Today, Sunday, I went through my normal routine. I woke early enough to be prepared for the coming day. I showered, dressed, packed my crates in the vehicle and set up for Mass at 11 AM. After Mass, we pack the car and I head off for breakfast at a local restaurant. This is my normal routine almost every Sunday.
This morning I arrived at said local restaurant and order my "normal" breakfast: two scrambled eggs, bacon and a side of wheat toast and coffee with cream and sugar, of course. The normal conversations occurred. The normal people showed up and sat with me and spoke with me. However, today became different. Today became something new to me. A new awareness occurred. Today, I realized, I needed to say something about two things that were said to me.
The first was that two people were either fired or quit from the evening staff that I knew. The reason this occurred was, and this is second-hand information, that a racist individual or individuals came into the restaurant and did not want certain staff to wait upon them. This is unfortunate in America today. This should not be an issue. However, it was and so another staff member was going to take the table. This all sounds fine so far in the sense that customer service was working.
Unfortunately, the staff member who was treated with prejudice was upset. They had every right to be upset, however there is a time and a place for it. In your place of employment, where customer service is primary, it is best for the management to handle the situation at hand. Step away, keep your job and do not blame the other staff around you for the unfortunate racist people that still exist today.
Given the times, it was a difficult situation. The staff member in question is Egyptian, looking of Middle Eastern descent. There are people that are not fond of the Middle East in America right now. I am not fond of Al Qaeda or certain Islamic militants that do not believe in freedom but rather believe in death and destruction. However, I believe in freedom for those Middle Easterners that are here and are trying to live a life of freedom as Americans. I also believe in all immigrants who come into this country legally, enduring the governmental system. They have every right to be called Americans. They have earned that right and they also have earned a place to work in this country. They should have also earned a place in our hearts to be able to wait a table, to earn a living and to receive respect from their fellow Americans whether they were born here or not. Whoever that customer was, I would gladly take his or her food and dump it on their lap or over top of their head as a fellow customer who believes in the freedom that America offers.
Unfortunately the incident escalated. Now there are two staff members gone. Both the staff member accosted and the staff member who attempted to handle the situation have been either let go or quit. The story is still pending. But, the point that concerns me is that, because of the nature of a single individual, the racist attitude that permeates this individual, two people lost their jobs. Two people no longer are working, earning pay. This individual ignited something that did not need to occur. This individual managed to cause pain and hatred to come into the lives of two people who probably did not need this in their lives right now.
The second thing that occurred today at my brunch at Noon directly affected me. This is a "friend" of mine who happens to be a liberal. I sat with two of my so-called "friends" who implied that I have taken an interest in some of the younger staff of the feminine persuasion. While I compliment them and give them decent tips, there has never been any intention on my part to ever engage in anything else with the waitstaff other than conversation. These young girls could be my daughters at the age that I am and the age that they are. With that cleared, I explained this to my two "friends", who have such a high opinion of me I might add, and followed this up with the words, "I care about what happens to them. I even care about you two."
Here was the kicker to me. My liberal friend said, "You are not their father. You can not control what they do or do not do. Why do you even care. You are just going to stress yourself out on something that is out of your control." In response I said, "I care because I know what mistakes they are making and I don't want these kids to hurt themselves." He pressed the issue indicating that they are old enough to take care of themselves and I should just let them do what they want.
These "young adults" are doing drugs. These young adults are seeing men or going out with men that are at least ten years older than them. These young adults are drinking alcohol when they are with their friends and when they are with these older men. These young adults are making mistakes that their parents should be correcting but for whatever reason are not able to do so. They are having sex outside of wedlock, think they are in love and getting their hearts torn out by these older men. Their self-esteem takes a hit every day. I've even heard that they have been pregnant and have had abortions. Now, do I know which of them are doing what. No, I do not know each and every detail. But, am I not going to care what happens to them? Hell, no! I am going to care because if I don't who will? No, it is not my responsibility in technical terms but the life of a human being is each of our responsibility. We need to take action when we can if we truly care about life.
So, yes, I care about these young ladies. I care what happens to them. I do not want to see them living in a women's shelter, on the streets or with individuals who will take full advantage of them. I want to see these girls go to college or succeed at doing something that they love and learn responsibility. I want them to have self-respect and be able to hold their heads up high. Yes, they need to go through the pain of dating and learning about life through experience but do they need to go through it blindly and in an adult relationship? No! They need someone to listen to them. They need someone to bounce ideas off of and who genuinely cares for their well-being. They don't need someone to listen to them only with the ulterior motive, "to get in their pants".
There are so many people out there that are letting themselves go because they do not think that they are loved. Life is easier when they have friends who think they are wonderful. You have the wrong friends when all they are doing is sharing their drugs and alcohol with you and taking advantage of you. You have the wrong friends when they are not willing to tell you, "I care about you. I don't want you to hurt yourself any more. Please, please stop taking the drugs. Stop drinking the alcohol. Stop dating men who are almost twice your age and don't really care about you for you; they only care about satisfying themselves." A true friend who truly cares about you will do the difficult thing and say to you, "I want to help. I am here for you. How can I help?"
The silly part of all this is that these two men are in their 60s. I hadn't seen the one in a while and got concerned. I had heard that he had lost his job and wasn't feeling too good. I emailed him and said, "Where have you been? Is everything OK?" He let me know his situation and thanked me. So, when is it OK to care for someone? When is it OK to be concerned for other people's well-being?
My answer is simple: ALWAYS!
This morning I arrived at said local restaurant and order my "normal" breakfast: two scrambled eggs, bacon and a side of wheat toast and coffee with cream and sugar, of course. The normal conversations occurred. The normal people showed up and sat with me and spoke with me. However, today became different. Today became something new to me. A new awareness occurred. Today, I realized, I needed to say something about two things that were said to me.
The first was that two people were either fired or quit from the evening staff that I knew. The reason this occurred was, and this is second-hand information, that a racist individual or individuals came into the restaurant and did not want certain staff to wait upon them. This is unfortunate in America today. This should not be an issue. However, it was and so another staff member was going to take the table. This all sounds fine so far in the sense that customer service was working.
Unfortunately, the staff member who was treated with prejudice was upset. They had every right to be upset, however there is a time and a place for it. In your place of employment, where customer service is primary, it is best for the management to handle the situation at hand. Step away, keep your job and do not blame the other staff around you for the unfortunate racist people that still exist today.
Given the times, it was a difficult situation. The staff member in question is Egyptian, looking of Middle Eastern descent. There are people that are not fond of the Middle East in America right now. I am not fond of Al Qaeda or certain Islamic militants that do not believe in freedom but rather believe in death and destruction. However, I believe in freedom for those Middle Easterners that are here and are trying to live a life of freedom as Americans. I also believe in all immigrants who come into this country legally, enduring the governmental system. They have every right to be called Americans. They have earned that right and they also have earned a place to work in this country. They should have also earned a place in our hearts to be able to wait a table, to earn a living and to receive respect from their fellow Americans whether they were born here or not. Whoever that customer was, I would gladly take his or her food and dump it on their lap or over top of their head as a fellow customer who believes in the freedom that America offers.
Unfortunately the incident escalated. Now there are two staff members gone. Both the staff member accosted and the staff member who attempted to handle the situation have been either let go or quit. The story is still pending. But, the point that concerns me is that, because of the nature of a single individual, the racist attitude that permeates this individual, two people lost their jobs. Two people no longer are working, earning pay. This individual ignited something that did not need to occur. This individual managed to cause pain and hatred to come into the lives of two people who probably did not need this in their lives right now.
The second thing that occurred today at my brunch at Noon directly affected me. This is a "friend" of mine who happens to be a liberal. I sat with two of my so-called "friends" who implied that I have taken an interest in some of the younger staff of the feminine persuasion. While I compliment them and give them decent tips, there has never been any intention on my part to ever engage in anything else with the waitstaff other than conversation. These young girls could be my daughters at the age that I am and the age that they are. With that cleared, I explained this to my two "friends", who have such a high opinion of me I might add, and followed this up with the words, "I care about what happens to them. I even care about you two."
Here was the kicker to me. My liberal friend said, "You are not their father. You can not control what they do or do not do. Why do you even care. You are just going to stress yourself out on something that is out of your control." In response I said, "I care because I know what mistakes they are making and I don't want these kids to hurt themselves." He pressed the issue indicating that they are old enough to take care of themselves and I should just let them do what they want.
These "young adults" are doing drugs. These young adults are seeing men or going out with men that are at least ten years older than them. These young adults are drinking alcohol when they are with their friends and when they are with these older men. These young adults are making mistakes that their parents should be correcting but for whatever reason are not able to do so. They are having sex outside of wedlock, think they are in love and getting their hearts torn out by these older men. Their self-esteem takes a hit every day. I've even heard that they have been pregnant and have had abortions. Now, do I know which of them are doing what. No, I do not know each and every detail. But, am I not going to care what happens to them? Hell, no! I am going to care because if I don't who will? No, it is not my responsibility in technical terms but the life of a human being is each of our responsibility. We need to take action when we can if we truly care about life.
So, yes, I care about these young ladies. I care what happens to them. I do not want to see them living in a women's shelter, on the streets or with individuals who will take full advantage of them. I want to see these girls go to college or succeed at doing something that they love and learn responsibility. I want them to have self-respect and be able to hold their heads up high. Yes, they need to go through the pain of dating and learning about life through experience but do they need to go through it blindly and in an adult relationship? No! They need someone to listen to them. They need someone to bounce ideas off of and who genuinely cares for their well-being. They don't need someone to listen to them only with the ulterior motive, "to get in their pants".
There are so many people out there that are letting themselves go because they do not think that they are loved. Life is easier when they have friends who think they are wonderful. You have the wrong friends when all they are doing is sharing their drugs and alcohol with you and taking advantage of you. You have the wrong friends when they are not willing to tell you, "I care about you. I don't want you to hurt yourself any more. Please, please stop taking the drugs. Stop drinking the alcohol. Stop dating men who are almost twice your age and don't really care about you for you; they only care about satisfying themselves." A true friend who truly cares about you will do the difficult thing and say to you, "I want to help. I am here for you. How can I help?"
The silly part of all this is that these two men are in their 60s. I hadn't seen the one in a while and got concerned. I had heard that he had lost his job and wasn't feeling too good. I emailed him and said, "Where have you been? Is everything OK?" He let me know his situation and thanked me. So, when is it OK to care for someone? When is it OK to be concerned for other people's well-being?
My answer is simple: ALWAYS!
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