Monday, October 26, 2009

So annoyed, I can't even think of a title

I hate WalMart. I make every effort to avoid the hell hole, particularly the one in the closest town to me. On the average visit you are likely to see the ghetto and/or redneck elite of the area. Last Thursday, I needed treat bags and the first store I stopped by was out, so I ran/limped into WalMart.

Thought I could be in and out in a second. As I was walking to the register I noticed a mother dealing with a 6-8 yo boy having a total meltdown, cry and wailing. I heard her tell him they were leaving, she headed to the closest register, with him still sobbing behind her.

I went to a register two aisles over, my heart went out to the mother, because, dude, we have ALL been there at some point. As the mother of an Autistic son, I have had more than my share of public meltdowns. Heck even my "normal" son's have done this.

What happened next BLEW my mind. The cashier and a customer were having a very rude and vile conversation about the mother and her son. Before I share that, let me paint a picture...
Customer: heavy (like really heavy), late 30's, cami tank top (NO BRA) short shorts and beat up flip flops
Cashier: avg, walmart attire, several odd piercings, her name in gold in her earrings and necklace (in case she forgot?), painted on eyebrows, and of course 12 inch fake nails

Here is the conversation:
Customer: If that was my f**king kid, I would be beating his a$$.

Cashier: Ain't no way in hells, I would be lettin my kid punk me like that Sh%t.

Customer: It's her own fault, she dont be whoopin his a$$ enough. (she takes off her
narsty flip flop and starts acting out beating the child) I be beating my kids a$$es with my shoes when they bad in public.

Cashier:hell yeah. she ain't no good mom to be letting her kid ak like that here.

* at this point my HEAD is about to explode and I can't stay quiet*

me: Excuse me but you don't know her or her child. I have a son with special needs and he does things like that. The last thing I need in the situation is to hear people like YOU talking about me while I try to cope.

Customer: Well that's all good for you, but I would still beat his a$$

me: you ARE aware if you beat a child with a shoe in a public place, you will probably go to jail, right?

Cashier: Oh no I won't (insert finger waggin and head motions). It be my right to beat my kids a$$.

There is more but you get the point. So I pick up my few items and leave for another register, before I jump over the damn counter and and beat the B#tch with MY shoe.

I tell the next cashier what happened, it turns out she also has a special needs son and is disgusted by the conversation. She asked me to speak with the manager and I did. The managers response? "So what do you want me to do about it?"

Keep it classy WalMart.

*I have no idea if this kid was special needs or just having a fit, but either way this conversation was just wrong.
**I should have just ignored them, but for some reason child abuse riles me up.
***These ladies were both not minorities and this was pretty much word for word what they said (the best I can recall)

4 comments:

fidget said...

jebus,,,

Sarah R said...

You know I would have done the same. Plus I like taking off my flip flop and waving it in front of people.

Unknown said...

All I can say is that is out of control. I also like the last sentence of your post. Outrageous.

Katrina said...

I shop at Target and never, ever go into WalMarts unless I'm traveling and out of my area and have NO choice! Even then, I'd go into Kmart first. Or a Rite Aid or something else.

The way you recount the conversation seriously made me laugh out loud --

Good for you for saying something! I'm terribly disappointed that the manager didn't say more or do more about it. But, can't say I'm surprised.

You never know what others are going through/dealing with....so we should never judge. I've had a few of mine melt down in public, and that's never fun. But to think that someone would be looking on at me and thinking I'm not a good mom just because my kid is acting up -- well, that's just not right. I have a lot of children, and whenever I go out in public all eyes are usually on me because I have such a large group in tow, and I'm sure people are just waiting for one of mine to act up so that they can say, "See? She shouldn't have so many children if she can't handle them...." when really, how is that fair? Just because one might act up or have a meltdown doesn't mean I can't handle my kids. But you know, people are quick to judge.

Anyway, good for you for speaking up!