Just when I thought things couldn’t get any worse when it comes to hatred and bigotry in this country, something good happens.
Check this out (this is the link to the entire story with videos, but you’ll have to register. Sorry. Other news outlets have picked up a piece of the story, so if you’re interested, just search for “Riverside barista refuses”):
A Riverside [Calif.] barista refused to serve a man who blasted a Muslim woman wearing traditional attire during a tense coffee shop confrontation captured in a video that’s been seen more than 2 million times.
The 1 minute, 33-second video is titled, “Coffee shop refuses service to man making Islamaphobic comments,” had piled up views on social media and was continuing to garner attention Tuesday, May 15.
It was first posted May 9 by Kathleen Deady, a 27-year-old Riverside woman who said she is the videographer and victim in the incident at Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf in the Riverside Plaza.
Deady apparently was confronted while ordering tea because she was wearing a niqab, which covers all the face except for the eyes, and a jilbaab that covers the body.
The confrontation was unpleasant, Deady said, but upon reflection she’s glad it happened.
“It’s given over 2 million people the opportunity to really question how open minded they are with the Muslim community,” she said.
Continue reading and you’ll see that many customers shouted this bigot down until he left.
I wish I could say this totally restores my faith Americans, but it doesn’t. We still have too many cases of blatant bigotry, such as the Yale dorm resident who called the police because a black woman fell asleep in a common room. (According to new reports, it was late at night and the lights in the common room were out, so how this Yale bigot knew the woman was sleeping there is beyond me. Turns out the woman was working on some papers and fell asleep.)
Or there’s the instance where two black men were sitting in a Philadelphia Starbucks waiting for a friend when the police were called and the men were escorted out. (Turns out these guys have more class than the Starbucks worker who called the cops. They could have made a big deal about this and sued the heck out of the company. Instead, they settled with the city for $1 each and a promise from officials to set up a $200,000 program for young entrepreneurs.)
And, unfortunately, the list goes on and on.
So, maybe some hope does still exist for Americans. But I’m not holding my breath.
my3centsworth.com 
I think there are good and bad people in all walks of life. I like to hope that the good outweigh the bad, as the first incident you mention shows.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I do have hope for Americans. Stories like this one, regarding the Riverside coffee shop, restore my faith and give me a mental lift. There is hope. Most people are good. Some are deluded by years of racist brainwashing from their own families or from the media. People that are racist are not happy people. They are bitter and negative and I avoid them if at all possible. But we have to have hope for them too, or there is no hope for humanity.
LikeLike
Unfortunately, as we all know, most people would rather be reading the bad news that is reported and very rarely are the good things even aired or printed … In the sports world, there are many athletes very giving of their time, money, organizations to help the less fortunate, not just occasionally but all the time… Yet, we only hear of the negative, not the positive … The ones who abuse their wives / girlfriends, or the ones on drugs, or the ones sent to prison…. Yet, the cynicism in the world as it is today, is most people only want to know the bad stuff, not realizing the goodness in other people …. That man in the Waffle House, who was a hero and saved many lives, already forgotten…. yet not only the shooter of the HS in Parkland, Fl, but his brother who unfortunately shares the same last name, still front page news almost every day … Why cannot newspeople, journalists (no offense intended) share with us, all the positive things in the world today …. Oris it really true what they say, “Bad News Sells Papers” …….
LikeLike
One thing I have to continually remind myself is that good, happy, wholesome news doesn’t attract as much attention as shock and awe. Occasionally the compassion of humanity will leak into the news and remind us we’re not completely doomed. I wonder what it would take for humanity to want to celebrate the good?
LikeLike
As far as what constitutes news, people doing their jobs as they’re supposed to is not news. It’s when they go off track that it becomes news. As for all the good things people do going under-reported, I couldn’t agree more. The thing is, there’s only so much space in a newspaper and so much airtime for the electronic media and so much bad stuff going on, that it’s hard to report it all. Not a real good excuse, I admit, it’s the reality.
LikeLike
Although you are right, there is so much bad stuff going on, and not enough airtime or newspaper to report it all … but there is also sooooo much good stuff too … And wouldn’t it be so much better, if even we’re a 50 / 50 split, of the good and bad ….unfortunately I’m the minority, and the people deciding rather it be more like 95% bad …. 5% good …. ….. although you’re right, it’s the reality ……. but certainly NOT MY REALITY
LikeLike