(It’s a slow day at work. My coworker and I are standing behind the counter making idle chat.)
Me: “Know what I’ve been thinking about?”
Coworker: “What?”
Me: “Kids’ sports movies.”
Coworker: “Kids’ sports movies?”
Me: “Yuh huh. Specifically, the fact that they’re all exactly the same.”
Coworker: “What do you mean?”
Me: “I mean how they all have the exact same plot, the exact same characters, the exact same tone, everything.”
Coworker: *sounding unconvinced* “Hmmm…”
Me: “Think about it. You always have the exact same set of stereotypical characters: the nerd, the fat kid, the black kid who only talks in pseudo-racist jive, the girl playing on the boys’ team just to prove she can, and the guy who could be a superstar if he could just get past his piddling first-world emotional problems.”
Coworker: “You know, I think I see what you mean. Don’t forget the alcoholic coach trying to relive his glory days.”
Me: “Exactly. And our ragtag band of misfits always has to play the team of rich snobs in the championship game who taunted and defeated them at the beginning of the movie.”
Coworker: “And the coach of the rich snobs’ team was the one who humiliated our heroes’ coach way back when.”
Me: “Right. And our heroes lose their first couple of games until a pep talk from the coach inspires them, and then they destroy every successive opponent they face until the championship game, when the rich snobs are kicking their butts at halftime. Then the would-be superstar finally gets his head out of his butt and helps them turn things around in the second half and they win.”
Coworker: “And as the second half of the championship game begins, it shows a montage of our heroes evening the score set to CCR’s ‘Up Around the Bend.'”
Me: “Hah! Totally! That’s like the ultimate ‘sports-getting-your-act-in-gear’ song.”
Coworker: “You know, you’re right.”
Me: “Like I told you, dude. They’re all the same.”
Customer: “How DARE you!”
Both Of Us: “Huh?”
(A customer has just walked up to the counter and overheard the last thing I said.)
Customer: “How DARE you say that all African-Americans are the same?! You RACIST!”
Me: “What? African-Americans? No, we were talking about kids’ sports movies.”
Customer: “You said ‘They’re all the same’!”
Me: “Yes, ma’am. I was saying that all of those movies are the same.”
Customer: “Don’t you lie to me, you racist scum! Anyone who says ‘They’re all the same’ is talking about African-Americans!”
Coworker: “Ma’am, I promise you that’s not what we were talking about.”
Customer: “Shut up, you racist! This whole store is racist! I don’t have to put up with this racist store! This is the MOST offensive thing I’ve ever heard in my ENTIRE life and I demand compensation for this insulting racism!”
Me: “Uh… I’m sorry?”
Customer: “You’ll be sorry when your racist a** is out on the street!”
(She stomped off to the customer service counter to complain. Apparently she didn’t get the reaction she wanted from the store manager because she stomped out of the store all together a minute later. Also, she was white.)
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