It seems that I will never learn. It happened to me again just the other night.
I was picking up my son from football practice while listening to an interview with Valerie Plame on NPR. I listen to NPR all the time. Some of my conservative friends are quite sure that I will be brainwashed into a mass of liberal jelly if I continue to listen. I always counter that I will be able to withstand the onslaught of leftist propaganda. They doubt me.
Anyway, my son plays football for the Bethel little league, and this area is not known as a haven for Oklahoma liberals. In fact, in and around the Bethel area I see my fair share of mullets and tattoos. Now don't think that I have a problem with mullets or tattoos; many of my best friends have them. It is just that I tend to have some ideas about what I expect people with mullets and tattoos to be doing. Usually that involves driving pickup trucks, going hunting and fishing and watching football. I like all of those things and would consider a mullet, but the best I would be able to manage is a skullet, and I think a tattoo would hurt way too much.
So, when I got to my son's football practice, I parked next to a small blue Chevy with its interior lights on. When I looked over into the car, I saw that in the drivers seat there was a large man with a mullet and a goatee in a wife beater reading the paper. I noticed that on his right arm there was a large tattoo of a cross wrapped in an American flag. Nothing unusual so far, but then I got out of my car, and do you know what I heard? Gimme Three Steps? Statesboro Blues? Some song by Toby Keith? Nope.
No, the sound I heard coming from this small blue Chevy was Valerie Plame answering questions about being outed as a spy. Yet again I had made assumptions based on appearances. I really thought that I was doing better.
I was picking up my son from football practice while listening to an interview with Valerie Plame on NPR. I listen to NPR all the time. Some of my conservative friends are quite sure that I will be brainwashed into a mass of liberal jelly if I continue to listen. I always counter that I will be able to withstand the onslaught of leftist propaganda. They doubt me.
Anyway, my son plays football for the Bethel little league, and this area is not known as a haven for Oklahoma liberals. In fact, in and around the Bethel area I see my fair share of mullets and tattoos. Now don't think that I have a problem with mullets or tattoos; many of my best friends have them. It is just that I tend to have some ideas about what I expect people with mullets and tattoos to be doing. Usually that involves driving pickup trucks, going hunting and fishing and watching football. I like all of those things and would consider a mullet, but the best I would be able to manage is a skullet, and I think a tattoo would hurt way too much.
So, when I got to my son's football practice, I parked next to a small blue Chevy with its interior lights on. When I looked over into the car, I saw that in the drivers seat there was a large man with a mullet and a goatee in a wife beater reading the paper. I noticed that on his right arm there was a large tattoo of a cross wrapped in an American flag. Nothing unusual so far, but then I got out of my car, and do you know what I heard? Gimme Three Steps? Statesboro Blues? Some song by Toby Keith? Nope.
No, the sound I heard coming from this small blue Chevy was Valerie Plame answering questions about being outed as a spy. Yet again I had made assumptions based on appearances. I really thought that I was doing better.
4 comments:
trent! You made my day when us said the best you could do was a skullet! thanks for the laugh. My professor once told a story of a lady he had in class, she was very professional looking always in business like attire. Next to her, always sat a man that HE knew had to own a big motorcycle. Tattoos and piercings everywhere. He shared how he almost felt sorry for the lady for having to sit next to this man who was obviously sooo opposite, if not total rebel! As the semester progressed, somehow that subject came up and it turned out they were husband and wife. Its very easy to say dont judge a book by its cover, but with the stereotypes that hit us everywhere and all the time, its hard. Im so guilty of doing it too! I remember once when I would spend summers in Mexico, I would walk to church. There was a homeless man on the way to church. My first sunday, I saw him ahead, so I crossed to the other side of the street. (I was maybe 16, but that shouldnt be an excuse...) I get to church and its time for the "Greet everyone" time and guess who is sitting behind me. The homeless man, a faithful member of the church! Def a point to work on in life.
Hey Trent,
1. I love NPR, too, even though I'm pretty conservative. There is a lot of liberal stuff but oh, well. There's some great stuff also.
2. Tattoos do hurt. Alot.
3. Don't be too hard on yourself. God made our minds to classify and pigeonhole. He also made them to re-evaluate when the classification is wrong. The fact that Mullet-Goatee Man was reading ANYTHING should have been your first clue that he might fit into a different category. He sounds like someone you oughta befriend.
Happy All Saints' Day!
I love NPR. It sure beats the screaming heads.
Just as long as you're not listening to Air America, or mentioning how much you love Bill Maher.
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