Creepy experience with a MAGA store owner today.

[wnylib]

There is a small store near me that I often pass on my way to other places in the neighborhood. It sells t-shirts, odds and ends, and scented wax warmers. So I wanted to ask about the wax warmers which were in a window display and marked 20% off.

I continue to wear a mask due to underlying health issues. I barely stepped inside the door when a loud voice from the back yelled at me that masks are not permitted in the store. It was the owner, who then ordered me to remove the mask or leave.

I wish that I could say that I handled it with finesse and a clever comeback, like congratulating him for such a successful business that he could afford to turn customers away. The store rarely has people inside and I do wonder how he stays in business.

Instead, I was so startled by the abrupt, loud voice and craziness of being barred for wearing an N95 that I got angry and dropped a few curse words at him while flipping him off. I left and turned the corner to head for a convenience store.

I have a hiatal hernia which causes acid reflux into my mouth sometimes. I also have asthma which means that in anxious, emotional situations, my bronchial tubes spasm and cause me to cough, bringing up clear fluid and acid reflux into my mouth. When that happens outdoors, I turn my head to the side, and bend out to spit away from my body to avoid "blowback" onto me. When I did that, I was on the side of that store and a couple drops hit the exterior of the MAGAt's store window. It was clear, like drops of water.

Suddenly he was outdoors screaming at me that I had just spit on his window and that he caught it on camera. He said that he was going inside to report me for vandalism. I asked what his problem was with the fact that I need a mask and he screamed back at me that he did not have to answer that question.

I went on to the convenience store and then to a branch of the local library which was just a couple blocks away. When I returned, two guys who live in my apt. complex were outdoors. They are both RWers so I never mention politics to them and have kept a superficially friendly passing acquaintance with them. I asked them if they knew the name of the guy who owns the store on the corner. They not only knew his name, but said that they personally know him. Then, without me mentioning it, they brought up the mask issue and told me that it's the owner's prerogative to ban masks in his store. I said yes, it is, but he's still a wacko for doing it. I also said that it was political fanaticism and that I considered myself lucky that he didn't come after me with a gun.

That store owner must have a closer relationship with my 2 neighbors than I realized. (Same RW organizations?) He must have told them about the mask incident after I left.

Time to look for a saner neighborhoid.

[Karadeniz]

1. I think you handled it well!!!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

2. How awful that you had to deal with such a jerk.

I'm with you on finding a saner neighborhood. Hopefully you know some good people who live in one.

Hang in there!

[wnylib]

5. The store next to that one is a small convenience store.

It has a sign on the entrance that says, in large bold letters, "Guns are welcome here."

I am surrounded by RWNJs.

[Maru Kitteh]

32. Jesus. Forget the neighborhood, it's time to find a new town.

[applegrove]

3. That guy needs truck nuts on the sign hanging over his store entrance.

[wnylib]

4. OK. I nominate you to put it there while he

watches you from his back room on his security camera.

Just be sure that you are wearing a Kevlar vest and a helmet.

[applegrove]

6. Yikes. Life is hard enough. You did well. At some point when he loses

enough customers and goes under, he may rethink projecting his s*** on you.

[wnylib]

7. I don't know how he stays in business.

He never seems to have customers. He spends his time in the back of the store watching people pass by on the street on his security camera.

[KS Toronado]

17. Don't need a lot of customers

to stay in business when you're selling drugs & weed. Glad you didn't get hurt.

[wnylib]

19. Crossed my mind that he might be doing both.

Weed is legal in NY, but you have to have a license for it and there are various restrictions on where and how it is sold.

[sakabatou]

8. I'm glad they just talked.

I was afraid they would do worse.

[Rhiannon12866]

9. It's hard to believe that these kind of attacks happen in New York, but they certainly do

I'm long time AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) and at the height of the pandemic a lot of meetings shut down. My friend invited me to a women's meeting in a nearby town, which we were grateful to find. And of course we wore masks, everybody did - except for the woman who was leading that meeting. She apparently got into a nasty disagreement with an older lady we know who's been in AA since the early '80s - over masks! From what she was saying, it appeared that she was also an anti-vaxxer - so needless to say, my friend and I did not go back.

[wnylib]

11. It's insane that a health issue has been so politicized.

There are a couple other senior housing complexes in town, so I'm checking out what's available at what prices.

[Rhiannon12866]

13. Is it your neighbors, or just this jerk with the store?

Masks were required in te stores around here and it was enforced - though the only place that still enforces it now is my ENT (I have a sinus issue). My regular doctor does not. But I still see some folks with masks in my travels. As far as I'm concerned, it's a personal issue.

[wnylib]

18. It's that store owner, and another

store owner next to him (who has a "guns are welcome" sign on her door), and several neighbors. This is a very heavily red Congressional district, although the cities in it are blue and have Dem mayors. But even with a Dem mayor, there are a lot of MAGAs in town.

[LoisB]

10. He must be independently wealthy LOL.

[NJCher]

12. These people have issues

They were messed up before trump came along. Then he demonstrated they could take out their mental issues on others, and now it’s full blown psychosis on the rest of the country.

Store owner needed a place to vent and trump showed him anyone with a mask is the enemy. Remember trump asking the reporter to take off his mask? That’s one of many cues trump provided for bad behavior.

He’s acting out his miserable life and his inability to handle it. You can be certain someone like this knows not a moment of joy or satisfaction in life.

[No Vested Interest]

14. He might have posted online of his encounter with a "masked person" in his store,

rather than telling your neighbors in person.
Likely that's his life, and also likely that his income is derived from selling something other than candle warmers.

[wnylib]

23. That would account for him spending all his time

at the back of the store watching his security camera.

[orleans]

15. what a douchebag

wouldn't that be discrimination? kicking you out because you wear a mask? and you have health issues that could get worse if you got covid? if you used a walker would he kick you out?

and if he doesn't do any business maybe the store is a front... for drugs? or _____?

"a front for drugs" -- i know it sounds corny but there was a head shop i loved and used to go there with my daughter; they had cool little pewter statues, witchy things, tshirts, posters, pipes. then i found out they were dealing heroin. then the owner o.d.'d.

call a lawyer for one of those free 15 minute consultations and ask about suing when you are discriminated against for mask wearing and protecting your health.



sorry you went thru that bullshit today. for the record, i wear a mask constantly when i'm in public/around people.

keep taking good care

[Warpy]

16. When you meet up with a person who is that unhinged, you need to invoke Rule #1

and that is never argue with a crazy person. That one rule will keep you out of more trouble than just about anything else, even a repeal of Murphy's Law.

The only thing I might have done differently is to spring for the smallest bottle of water the store carried and used part of it to rinse off his window. However, by the time you did that, you'd probably be hard pressed to figure out whee it was. That might have re engaged the guy, so it might be a good thing you didn't think of it.

Good job with your neighbors. You might ask one of them to suggest the screwball put a sign in his window saying "No masks."

[wnylib]

24. The neighbors told me that he used to have that sign

on his door since the start of the pandemic. I never noticed it before because I never got close enough before. I don't know if it's still there and I missed seeing it or if he removed it now that almost nobody wears a mask any more.

I'm not about to go up to the door again and check it, at least not until the store is closed. When it's closed, at least I wouldn't need to deal with him in person although I'm sure that my look at his door will be recorded on his security camera.

He doesn't sell water or any drinks and would not have allowed me back inside to buy one if he did. I was outside of the store and around the corner from the entrance when I coughed up the fluid. Some clear drops landed on the outside of his side window when I spit out what I coughed up.

Thing is, in NY it is illegal to spit anywhere in public - on the ground, on a building, on lawn, in parking lots, etc. I did not know that until I looked it up afterward. Makes sense for sanitary reasons. But what am I supposed to do if I'm outdoors when acid reflux and clear fluid push up into my mouth? If I'm indoors, I go to a bathroom right away. If I don't expel it and clear my throat, the bronchial spasms lead to a full blown asthma attack.

I knew that this guy was a right winger because during the 2016 campaign, he had a store in another location that sold candles, t-shirts, and caps. The t-shirts and caps in his display window at that location had misogynistic put downs of Hillary on them. That store went out of business. But 7 years later in a different location, without any RW slogans on display, I thought it would be ok to go inside just to check out the scented wax warmers as a substitute for burning candles.

[hatrack]

20. Ah, yes, the military surplus store owner from "Falling Down" . . .

I remember that guy.

[MissMillie]

21. Don't you know?

"Freedom" means he's free not to wear a mask, but you're not free to wear one.

To them "freedom" never includes anyone else's freedom.

[we can do it]

22. Good lord...yes find a saner neighborhood. We moved from NE Ohio to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.

Can’t tell you how much it helps your psyche.

[wnylib]

26. Since I'm in a blue state,

I don't need to go far. My neighborhood is nice enough, safe from crime and conveniently near a shopping center, library branch, and a park. But it is also an area that, for some reason, is more RW than some other parts of town. Statistics for the city ward that I live in show that the majority of voters in the ward are registered as Republicans with several Libertarians in the area, too.

[we can do it]

27. Lucky you. You will find something.

[BlackSkimmer]

25. Since you were wearing the mask, and obviously had to pull it down to expectorate,

he probably saw that as intentional.

Granted the guy sounds like a loon, but if I had an encounter with someone who then left my business, pulled a mask down and spat - well, I could see how that might be misconstrued.

At any rate, be satisfied in the fact that the guy got none of your money for any of his merchandise!

[JustAnotherGen]

28. I'm sorry you experienced that

I grew up in a small town outside of Rochester. Went to NU, lived in Buff, then back to a Suburb of Rochester prior to relocating to NJ in 2006.

People in other parts of the country have no idea how regressive some places can be to the west of the Cuomo (previously Tappanzee) bridge can be.

[liberal_mama]

29. Is this store in Buffalo? I'd sure like to avoid a crazy freak like that as I still mask with an N95

in all public areas.

I didn't realize that spitting in public is illegal in New York State. I see people spitting on the ground all the time in time. Maybe it's one of those old laws still on the books but never gets enforced.

I would love to curse out a person who confronted me about my mask, but the problem is that if someone is crazy enough to ban masks in their store or insult someone for masking, they might be dangerous. People shoot people for turning around in their driveways now.

[wnylib]

30. No, not in Buffalo.

I am in a small city near Buffalo.

I did not know about the NY law against spitting in public, either, until I looked it up. I also see people doing it all the time. It dates back to the late 1800s and early 1900s. Initially, there were laws to prevent spitting chewing tobacco on the ground or on the floor indoors. Later, the law against any kind of spitting was intended to curb the spread of disease, especially when children played marbles and other games on dirt streets, and women had long skirts that scraped the ground.

The law against spitting on a person's body is enforced, especially during pandemics, but any other time, too. Spitting on the ground is not usually an issue, AFAIK.

[liberal_mama]

31. I'm not actually in the city of Buffalo, I live in Cheektowaga, a large suburb of Buffalo

I can't believe there are so many assholes who freak out about people wearing masks. I would have been furious if I had to deal with that guy, but he does sound crazy. I think telling people they can't mask should be a violation of the disability policy.

[wnylib]

34. I'm familiar with Cheektowaga. I took classes

for a year at ECC North in Williamsville. Got to know the city and suburbs. After that year, I transferred to a different college and left Buffalo.

Also, my mother was born in Buffalo and had relatives there that we visited often when I was a child in Erie, PA.

[NotVeryImportant]

33. You triggered him.

Snowflakes are like that, easily triggered.

[wnylib]

35. Afterwards I thought it might have been

Last edited Tue May 16, 2023, 11:41 PM - Edit history (2)

interesting (or dangerous) if I had spoken another language to him, like Spanish, which I can speak fairly well.

No entiendo ingles. No lo hablo.
I don't understand English. I don't speak it.

Pero, puedo ver que eres un pendejo.
But I can see that you are an asshole (idiot).

Might have triggered him worse, especially if he understands Spanish.

[Hortensis]

36. I'm sorry you didn't get a chance to explain. We live in a very

conservative N GA county and still wear masks because we're high risk in spite of vaccinations.

Occasional bad service here in the last weeks has made me wonder if it's acting out due to masking when no one else is, but only a couple have actually commented, courteously enough and receiving courteous explanations in return.

Nevertheless, I've started calling the others out.

The first time, when a host left me waiting to be seated way too long, I finally called across (right out of the blue from her viewpoint) to where she was talking to other staff and informed her loudly but courteously that I am immunocompromised and wear a mask for health reasons. AND that I'd like to be seated now as I'd been waiting too long for service. There was some spluttering and abandoned attempt to explain why, but no denial and only a resentfully muttered rote apology, but I didn't care. It worked.

I've done that twice elsewhere now. Neither of those times involved making an entire restaurant or store hear me, but I didn't lower my voice and didn't bother asking why the bad service. I just chose to address the mask as if we all KNEW that was the reason and courteously but firmly explain why I was (the only one) masked and point out that I'd waited too long. Let THEM be embarrassed and rattle around for an explanation. Of course, there never IS a good explanation when they're obviously in the wrong, no matter why.

There have been more, quiet times when we've trotted out nice, informative explanations, like when a young waitress helpfully informed us at the table that we didn't need masks any more, and we educated her on why we did and "reminded" her that some people were still dying horrible, agonizing deaths from Covid. Or to a bagger at a market who stepped back and pretended to not notice my groceries piling up, seemingly waiting for me to start bagging them. Yeah, right. I'm fine doing my own, but not in those circumstances.

I recommend anyone trying it in areas where this assumption wouldn't be out of line. In any case, they all get courteous education that it's not mostly "over" for some of us, and there is satisfaction in ignoring any excuses, none of which would be acceptable anyway, to go right to the throat.

[ExWhoDoesntCare]

37. I've lived all over the US

And every single business I've ever seen that had a storefront but no customers was an organized crime front.

I lived in one city that had not only the regular Mafia, Triad, Yakuza, and M13, but also the Vietnamese, Pakistani, Jamaican, Greek and Russian mobs. Every single one of them had control of assorted stores or restaurant that manged to stay open despite few or no customers. They use them for money laundering and fencing stolen goods.

An anonymous tip of potential mob activity to a relevant authority might not be a bad idea.

[wnylib]

38. It's a small city. If the store is a front

for crime, local LE are probably paid off. Wouldn't know who it would be safe to mention it to.

[Cha]

39. I wish you could find a

sane neighborhood o ive in, wnylib!!

Sorry for your close encounter with magats.