At the Gyro Store

[MineralMan]

We have a great Mediterranean deli three blocks away from our house. I'm addicted to their gyros, which are very traditional and affordable. I go in there often enough that the guys in the kitchen area know my order and start making my two gyros and an order of fries before I even get to the clerk at the register. I always have the same order, and I always tip the jar.

Anyhow, I went there yesterday evening. As usual, the clientele reflected the diversity of my neighborhood. As I stood behind a older black guy, waiting to place my order, one of the Hispanic cooks nodded to me to indicate that he saw me and was working on it.

But then, a 20-something white guy in a Minnesota Wild hockey jersey strode through the front door, marched right up to the counter and started saying what he wanted. Never mind the black guy already talking to the order taker. Never mind the 73-year-old bearded white guy waiting behind him to give his order and pay. Nope. The young white guy was in a hurry, see, and stepped up to the front of the line and just started ordering.

The older black guy looked at the kid and slightly shook his head. I said, speaking directly to the young guy, "Wait your turn, dude." He gave me a glaring look, as though he was about to read me off for even speaking to him. I gave him my best, cold, "Really?" glare.

Finally, Mr. Young Privileged White Guy stepped back and got in line. The older black guy threw me a nod. Anyhow, by the time I got to the register and paid for my order, the kitchen guys had my order up on the pass-through, so I took it and left. I got a nod from them, too.

And so life goes in the city. Dumbass Privileged White Kid!

[Snake Plissken]

1. Don't be surprised if you get a phone call from his mother

demanding to know why you made her son wait in line like everyone else.

After he wakes up this afternoon and tells his parents about it.

[MineralMan]

2. Nah. He doesn't know me.

I'm just a faceless old man who got there ahead of him. I hope he enjoyed his sandwich. Really I do.

[Snake Plissken]

3. I bet his mother is driving around right now looking for you

[MineralMan]

4. His Mama can't save him from being an idiot.

You know what gripes my ass even more, though? I'm privileged enough to be able to back the kid down and make him take his turn. The old black guy? He probably doesn't feel that privilege. That's wrong. I recognize the difference. I'm old, so I don't matter to that kid, unless I speak up and shame him back to the end of the line.

The black guy? He doesn't matter to that kid either, but probably would not do that. That's the difference. It shouldn't exist, but it does. We're both men, but we have different life experiences, based on unearned privileges. My privilege lets me speak out. His might not. We both understand the young privileged white guy, but I'm the one who can tell the kid to back off and do right.

[sdfernando]

5. What about the order taker?

Did they say anything. Tell the kid to wait in line?

[Fred Sanders]

6. I was wondering what a privileged white guy was doing in an ethnically diverse gyro take out in

the first place?

[MineralMan]

8. She didn't. She's new there. She's a Hispanic woman

about 25 years old. What would she say? Nope. She has the least privilege in the room, see. She has waited on me before, and her command of English isn't that good. I speak Spanish to her when I'm there. It feels friendlier.

As soon as Mr. Young Privileged Whiteboy started talking, she looked away from the customer she was helping and was ready to take the kid's order. That's when I spoke up.

[llmart]

7. His Mama may be someone who gave him the notion that he IS privileged.

Or maybe his father or both.

Kudos to you for speaking up. Age sometimes does give us the courage to be more outspoken. I took the from the scenario exactly what you did - that the black guy would not feel comfortable speaking up.

[MineralMan]

10. My father taught me to speak up in defense of others.

That's one of the important things I learned from him. So, I do. I also got the "cold look" from him. It hasn't failed me yet.

[llmart]

12. So did both of my parents.

I've lived my life like that. We were taught to stand up for what's right even if it is the most difficult thing you've ever done. And you know what? I taught my son and daughter that also. It is always so rewarding to me when I see what wonderful adults they both turned into. I can go to my grave being satisfied that I passed along moral principles to my children. I always felt as if there wasn't a thing that was more important for me to do than that.

[MineralMan]

13. You had good parents!

You've paid it forward, too.

[A HERETIC I AM]

21. Or maybe his mother and father would be appalled at their sons behavior...

And smack him upside the head for being so rude

[llmart]

25. LOL!

Maybe he's like Eddie Haskell on "Leave it to Beaver". There's always been the Eddie Haskells of the world.

P.S. I guess you have to be old enough to remember what Eddie Haskell represented on the show.

[A HERETIC I AM]

35. Ken Osmond became a LA cop

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Osmond

So go figure!

[BumRushDaShow]

32. OMG

I am just seeing this post and am munching on some cheese and crackers and just spewed them on my keyboard!

[47of74]

33. If it was me that number would get taken down and given to the police

With the demand that she be prosecuted for harassment to the fullest extent of the law.

[AZ8theist]

9. You should be kinder to the disabled, Mineral....

He may have been suffering from "Affluenza" ....

:

[MineralMan]

11. I know. I hope I didn't hurt his feelings or anything.

Really I do.

[Ohiogal]

14. I hear you MM

Your observations are all spot on. I'm glad you told that young buck to wait his turn. Me, as a woman, I probably wouldn't have the nerve to do that. He probably would have loudly told me to shut up and called me a word that rhymes with "itch".

Yesterday I went to the prescription counter at my grocery store to pick up a scrip. They funnel everyone into the same line with ropes, and the first person in the line gets waited on at two different stations at the counter. Like banks used to. Well, they have a big sign at the entrance to the rope lane "NO CARTS PLEASE". Aside from the fact that it was too big to be missed, anyone with half a brain would realize that if you took a cart in there with you, you'd be blocking access for the person behind you to get to the counter.

Well, there were these two MAGAt types there, and, of course, they brought their fully loaded and hard to maneuver cart into the roped off lanes. And when it was their turn to be waited on at the counter, the woman parked the cart smack dab in the middle of the two checkout stations at the pharmacy. I happened to be next, and the woman at the counter announced "I can help whoever is next". I made a dramatic effort to push that cart out of my way so I could get through, and got a long hard stare from the MAGAt woman. How dare I touch her cart! I just smiled sweetly and proceeded to make my way. The woman at the checkout rolled her eyes but said nothing. My son used to work at that store and they were always told by management NEVER to say anything back to a rude customer because that's "bad customer relations".

Anyway, I see this all the time. And, contrary to your experience, MM, I see it much more often involving older people. Do the older MAGAts think they have special privileges just because they are older? Now, I would gladly assist an older person who was having trouble physically if need be, or let one ahead of me in line if they were having trouble standing, etc., but these older "I'm old and I'll be rude if I want to" types really frost my flakes!

[dalton99a]

19. Older Trumpanzees are pretty rude and menacing

There is ample evidence in social media of their deplorable behavior in stores, hospitals, airports

[FakeNoose]

15. I shop at a store like that in Pittsburgh

Customers are a mixture of young, old, white, black, whatever race. It's a specialty bakery with a small counter and everybody has to wait their turn. So on a busy day (like a Saturday morning) there could easily be 10 or 12 people waiting and no discernible line because there's not enough room to queue up. Sometimes people wait outside until customers leave and there's more room inside the store.

The way this store handles the crowd - they have a little machine where everybody takes a number. The regular customers all do this, and there is never an unpleasant word. I've been shopping at this little bakery for over 10 years, but some of the customers have been coming their entire lives. That little "take a number" machine keeps everything friendly and manageable.

When a new customer walks in, they don't get how it works so they just walk up to the counter and try to be the first in line. That's when the store employees, or other regular customers, tell these new folks they have to take a number. Taking a number means you're last in line, because everybody else got numbers ahead of you. It's very democratic and I've never seen an argument over this.

Maybe you might want to suggest this to your friends.

[MineralMan]

18. My gyro shop isn't that busy, really.

The most I've seen in line ever was four. It's a pretty friendly place. Its trade all comes from the neighborhood, and I often see the same people in there when I go.

This was a very unusual thing to happen. Not at all like a normal visit to get my gyros.

They sell a lot of other food, too, but I'm a gyro guy. It's a Chicago-style place, so you can get your Chicago dog there, or a Polish sausage sandwich. They have wings, too, and even a fish and chips basket. But, I always order the same thing. The gyros are why I go there. Yum!

[FakeNoose]

22. Sounds like a cool & great place

[MineralMan]

26. Well, I'm glad it's nearby, for sure.

That's one of the best things about living in a city neighborhood. Generally, there are several decent places to eat close-by. My neighborhood has several within walking distance. There's even a really good Chinese place. It only has a couple of tables, so I use it as a takeout place. If you call in, you can drive over to it and the food's ready to pick up by the time you get there. Once you figure out what they do best, the food's great.

[ProudLib72]

16. If I'm reading this correctly

Never mind the 73-year-old bearded white guy waiting behind him to give his order and pay.

You menaced the poor little fella with your beard.

May I suggest for next time that you part your beard and place bells on either side. That is sure to make privileged white boys move their scrawny butts to the back of the line!

Kidding aside, good job!

[MineralMan]

17. I guess I did. Sorry...

I like the parted beard with bells idea, though. Right now, it's not long enough to do that, but soon it will be. I'll try that.

[absyntheminded]

20. Conjured up a fav movie scene...

Disrespectful young bucks being taught a lesson

[MineralMan]

23. Well, that's taking it a bit too far, I'm thinking.

[marieo1]

24. Mannerless white dude

Oh, this is the glaring truth of life with DJT and the repugs in power. Way to go, mineral man!

[MineralMan]

27. Oh, they've always been around.

They're just feeling all empowered and stuff right now. The trick is in recognizing which ones you can safely deal with. There are some I wouldn't try that with.

[kstewart33]

28. I saw that all the time at the new grocery store.

The store opened recently and is much closer to my home than the store I've used for over 20 years. The new store caters to a higher-income market segment. I noticed immediately a big change from my experience at my prior store. So many people were demanding and rude. The young woman at the cheese department and I got to talking and she said she was so tired of it all.

I went back to my old store. Working class and middle class clientele. Much nicer and I've never not once seen someone treat the store staff rudely. It's just fine here.

[MineralMan]

29. That's interesting, and reflects my own experience.

There's an upscale supermarket about the same distance from my house as the supermarket I normally use. I go to the upscale one occasionally, but I find the people to be much ruder and less considerate of the employees there. So, I prefer the other market, generally. Just looking at the cars in the parking lots of the two stores makes it clear which one you're at. And if you see a Lexus parked at an angle, using up two spaces, just don't bother shopping in that store.

[7962]

30. all the 20 somethings are privileged these days. See it all the time.

Never been told "no"

[MineralMan]

31. No. Not all of them, by any means.

I know several who are engaged, active politically, and far from behaving as though they're privileged. And i don't know that many people in that age group. As a geezer, I just don't run into them as often as I used to.

I think you're overstating things.

[7962]

34. Well of course not 100%. But I deal with them weekly & many can be a PAIN

And I'm just one person, so its not universal.
One of my jobs is coordinating different work on real estate projects. Biggest problem is the younger ones and their lack of work ethic. Calling out for the lamest of reasons. And not just one trade, several of them. Skilled and unskilled work. And good paying (for where I live). 13-25.00 an hr. We've got guys in their 50s outworking these youngsters by a country mile. TWICE have had a PARENT come to complain to a supervisor about how their baby was being treated. And the guys were 24 & 26 yrs old. They were let go after that nonsense.
Our plumber started doing payroll on Saturdays because so many would call in after Friday night. Amazing how many will show up for Saturday work when theres a check waiting!!
I'm sure there are also some who work their asses off for their job or their cause, but my experience and others who do what I do shows an awfully "entitled" bunch.
But then I bet my dad said the same thing about MY age group too!!