Making A Mute Point

(I am visiting a game store that I go to quite often, to the point that most of the employees consider me a “regular”. Due to a throat injury that I received when I was younger, I am mute. I’m here to see if they have a copy of a game that has just come out. There are only two employees working; both are behind the counter as I walk in. Any “dialogue” of mine for this story is actually just me scribbling into a notepad and showing it to whoever I am speaking to, as it’s my main method of communicating.)

Employee #2: “Hey, [My Name], are you looking for something?”

Me: “Yeah. I was hoping you had a copy of [Game] since I wasn’t able to reserve a copy.”

Employee #1: “Yeah, we have a few. I’ll show you where they are.”

(He shows me where they are and leaves me to do some extra browsing. He returns to the register where his coworker is when another customer approaches them. He appears to be in his late teens or early twenties.)

Customer: “Hey, you really shouldn’t encourage her like that.”

(The customer gestures to me, and he isn’t even being subtle about it.)

Employee #2: “I’m sorry, sir, but I have no clue what you mean.”

Customer: “That girl over there! If you treat her like a normal person, she might get the wrong idea!”

Employee #1: “With all due respect, what are you even talking about?”

Customer: “Don’t play dumb! She’s clearly r******d! Won’t it look bad for business if you let a r****d wander around? And besides, she’s a girl! She probably doesn’t even play video games!”

(Unfortunately, people assuming I am either deaf or mentally handicapped because of my inability to speak is a common occurrence. I’ve gotten used to it, but it doesn’t make it any less annoying. Still, I do my best to ignore it. The assumption that I don’t play video games because I’m a girl isn’t as common, but it does come up once in a while.)

Employee #2: “Please forgive me, sir, but I’m going to have to ask that you not speak about her that way. Not only is she a regular customer, but she’s definitely NOT mentally handicapped. She just can’t speak because of—”

Customer: “Right! Because she’s r******d! I don’t think it’s safe to let her wander around the store. What if she ends up making someone else r******d?!”

(All three of us are completely dumbfounded. As mentioned before, I’m used to these sorts of assumptions, but this is a new one.)

Customer: “So, are you going to kick her out or not? People like her don’t deserve to be in here!”

Employee #1: *visibly angry, and doing his best to keep his cool* “No, we’re not. However, if you don’t stop insulting our customers, we are going to have to ask YOU to leave!”

Customer: “What the h***, man?! I’m just looking out for your best interest! If you wanna treat that r****d like she’s a person, that’s your business, but don’t come running to me if it hurts your business!”

Employee #1: “Okay, that’s it. We tried being civil. Please leave and don’t come back.”

(The customer is clearly pissed off, but before he can say or do anything, I walk over and slip a note into his hands. He instinctively reads the note.)

Me: “By the way, you can call me r******d all you want, but at least I’m not the one with their fly unzipped.”

(He looked down and confirmed that his fly was, indeed, unzipped. His face turned a shade of red, and he then stormed off in what I could only assume was a combination of rage and embarrassment. We still laugh about it to this day!)