By Maggie Slepien
"Some of the customers I’d been friendly with for years seemed to hold no respect not only for our policies but for our health and safety behind the counter.
"I live in Montana, a red state with a deep core of Trump supporters. While my town has become a trendy mountain destination with residents who hold varying political views, just 15 minutes west of here is a more traditionally Montana spot: Trump banners hang from porches and Second Amendment bumper stickers are stuck on bumpers."
"The coffee shop I work at is a humble spot on the conservative side of town. Some of our regulars carry pistols tucked into their waistbands. Some spend their weekends at survivalist conventions and firearm trade shows. "
"I’ve always overheard snippets of political chatter from our regulars, but I ignored it. We had political differences, but they just wanted to drink coffee and talk to their friends, and I was happy to be in the pleasant environment the shop was known for.
"The state’s COVID-19 mask mandate has turned everything upside down.
"My understanding of our customers changed. Each time they walked in bare-faced despite our mask mandate signs, my heart sank."
It is so sad for the workers to have to put up with that.
I need to rework my mask a bit... for mask removal terror.
Something like this...
But a bit scarier.
With a stylized N95.
One of my girls works in hospitality and gets this and more, such as "I can't understand you with that mask on" and "I like to see your pretty face when I'm ordering." Another of my girls works in a hospital where some Covid patients try to rip off theirs and their nurses' masks, claiming they only have the flu.
As a person, this infuriates me. As their mother, it makes me want to... well, do not nice things. It's yet another level of stress added to this already stressful experience.
I was like that in my teens when i was a Catholic. I rebelled against everything but Catholicism and I feared the consequences of rebelling against it.
The short story is that trauma pushed me over the hurdle. I finished college, found work I liked and my life became wonderful.
I knew several elderly Catholics and they are much like I was: fearful.
IMO, your customers need to rebel against something in their early years but they fear doing so. They might be unable to identify what they need to rebel against.
In Montana, there were always going to be asses who only care about their "rights" which are to do whatever the fuck they want to whomever (if said person is not a conservative, white msle) they want whenever they want. tRump pulled that asshole string and now, even those who would have worn a mask won't.