I just got back from the grocery, and the conversation I overheard there just really pissed me off. I was dying for some good old junk food, and since I rented Labyrinth from Netflix, I thought it would be a good time to pick up some pickles, chocolate, and popcorn – perfect movie food. So I braved the nasty wind and sand and drove to the local Mom & Pop store.

Well while I was standing in line with my goodies I over heard a couple of folks in front of me talking in rather heated voices. I tried not to eavesdrop, this village is full of nothing but gossip mongers I like to distance myself from that behavior as much as possible. However, when their “whispers” became more of a rather loud discussion that dragged some other shoppers and the cashier into it I couldn’t tune it out anymore.

According to the two women who started the conversation, the neighbors that moved in next to someone they know are homosexual. To me that’s nothing to write home about, but apparently it’s just completely “disgusting” and their “sympathies” go out to their friend. The only reason I started paying attention to what was actually being said is because I heard two women who could easily be my grandmother use the words “maricón” and “joto” in a very heated and rising argument. Kind of hard not to pay attention when you hear that.

When others started joining in I expected someone to put them in their place, instead it was “Oh, really? I thought they were so nice too” and “Ah, the poor family living by them!” along with nastier things I won’t repeat here. Someone even made a reference to probably having escaped from La Tuna or that they’d probably been in drug rehabs or were drug dealers.

I couldn’t believe that such prejudice still existed and here in my own community. Then I thought back to the nasty reactions I got when it became public knowledge that I was a [at the time] a Wiccan and then the backlash that occurred, although lesser, when I realized I was really Agnostic and didn’t follow any religion. This place really is very close-minded, but honestly, I would have expected something like this to be kept behind closed doors. In the end I couldn’t get out of that store fast enough, since everyone was jabbering instead of checking out I asked if I go in front of them since I’d left my car running. My car wasn’t running, but they let me move ahead so they could continue.

Maybe I should have said something to stand up for these strangers that weren’t even there. But having once been a victim of these sort of people I just wanted away from there ASAP and I didn’t want to say anything for fear I get dragged into it. The guys these folks were talking about weren’t there, but I was. As far as I was concerned, saying anything would likely make me a target for their frustration. No thanks.

Still though, I can’t help but to be amazed at the level of hostility and prejudice in these people. It was such an ugly sight to see, and one I thought didn’t exist, to that extent, anymore.