Puts You Into An Angry Welfare State

(I have just finished doing my grocery shopping and am loading my groceries into my car trunk when a middle aged woman approaches me.)

Woman: “Hello there, I just wanted to come over and thank you.”

Me: “Huh? Thank me for what?”

Woman: “For not paying with my tax dollars. Usually when you see a young person with their cart that full they are paying with a welfare card, and you know how this neighborhood is. The people that live around here are what’s wrong with this country. It’s just so nice seeing someone paying with cash for once. I just wanted to let you know I appreciate it.”

(I stand open-mouthed in shock for a moment, and she turns to walk away humming happily to herself.)

Me: “Yeah, well, I DON’T appreciate it. Why don’t you mind your own f****** business?!”

Woman: “Excuse me?! I think it IS my business when people eat up MY tax money.”

Me: “No, it’s not your business to watch other people to see what they pull out of their wallets. You weren’t even behind me in line; you were spying on me from another lane because you looked at me and thought I must be on welfare?! That’s what you wanted to let me know?”

(The woman turns red and splutters.)

Me: “And by the way, just because this is a working class minority neighborhood doesn’t mean everyone here is on welfare. In fact, everyone who ends up on welfare is a tax paying citizen, too. Did that ever occur to you? What makes you think your fraction of a penny gives you the right to judge? I think holier-than-thou racists like YOU are what’s wrong with this country!”

(The woman harrumphed and stomped off across the parking lot. The real kicker was that my cart was only filled with about $30 worth of cheap produce staple items like cabbage and potatoes.)