Sisterhood Of The Judgmental Rants

(I receive Women, Infants and Children (WIC) benefits. I’m used to all the judgmental stares I get when going shopping for food. On one occasion, I’d been treated very rudely by a cashier. When I return next month, her line was the only one open because it was near closing. I am the last customer. I mentally prepare myself for rudeness again. This time, she’s surprisingly polite.)

Cashier #1: “Uh, ma’am? Are you okay? Did you forget something?”

(My four-year-old daughter decides to honestly answer.)

Daughter: “She’s upset ’cause you were mean to her!”

Cashier #1: “Excuse me?”

Daughter: “You were mean to my mommy! You were mean and didn’t say sorry!”

Cashier #1: *to me* “Ma’am, I have never seen you or your daughter. What is she talking about?”

Me: “When I came in here last month, you berated me because two of my items were wrong. Then you told me that’s why I should get a job like everyone else. You said a freeloader like me shouldn’t have had a kid.”

Cashier #1: “That’s terrible. But, ma’am, I promise you I didn’t— Wait, you said last month?”

Me: “Yes.”

Cashier #1: “Let me ring up and bag your stuff; then wait right here. Don’t leave.”

(After everything is paid for and bagged, she closes her register and walks off. Less than three minutes later, she returns with a woman who looks exactly like her. As soon as the second cashier sees my daughter and me, she scowls.)

Cashier #1: *to the other cashier* “You say you don’t forget faces. Do you recognize them?”

Cashier #2: “Yeah. I remember them. Did they give you trouble too?”

Cashier #1: “No. But I think you gave them trouble. Maybe you should apologize.”

Cashier #2: “For what? It’s not my fault she had a kid when she was too d*** poor!”

Cashier #1: “Oh, really? Gee, I wonder if that’s how you felt when you had your son back in high school and everyone called you names. Now that you’re able to attend college, work, and don’t have to rely on our parents anymore, you’re above everyone?”

(The other cashier turns red and apologizes. She then leaves as quickly as possible.)

Cashier #1: “I’m sorry. That’s who was rude to you last month, not me. She’s my twin sister. You see, she’s an overachiever. She always felt that made her better than everyone else. Then, she had her son at 15 and things went downhill for a while. She’s back up now. I guess she didn’t learn any lessons during that time.”

Me: “Ah, okay. Well, thank you very much. If you don’t mind me asking, how does she think being a cashier while attending college puts her above others? Lots of people do it, with kids and without.”

Cashier #1: “She knows that. She just has an ego. A very big ego that she’s trying too hard to keep up with!”