We were traveling on Saturday, not anywhere near Charlottesville, Virginia. Our route covered from the far Western side of Texas to the Tularosa Basin of the Chihuahuan Desert in the New Mexico state. We stopped at a restaurant for lunch where we saw two Warning signs.
There will be no warning shot
The first sign said, “Ammo (ammunition) is expensive. There will be no warning shot.” When I read this, I thought — Well … I understand jokes.
Red Neck Area … Proceed at your own risk
The second sign made me feel something was swirling inside my stomach. It said, “You are entering a Red Neck Area. …. Proceed at your own risk.” We had Dear Son with us. Should we run out of the restaurant?
Observation
While my forehead was sweating, I looked around. A lot of white people were around. I did not have the courage to look over their necks to verify the redness though. Anyway, they looked happy. Slowly, my eyes went to another table where there were a few kids. Oh, that means the restaurant is kid-friendly. I noticed another table — two native American people were speaking with a few white and African American folks. Slowly, I started to notice people of other ethnicities including Chinese and Hispanic. The surrounding started to feel normal. However, I had to go to the bathroom to stop the swirling. It is always good to go to the bathroom before a great meal.
Relief
It turned out the restaurant owner had a pretty strong sense of humor. Otherwise, who would put such warning signs on the wall of a restaurant. Their business must be running too well. Scaring off a few timid customers like us won’t harm their business. We had a wonderful lunch time there, anyway. The food and the service were great.
What Charlottesville experienced was no joke
Virginia is for lovers — we have heard this so many times in our life. What is happening now in Charlottesville, Virginia? It is no joke like what we experienced in a restaurant of the New Mexico state. Virginia experienced the loss of faith in humanity and love. Yes, I am talking about the rally that turned violent in Charlottesville, Virginia. Yes, I am talking about the person who died and about all the wounded people. When I said, wounded people, I did not only mean the people who were physically hurt. I also meant the family, relatives, and friends who are preparing for a funeral.
How much is this really worth?
Settle in El Paso team
Prompt: Elemental
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well i think that what makes it more catchy and be curious enough to somehow try it out. cool i thnk.
Haha … It depends on where you are and which time you are in.
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I am surprised how this warning does not harm the business, because some people may get scared when they see this kind of warnings and will decide to avoid that area and that restaurant. In my opinion, this is funny but I don’t know how many taste this kind of humor!
Had I seen such signs, I would also have worried. Sometimes when we don’t understand jokes, such signs will make your stomach go cold. Racism is prevalent in my place, people mistreat other races without any warning signs.
So sorry to hear that. I wish the entire world was free of racism. Thank you for visiting and commenting.
I am with you 100%. Racism exists in every country of the world. My country is also not free from racism. I wonder what the future will be like with such horrible incidents taking place. The world would be a great place to live if such incidents cease to exist.
Amen. From Charlottesville, VA.
It’s kinda funny but at the same time, it bothers me about that kind of sign. It feels like just in case you encounter this kind of sign, something bad will happen. Hope they should stop posting this kind of sign as it’s inappropriate and offensive.
Such signs could be fun if there were no such things. Anyway, it i fine as long as it is innocent. I hope world will not see any more violence and everyone will be able to enjoy all sorts of jokes in the coming days.
Thank you very much for your comment. Have wonderful weekend.
Though, I have never been to USA, I have heard about racial incidents now and then. These types of racial activities should stop. USA is a great country, but incidents like this cause disturbance in social harmony. I wish the world would be a safe place to live with people of all races living together with peace and harmony.
I wish the same. Thank you. Have a wonderful weekend.
Am an African from Nigeria and I must say, United States is one country almost all Nigerians and Africans in general crave traveling to. We see the country as the most democratic and free state where people live in peace and respect each person’s right. Positive comparisons are always drawn from the US to criticize our standard of living here in Africa. So it’s quiet heartbreaking to see what’s happening over there. This just shows how divide people have become and am not talking about the US only, the world Just keeps getting less peaceful by the day.
Unlike the Roman age, the world has gradually become one big community where people of different race settle together. We need implore tolerance, we also need to learn and teach ourselves how to respect other people’s values, traditions and cultures regardless of our different beliefs. This is the only way to achieve global peace.
To add onto that, the division happens on so many levels, not only based on race. Sometimes, you also have the rich making fun of the poor from the same race or you another person killing his neighbor, not because of race but because the neighbor is from another tribe.
Dear Ramu and Dampaso,
Thank you so much for your comments. I am glad to hear that you see USA as an example of peace, respect, and democracy. This is exactly what our nation is. People of the United States, in general, always stand beside humanity. We always stand by distressed humanity — where ever there is a disaster — natural or human-made. Not only the US soldiers but also our civilian doctors, nurses, engineers, and citizens of many different skills are still volunteering to help distressed people in many parts of the world, alongside with great people of many other countries.
As some readers have commented — there are good and evil everywhere. There are indeed many happenings that frustrate us but those incidents do not define the identity of the people of the USA.
Thank you once again for visiting and commenting. Have a wonderful weekend.
It is not needed that such things should be happening in our world. I always pray that we shall have world peace one day which is a place everyone should have respect for one another irrespective of the race, tribe, country, religion and political ideology. I heard about what happened in Charlottesville on the internet and I must confess that it is not a good sign about the love for humanity.
In many ways we are in better days. We always hope for way more better days for the coming days. Thank you so much for your thoughtful comment. Have a wonderful day.
Well said. I join you in the prayers for world peace. it might not be tomorrow but surely the world will get through this whole mess someday.
When I saw the pictures the first thing entered my mind was the gunman attacked innocent people in some part of U.S and there’s one in Virgina, where a gunman shot a congressman and died, it happened on a baseball field in Virginia. It’s a consequential issue related to crime and it should be taken seriously. In spite of shootings happened in that town probably, they dont want to add more scare to people and making a joke is one way to put a little smile to people around the state. However, not all people would understand it as a joke especially when you know the place well. I’d think everywhere we go let’s just be cautious or be pickier where would you like to enjoy your vacation without anything to worry about.
You made a good point.
As long as more and more customers keep returning back to the restaurant, the owner of the restaurant probably won’t remove the poster. Some businessmen don’t mind offending a small amount of customers to make more money. That’s what I’m getting from the poster.
These signs may be there just as a joke, but it is far from funny. It has really made me wonder why people just can’t respect the uniqueness and individuality of every race, color, religion and ethnicity? I really can’t comprehend people who believe that there is a master race nor that a religion is stereotyped just because of a few evil ones. History has proven to us time and time again that these kind of thinking and behavior is destructive, and the Charlottesville incident is another example of that. Everyone wants world peace, but not all of us want to agree to disagree on trivial matters such as this. It is trivial for me because this should not be a big deal anymore. It is the 21st century and people still condemn others just for being who they are, others even calling themselves Neo Nazis? How horrible can you be to still think that despite knowing how twisted their ideals were and the millions of people who suffered because of it? We are all humans who feel, care, love, and dream despite our color and religious affiliation and we are all equal.
Well said. People have fought for the sake of of humanity too many times. I agree with you that days of such evil should not be there anymore.
Thank you for visiting and commenting. Have a wonderful weekend.
Posters like that is no joke. It may seem for the locals but not a good one. Not only will it scare new customers but the impression it makes to the people who are not used to it. You can always put some pleasant quotes or riddles instead just to create an impressive propaganda. So the point in here is that the owner of the restaurant may have the right to put what ever poster he would want to but with the caution of not hurting or discriminating anyone who comes around!!!
Definitely. People have different perceptions about jokes and surprises. It is safe to choose innocent-looking ones. Thank you for visiting and commenting. Have a wonderful weekend.
I wouldn’t hang a poster like that no matter how strong my sense of humor is. It’s just too risky for the normal functioning of the business and may scare off some customers. It’s true that customers who recognize the humor will likely decide to come back, but at the same time, there is also a small percentage of those who may walk away not knowing it’s just a humor.
Well said. Thank you for visiting and commenting. Have a wonderful weekend.
Your experience will creep out the he** out of me. I am a cautious person and if I have kids with me, the more I’m extra careful. I’d just look for another restaurant if I am in that situation. But nonetheless the restaurant has only a strong sense of humor.
Yes, parents are generally extra cautious when children are with them. Thank you for visiting and commenting.