Stupid People in New Jersey

On Tuesday, the revelers split up. One group went to see Pirates of the Caribbean 2 at the boardwalk movie theater for only $6.25 (!) and the other group motored over to Atlantic City for a few hours. Sister and her husband Honoré went to Atlantic City and walked for a bit on the boardwalk there. It was quite a bit different from the wholesome family fun offered in Ocean City. They were solicited by both carnies and prostitutes, each with disturbing pitches. A prostitute offered to let them hook up in her apartment for a fee. A white carnie invited two black teenage girls to try their hand at winning a teddy bear by throwing darts at balloons. When they passed by without taking him up on his offer, he snarled, “Break a rubber, win a free baby!” Actually, now that I think about it, there probably was not too much difference between the piracy and debauchery onscreen and that which occurred at Atlantic City. How sad.

In other pathetic news, there was a minor verbal scuffle at the internet café this morning. I am wearing my “Bush is a Tush” t-shirt (written in a kid’s handwriting with a hilarious drawing of a girl frowning, also done by a kid) that my aunt bought for me in a thrift shop in Chicago. While I was waiting for my order, a gentleman with a handle bar mustache asked me which Bush is a tush. “Actually, both of them are,” I replied, “although I think the t-shirt mostly refers to the current Bush.” The man then told me that I am lucky that Bush is my president because we’d be blown up if Kerry was. I responded by staring at him as if he were an alien life form. His wife got nervous and told him not to get into a political debate. I continued staring at him while I told her that I had no intention of responding, and then my food was ready, so I turned back to the counter. As I walked away, I heard him tell her in an annoyed voice that I provoked him by wearing the shirt.

What upsets me most about the incident is that I forgot to ask him who was president when we were blown up on Sept. 11, 2001. (The Explorer is glad that I did not continue the conversation with him because she said you never know if someone like that will get violent.) I will never, ever understand the mentality of Bush supporters who can somehow ignore the reality that we were fucking attacked and focus on the abstract potential attacks that there is no proof that he averted. I once even got into an argument with someone who does not generally support Bush on this issue. The brainwashing of people is so thorough that it is a bit terrifying.