The Health and Human Services Department would see an overall boost of 23.5%, including a 22.5% increase for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Biden called for the creation of the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) to further cancer, diabetes and Alzheimer’s research at the National Institutes of Health, which would see an overall boost of 21%. The administration would double the current funding for the Community Mental Health Block Grant.

    Climate Research and Resiliency: Biden has stressed since his inauguration that fighting climate change would be one of the central tenets of his presidency, and in his first budget he proposed $14 billion in new investments related to the crisis. About $4 billion would go to NASA, the Interior Department, the National Science Foundation and other agencies for climate research. After years of proposed mass cuts by the Trump administration, the Environmental Protection Agency would see a 21% increase. That would include $110 million for staffing, with the White House noting EPA shed nearly 1,000 employees over the last four years. The Energy Department would see $1.9 billion for its Building Clean Energy Projects and Workforce Initiative. The budget proposes a $600 million for purchasing electric vehicles and charging infrastructure, half of which would go to the General Services Administration.

    Commerce Department: Commerce would see the second biggest increase over current funding, with a 28% jump. Spending would more than double at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, in part to stand up two new Manufacturing Innovation Institutes. The Economic Development Administration would see a 147% funding spike specifically for its assistance to coal country initiative. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration would see a 25% funding boost, including $800 million for climate research and a 33% uptick for weather forecasting.

    Mass Transit: Biden recently put forward a $2 trillion infrastructure plan that included investments in various forms of public transportation. He followed up that up in his budget blueprint, requesting a 35% increase for Amtrak, a 23% surge for the Capital Investment Grant program for “high quality transit” and an additional $625 million for new passenger rail.

    Agriculture Department: USDA would see a 16% increase, including a 42% boost for fighting and preventing wildfires. Biden proposed a $1 billion increase for food safety net programs.

    Interior Department: Interior was one of many agencies to experience a significant workforce decrease over the last four years and in its budget the Biden White House vowed to “restore critical agency capacity.” It proposed a 16% funding increase and said it would specifically address staffing at the U.S. Geological Survey and National Park Service, while also creating a Civilian Climate Corps.

    […]

    Good, good. And long over-due.

    More at the link.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  52. 52.

    John Revolta

    April 9, 2021 at 3:41 pm

    @Suzanne: Wow! After all that……………..it’s good you could get another job in the same place though. Knock ’em dead!

  53. 53.

    bbleh

    April 9, 2021 at 3:46 pm

    @Enhanced Voting Techniques: Yeah it’s funny, I look VERY much like a MAGAt, to the point that a lot of them just assume I’m one of them and start talking to me that way, and when I respond very much the opposite — usually without biting — the bewilderment, and something akin to a look of hurt betrayal, is at times almost hilarious.

    I suppose this makes me a bad person, but I don’t invite it deliberately.

  54. 54.

    kindness

    April 9, 2021 at 3:46 pm

    That isn’t blowing it John.  That’s you being a rock star.

    Rock On!!!!

  55. 55.

    WaterGirl

    April 9, 2021 at 3:55 pm

    @Suzanne: wow!  congratulations on the new job.

    Last I had heard, you had been offered a job back in AZ.

    What job did you take?

  56. 56.

    Rich Webb

    April 9, 2021 at 3:57 pm

    From what I recall of a couple of videos you’ve linked here, Cole, your normal speaking voice is pretty close to a Bene Gesserit trained Voice. Crank that baby up to Warp 4 and I’m not surprised they were rocked back on their heels.  ?

  57. 57.

    Another Scott

    April 9, 2021 at 4:16 pm

    @Suzanne: Well done.  Best of luck with the new position.  They’re lucky to have you!!

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  58. 58.

    Suzanne

    April 9, 2021 at 4:20 pm

    @WaterGirl: I took a job at a firm in Philadelphia but my primary project will be in Alexandria, VA. I will me doing most work from home but traveling. Brave new world.

  59. 59.

    Matt McIrvin

    April 9, 2021 at 4:22 pm

    @JaneE: I actually get a little freaked out when equally liberal family members of mine start talking loudly about politics in public, because I have it ingrained in me from long experience growing up in a deep-red area (no longer deep red, but it was in those days) that if you do that, you’re going to seriously offend somebody and maybe start a fight. I learned to keep my head down.

  60. 60.

    MattF

    April 9, 2021 at 4:26 pm

    And, at the same time, Tucker Carlson is going full-on fascist. This is where we are now. Talking back isn’t a 100% safe thing to do, but it’s the right thing to do. Good for you.

  61. 61.

    geg6

    April 9, 2021 at 4:34 pm

    @Suzanne:

    Another new job?!?!?!?!?  Still here in the ‘Burgh, I hope.

  62. 62.

    WaterGirl

    April 9, 2021 at 4:36 pm

    @Suzanne: I am guessing it must be an interesting project at a good company, and more money, for you to be changing again so soon.

    Hopefully it’s not a “pick 2” situation.  :-)

    How awesome that you are so good at your job that you are in demand like that.  Go you!

  63. 63.

    WaterGirl

    April 9, 2021 at 4:36 pm

    @Matt McIrvin: Just like you do here.  :-)

  64. 64.

    WaterGirl

    April 9, 2021 at 4:38 pm

    @geg6: Philadelphia – see comment #58 in answer to my question.

  65. 65.

    Tim C.

    April 9, 2021 at 4:38 pm

    Honestly John,  that’s called using your Whiteness as a force for good.   Those assholes had you pegged,  you were a middle-aged white dude who they thought they were safe around in letting their racist flag fly.   The more people like us (again, middle aged white dudes who visibly pass for conservative a-holes even if we aren’t)  call them out, the less safe they feel and the less certain they are of their “majority.”   It sucks that we have this power over them, it really does,  but damn it if we shouldn’t use it.

  66. 66.

    Obdurodon

    April 9, 2021 at 4:40 pm

    I think you and this person might get along.

    Walking down the supermarket aisle wearing my Navy ball cap. Guy in a MAGA hat walking the other direction towards me. Him: “Thank you for your service.” Me, not missing a beat: “Get fucked, traitor.” The flabbergasted look on his face was fucking priceless.

    https://twitter.com/DakotaJW/status/1371127660995256329

  67. 67.

    geg6

    April 9, 2021 at 4:45 pm

    @WaterGirl:

    Moving again!  I feel for you.

  68. 68.

    Suzanne

    April 9, 2021 at 4:45 pm

    @geg6: Staying in the Burgh for now! They would love to have me move to Philly. MAYBE.

  69. 69.

    Suzanne

    April 9, 2021 at 4:47 pm

    @WaterGirl: It is an incredible project at a very high-profile firm.

    I’m still sad. I very much like my colleagues and my current gig is very comfortable.

  70. 70.

    geg6

    April 9, 2021 at 4:48 pm

    @Obdurodon: ​
     
    I love this person. Madly.

    I do that thing John did today a lot. I don’t go to Walmart anymore because my John is afraid I’m going to get myself shot telling some maskless disgusting asshole MAGAt to wear their mask properly and quit leaning over me to reach something on a shelf. I have no fucks left to give with these assholes at this point.

  71. 71.

    Ksmiami

    April 9, 2021 at 4:49 pm

    @Sister Golden Bear:&nb

    Defund Arkansas- really, we should hurt the powers that be in these states

  72. 72.

    NorthLeft12

    April 9, 2021 at 4:49 pm

    Bravo John. My only similar experience was having to listen to an unmasked anti-masker first try to rationalize her behaviour, then encouraging the woman in line behind me to not wear her mask either. I interrupted the conversation and asked the masked woman to continue to wear her mask for her sake and everyone else she came close to as well. The anti-masker tried to engage me and I told her to not bother because I don’t have the time to waste trying to convince her based on what I already heard.

  73. 73.

    geg6

    April 9, 2021 at 4:49 pm

    @Suzanne: ​
     
    Oh yay! I’m really hoping that we can have a meetup when this whole pandemic thing is under control.

  74. 74.

    Ksmiami

    April 9, 2021 at 4:50 pm

    @Tim C.: I get the same shit. People assume cause I’m white and well off that I must be a Repuke. No fucking way not ever.

  75. 75.

    Cameron

    April 9, 2021 at 4:51 pm

    @WaterGirl: Philly and Pittsburgh – my folks come from Pittsburgh, I spent most of my adult life in Philly.  Love ’em both, and a lot of the smaller cities in PA, too.

  76. 76.

    Suzanne

    April 9, 2021 at 4:54 pm

    @geg6: Yes yes! So happy to get Spawn the Elder his shot today. One fewer thing on my mind.

  77. 77.

    mrmoshpotato

    April 9, 2021 at 4:55 pm

    You know we all would’ve ‘Liked’ that video and cheered in the comments!

  78. 78.

    zeecube

    April 9, 2021 at 4:55 pm

    The things we are willing to put up with, to a point, for delicious deli mustard.

  79. 79.

    mrmoshpotato

    April 9, 2021 at 4:58 pm

    @zhena gogolia:

    When you said one was wearing “a Donald Trump mask,” I immediately pictured a full-face Halloween-type mask, like the Guy Fawkes mask in V for Vendetta. 

    Same here!

  80. 80.

    WaterGirl

    April 9, 2021 at 5:00 pm

    @geg6:  Did you mean that for Suzanne?

  81. 81.

    Danielx

    April 9, 2021 at 5:02 pm

    @John Cole:

    Well played.

  82. 82.

    WaterGirl

    April 9, 2021 at 5:02 pm

    @Suzanne: Life is so fucking complicated.  But you have options, so that part is awesome.  I am not good at leaving.

  83. 83.

    NotMax

    April 9, 2021 at 5:04 pm

    @Cameron

    Philadelphia (noun): a precariously balanced mix of charms and defects, of hidebound and dispassionate, situated on the Delaware River.

    ;)

  84. 84.

    NotMax

    April 9, 2021 at 5:06 pm

    @mrmoshpotato

    Ditto; the only thing which came to mind.

    Instant appetite suppressant.

  85. 85.

    rikyrah

    April 9, 2021 at 5:13 pm

     “FUCK DONALD TRUMP AND WHERE ARE YOUR GOD DAMNED MASKS?”

     

    BWAHA AH AH AH AH AHA HA HA HA HA H A

     

    That would have held me for the rest of the month, if I had seen it, Cole.

  86. 86.

    brendancalling

    April 9, 2021 at 5:18 pm

    @NotMax: Philadelphia is the best city in America, or at least on the east coast. I’d move back there in a heartbeat.

  87. 87.

    Cameron

    April 9, 2021 at 5:23 pm

    @NotMax: No love for the Schuylkill?

  88. 88.

    NotMax

    April 9, 2021 at 5:24 pm

    @brendancalling

    My last experience with it goes back some 50+ years. Heck, they couldn’t even position the statue of Willie as intended – his butt faces the harbor.

    ;)

    Extreme trivia: One intersection of the dirt roads in the summer camp where I worked had signs for Broad & Market.

  89. 89.

    NotMax

    April 9, 2021 at 5:26 pm

    @Cameron

    River or Expressway?

    ;)

  90. 90.

    Cameron

    April 9, 2021 at 5:38 pm

    @NotMax: River – the less said about the Expressway, the better.  In the several years I lived at the base of the 23rd Street exit ramp, my building had the front door broken down twice by cars going too fast and once by a motorcycle.  Most spectacular was somebody who was going so fast they missed the ramp entirely, launched into space, and went end over end for a couple blocks on 676.  Heard it, didn’t see it – by the time I looked out the window, cops and EMTs were everywhere.  Can’t imagine it went well for folks in the vehicle.

  91. 91.

    NotMax

    April 9, 2021 at 5:40 pm

    @Cameron – @brendancalling

    Still raises a grin remembering a conductor on the train proudly and loudly announcing, as we pulled out of the North Philly station, “Next stop, Philadelphia! Philadelphia, the brother of lov-el-y Sid!”

  92. 92.

    Cameron

    April 9, 2021 at 5:44 pm

    @NotMax: :)

  93. 93.

    NotMax

    April 9, 2021 at 5:46 pm

    @Cameron

    True story. Guy I knew was being honked at for swerving on the Schuylkill and impeding traffic, slowing down while he desperately searched for a place to try to pull over.

    As explanation for those behind him he stuck his arm out the window, grippiing in its hand the steering wheel which had become detached.

  94. 94.

    Morzer

    April 9, 2021 at 5:50 pm

    SASQUATCH RANTS AT ECONOMICALLY ANXIOUS AMERICANS IN DELI LINE!

  95. 95.

    Gin & Tonic

    April 9, 2021 at 5:51 pm

    @Suzanne: Congratulations. Lot of changes, hope it works out.

    You might understand this, not sure if others will. My son will have his long-delayed wedding reception next April at Luis Barragan’s Casa Pedregal in CDMX.

  96. 96.

    Honus

    April 9, 2021 at 5:55 pm

    Not only is John a pale white guy, he’s a combat veteran.  Leaves the MAGATs nowhere to go.

  97. 97.

    Morzer

    April 9, 2021 at 6:00 pm

    @Honus: Assumes far more logic and decency than the average MAGAmoron will ever muster.

  98. 98.

    KSinMA

    April 9, 2021 at 6:04 pm

    @Suzanne: Congratulations on your new job! I hope it will be wonderful.

  99. 99.

    cmorenc

    April 9, 2021 at 6:13 pm

    @PaulWartenberg:

    All heroes wear masks, and insist the morans around them do the same.

    …with the prominent exception of Superman.

  100. 100.

    NotMax

    April 9, 2021 at 6:23 pm

    @Morzer

    Assumption is they came to the deli to stock up on head cheese.

    “Somebody has to.”

    //

  101. 101.

    Miss Bianca

    April 9, 2021 at 6:24 pm

    YAY, JC!!

    Those of us who usually stew in teeth-grinding rage salute you!

  102. 102.

    Suzanne

    April 9, 2021 at 6:31 pm

    @Gin & Tonic: That will be an AMAZING venue. So jealous. Would love to see photos.

  103. 103.

    Mary Ellen Sandahl

    April 9, 2021 at 6:33 pm

    Bravissimo, revered blog originator!

  104. 104.

    MomSense

    April 9, 2021 at 6:39 pm

    ?????

  105. 105.

    zhena gogolia

    April 9, 2021 at 6:48 pm

    @Obdurodon:

    Oh, cool!

  106. 106.

    zhena gogolia

    April 9, 2021 at 6:52 pm

    This whole phenomenon of using your MAGA looks for good reminds me of hilarious comedians Brent Terhune and Blair Erskine.

  107. 107.

    glc

    April 9, 2021 at 7:01 pm

    Kudos.

     

    At this point in my life I have more regrets for the times I didn’t blow up than the times I did. But it’s a fine line. As they say, if you see something, say something.  Preferably to their face.

  108. 108.

    J R in WV

    April 9, 2021 at 7:33 pm

    @Suzanne:

    Congratulations on everything in your news. Spawn the Elder getting vaccinated, and named and pronouned properly. All good!

    New job, also too!

    Philly is a good city, if you like a city. Alexandria is also nice, probably can afford a great health care project, so YAY you!

    I lived in Philly briefly between first college in Carlisle Pa and evading the draft by enlisting in the Navy. It was interesting, there was room to be a hippy, briefly, in those turbulent times.

    Best of luck in your new job. Pro Tip — don’t take calls from head hunters for a couple of years! They are great salesmen who do NOT have your best interests in mind at all.

  109. 109.

    J R in WV

    April 9, 2021 at 7:36 pm

    Cole, BRAVO for standing up to the fascists in line.

    We went to town today, Wife had a Dr appointment, and then we went out for lunch, first time we ate out in a year and a half ! ! No MAGATs in sight !!! Just youths of all shapes and sizes and ethnicities, even here in central WV.

  110. 110.

    Darkrose

    April 9, 2021 at 7:46 pm

    @Suzanne: Congrats! That’s awesome!

  111. 111.

    bbleh

    April 9, 2021 at 7:56 pm

    @WaterGirl: Philly has changed HUGEly in the past few years.  You can walk to some block one month and then again a few months later and not recognize it at all.

    Great place to live, actually.  Cultured, connected, fun, affordable.  And also Gritty.

  112. 112.

    sukabi

    April 9, 2021 at 8:02 pm

    @John Cole: Awesome! Good on you John.

  113. 113.

    Soprano2

    April 9, 2021 at 8:37 pm

    My husband and I are the same – older white people in a MAGA-heavy area, so people assume we are like them. It freaks them out sometimes when they find out how we feel about former guy and the conservative philosophy in general. Especially because we own a pub people assumed we’d hate the mask ordinance, too. They’re crazy! I do feel that it’s good for the people I work with, who are mostly from smaller towns around here,  to see that they can like someone who doesn’t agree with their politics. They think we’re all like the caricature of liberals they hear about on Fox News. My 74-year-old husband gets mail from the RNC. Sometimes he answers their questionnaires with comments like “that’s bullshit” and “that’s not what’s proposed”. LOL

  114. 114.

    lashonharangue

    April 9, 2021 at 8:37 pm

    @Suzanne: A childhood friend has been an architect and PM at several of the firms in Philadelphia over the course of his career. Hope you have found a great opportunity!

  115. 115.

    mvr

    April 9, 2021 at 10:22 pm

    I envy you as that would have been cathartic.

  116. 116.

    JimV

    April 10, 2021 at 3:03 pm

    A sincere, heartfelt “thank you!”

    They needed to hear that, and from a lot more people. Puncture those bubbles.

    Socrates used to do that also. Of course, it got him killed eventually. So be safe, too.

Comments are closed.

Primary Sidebar

Fundraising 2023-24

Wis*Dems Supreme Court + SD-8

Recent Comments

  • different-church-lady on Pudd’n Boots (Open Thread) (Mar 25, 2023 @ 1:23pm)
  • patrick II on Pudd’n Boots (Open Thread) (Mar 25, 2023 @ 1:23pm)
  • Mai Naem mobile on Pudd’n Boots (Open Thread) (Mar 25, 2023 @ 1:23pm)
  • Kelly on RIP Gordon Moore (Mar 25, 2023 @ 1:21pm)
  • Mo MacArbie on Pudd’n Boots (Open Thread) (Mar 25, 2023 @ 1:20pm)

🎈Keep Balloon Juice Ad Free

Become a Balloon Juice Patreon
Donate with Venmo, Zelle or PayPal

Balloon Juice Posts

View by Topic
View by Author
View by Month & Year
View by Past Author

Featuring

Medium Cool
Artists in Our Midst
Authors in Our Midst
We All Need A Little Kindness
Classified Documents: A Primer
State & Local Elections Discussion

Calling All Jackals

Site Feedback
Nominate a Rotating Tag
Submit Photos to On the Road
Balloon Juice Mailing List Signup
Balloon Juice Anniversary (All Links)
Balloon Juice Anniversary (All Posts)

Twitter / Spoutible

Balloon Juice (Spoutible)
WaterGirl (Spoutible)
TaMara (Spoutible)
John Cole
DougJ (aka NYT Pitchbot)
Betty Cracker
Tom Levenson
TaMara
David Anderson
Major Major Major Major
ActualCitizensUnited

Join the Fight!

Join the Fight Signup Form
All Join the Fight Posts

Balloon Juice Events

5/14  The Apocalypse
5/20  Home Away from Home
5/29  We’re Back, Baby
7/21  Merging!

Balloon Juice for Ukraine

Donate

Site Footer

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Comment Policy
  • Our Authors
  • Blogroll
  • Our Artists
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2023 Dev Balloon Juice · All Rights Reserved · Powered by BizBudding Inc

Share this ArticleLike this article? Email it to a friend!

Email sent!