Bathroom Adventures
Work continues to provide me with countless instances of entertainment. Yesterday was no exception. I change my clothes in the toilets after work before I head home. I want to leave work at work. I just want to slip out of my slave gear and into my normal threads, regain a part of my identity rather than embrace the faceless workforce that I'm apart of. Last night I clocked out around 8 and went to change. When I came out of the stall there was a small girl stood there. She just stared at me for a few minutes. She looked at me from head to toe, taking all of me in. Now, I was wearing a t-shirt and shorts so she could see a lot of me. "
Um, can I help you?" "You have a lot of tattoos you know." I set my phone down on the counter and said that I did indeed. I looked around for a parent of some sort, but it was just the kid and me. "Tattoos are bad for you, they poison the body. They'll kill you." Oh, great one of these little booger eaters. "No, I don't think so." "Science says tattoos destroy the body." "I don't have that kind of luck." She sees the Virgin Mary tattoo on my arm. "Do you believe in God?" "No." "What about her?" "I like the art. I appreciate the Catholic art. Some of the greatest pieces of artwork are Christian in nature." We start to wash out hands. "If you don't believe in God, what do you believe in?" I turn to face her. "Nothing. I believe in nothing." "Why?" So many goddamn questions. I'm glad the kid is questioning what she's told, but after a 6-hour shift, I just want to be left the fuck alone. I don't want to engage in a philosophical debate with a pre-pubescent little snot.
Um, can I help you?" "You have a lot of tattoos you know." I set my phone down on the counter and said that I did indeed. I looked around for a parent of some sort, but it was just the kid and me. "Tattoos are bad for you, they poison the body. They'll kill you." Oh, great one of these little booger eaters. "No, I don't think so." "Science says tattoos destroy the body." "I don't have that kind of luck." She sees the Virgin Mary tattoo on my arm. "Do you believe in God?" "No." "What about her?" "I like the art. I appreciate the Catholic art. Some of the greatest pieces of artwork are Christian in nature." We start to wash out hands. "If you don't believe in God, what do you believe in?" I turn to face her. "Nothing. I believe in nothing." "Why?" So many goddamn questions. I'm glad the kid is questioning what she's told, but after a 6-hour shift, I just want to be left the fuck alone. I don't want to engage in a philosophical debate with a pre-pubescent little snot.
"Why don't you believe in God?" "Because I've systematically been fucked over my entire life. Regardless of what I do, I'm constantly behind the 8-ball. Trying and scrambling to play catch up. I've seen a lot of shit in my life. There is no God. I don't believe in anything, not even me. In the end, you have nothing and no one. You die in your own arms."
The kid wasn't expecting that. Maybe it was my fatigue or my fed-upness with life that led me to be completely tactless with this child, but you know what? Better she hears the truth now. When are these parents going to stop brainwashing their children? Let them explore the world and make their own choices for what they believe in. Instil values because you want to be a good person, not because some invisible man in the sky says its what you should do. Do something because you want to, not because you're afraid that if you don't you'll be punished. I was raised Catholic until I reached the age of reason and took a look around and realised that shit is fucked up. And as far as father figures go, one can do a lot better than God. If he was any sort of parental figure, half the shit going on wouldn't be.
I'm glad that the kid didn't start to argue free will with me because she clearly didn't have any. What the fuck is that anyway? The concept. "You can do whatever you want to, but if you do against my rules I'll torture you forever. But don't forget that I love you and can dictate aspects of your life because I have a divine plan and well, I'm gonna do what I want and that kinda conflicts with your free will thing, but yeah, we good?" And a fun fact here: More people are killed and have been killed in the name of God than any other reason. Beautiful irony. I love it.
The kid's grandmother came into the toilets, slapped her and ranted at her in Spanish about having a conversation with a stranger in the bathroom. I could only pick up on parts of the verbal whooping, as I'm not really a Spanish speaker, but when her Abuela slapped her, I knew it was time to get the hell outta there. I'm not sticking around to be stood on the witness stand, I stuck my earbuds in and dashed out of the toilets like I was on fire, racing for the exit. Quitting time is my favourite time of the day. There's not a better feeling.
The kid's grandmother came into the toilets, slapped her and ranted at her in Spanish about having a conversation with a stranger in the bathroom. I could only pick up on parts of the verbal whooping, as I'm not really a Spanish speaker, but when her Abuela slapped her, I knew it was time to get the hell outta there. I'm not sticking around to be stood on the witness stand, I stuck my earbuds in and dashed out of the toilets like I was on fire, racing for the exit. Quitting time is my favourite time of the day. There's not a better feeling.
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