A Novel Approach For A Bookstore

Another June, another Pride book display, another bigoted customer getting offended by it.

Customer: “I can understand some liberal little independent artsy bookstore carrying this stuff, but this is a respected international chain! You need to be catering to all Americans, not just the gays!”

Me: *Tired of fielding the same complaint all month.* “You just have to not buy anything from it, ma’am. Those books are always in stock; it’s just that for Pride month, we put them together in a display. Nothing has changed.”

Customer: “It has changed, because now all the books are together and you’re promoting it to perverts and groomers! Children shop here! You’re encouraging groomers to shop in the same store as children!”

Manager: *Walking over, and also done with this crap.* “Wow, then you’re really not going to like Sunday’s Drag Queen Story Hour.”

Customer: “You’re putting a [transphobic slur] in front of all of the children! Do you want them to be groomed?!”

Manager: “That way of thinking is always so weird for me. If you’re a groomer, why would you go through all the work it takes to live as a trans person in a transphobic society when you can just become a priest and the most gullible adults on earth will just hand you their children on a silver platter.”

Customer: “Oh my God! That’s obscene! I am going to be reporting this!”

The customer storms out. I admit to looking a bit shocked myself. The manager notices this.

Manager: “I just handed in my two-week notice to [Store Manager]. Send all those jerks to me. I’m consequence-free until the end of the month!”

For the rest of Pride month, we used the “would you like to speak to the manager” line a lot more freely, with equally, if not more scathing, shut-down responses!