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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I live in Wisconsin so I see these signs all the time. I can understand that they might seem a bit unsettling at first glance, but they must be taken in context with the area surrounding them. If I walked in after reading them and saw I was in a biker bar filled with buck teeth and mullets, then yes I would probably rethink my decision to eat there. But, generally, those signs are just put up in good fun to entertain the customers. It often becomes a fun game to see who can find the most outlandish saying.
I did not think that such posters would be common in Wisconsin but I know that they are common in the South. I agree with you that location and context may make a fun activity uncomfortable for others.
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The problem with the United States is precisely that, you just don’t know if they are joking or if they are being serious. I’m sure there are places out there somewhere where they have a similar sign but are 100% serious about it. I’m glad that it was only a joke this time and you were able to enjoy the restaurant. I’m sure a lot of people will enjoy the joking nature of the restaurant. What type of food did you guys order in the end?
Thank you for your thoughtful comment. I agree with you; sometimes it is hard to realize what is a joke and what is not these days. I can barely remember what we ate there. I far I can recall, Sandwiches. The food was great. Dear Son ate a hotdog.
Thank you for visiting and commenting. Have a wonderful day.
The restaurant knows how to attract customers. Those signs are really nerve-racking signs at a glance. But that was a good idea though.
Peace to everyone. Let love triumph over hatred.
Haha … yes, definitely a good business strategy. New comers will remember the restaurant for a long time. 🙂 Peace. Thank you for visiting and commenting. Have a wonderful day.
That’s a horrible joke! Thank God that it was only meant for humour.
Rasicm is unhuman thing. It is a bad thing that can happen to anyone. We should always stand against it, let treat others in the way they have to be treated.
Let’ have a open mind. Live and let live 🙂
Definitely, keeping an open mind is all that is needed. Thank you for visiting and commenting. Have a wonderful day.
I strongly agree with you. It’s a very horrible joke. I strongly disagree with any act that recognizes racism, humor or not.
I won’t ever understand what led a human being think he’s superior to another judging by its color and/or race. We already have so much hatred in this world. Hope to live enough to see a united peace. Cheers.
Modern days are way better than the past in terms of judging by color and race. We can definitely look forward to way better days. Thank you for visiting and commenting.
Those type of signs are common in the south. I live in the south so, they are a normal part of daily life. We hunt, we fish, we have a backwoods sort of sense of humor. Signs like that are meant to make you smile and, tell you that we love God, good music and, America and, we don’t like criminals.
First one is the humorous equivalent of a “No Trespassing” or “Shoplifters Will Be Prosecuted” sign, second one is simply stating what we like. Nothing to be upset over or offended by in the south – that’s just how we roll.
It has nothing to do with any hatred, prejudices or whatever else people want to assume. Those are simply humorous ways to post what needs to be posted. Much like the sign at my home which depicts a hand holding a revolver and reads “Never mind the dog, beware of owner.” It’s a humorous “No Trespassing” sign. I would never shoot someone and, would turn my dogs loose if I felt they were a threat but, the sign is funny and, I do like to shoot for hunting and, in shooting competitions so, it fits with that quite well.
Haha … Thank you for explaining in great details. I know about such fun-signs in the south. The signs in this post were in the New Mexico sate. Such signs are not common there.
Thank you so much for taking the time to write such a long and informative comment. Have a wonderful weekend ahead.
Wow, that’s just terrible! That is scary as hell, and to think that they all cared about is how the ammo would cost was just a bad joke (if that was even a joke).
It is scary for someone who has rarely seen such jokes. People have different ways of enjoying time. It is fine as longs as it does not harm anyone or it does not harm anyone’s feeling.
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Rather than hate, why not spread some sense of humor instead. Just like this amusing piece here which was quite an enjoyable read. While we can’t treat everything as a joke, it won’t hurt to have a few laughs here and there as we work out our differences. Life would be a lot happier if we could all get along and have a few laughs with each other.
Absolutely. I agree that life would be amazing if there is no hatred. The hope is that human beings still believe in love and empathy. Thank you for visiting and commenting.
I’m black, my wife is white. We’re Canadian.
We drove down to Myrtle Beach last July, and on our way back we stayed overnight at a hotel in Charlottesville. It was a most pleasant stay.
Whether at home or abroad I fully expect a society of consisting good an evil people. I; therefore, fully expect that no matter how careful and descent I am, I can be either treated with the utmost respect or I can catch the hot breath of hell.
Any day in which get to live to tell the tale, I am tremendously thankful.
I am glad to know that you and your family had a wonderful time in the East Coast. Myrtle Beach is really a great place to visit.
I appreciate your comment on this post. Thanks a ton for sharing your thoughts. Most nations in the world are now multicultural. The differentiations are no more institutionalized, rather they are clearly associated with good and evil. As another reader pointed out in this post, color and ethnicity are no more a serious topic to argue on (in a normal society). Rather these are amusing conversation pieces like the signs I shared in this post, unless something evil brings that breath of the hell like in Charlottesville as you mentioned.
Thank you once again for visiting and writing a great comment. Have a wonderful week.
Thank God it was only a joke. Had it be I’m in your shoe on that very day, I will definitely feel the same way and the first thing that will come to my mind is to look for ways to protect my kids.
Honestly, I don’t really know what has come over this generation, the desire to be more superior than others has become the order of the day. To me, I think we are the same regardless of the skin colour.
Definitely, diversity is a part of most nations now, if not all. We all always seek for better days and hope for the best. Thank you. Best regards.
America is a multicultural country, but it has gone over board with racism problems. I find these signs amusing conversation pieces and nothing else.
Exactly. These signs are just a joke. Charlottesville was not. Thank you for visiting and commenting.
I guess I am a little confused as to why anyone thinks that these signs are racist? Did I misunderstand something here? I see signs like this everywhere and I have never thought of them as racist.
Haha … 🙂 I guess this is related to the region. Many people are not familiar with such jokes. People become cautious when they see signs like “trespassers will be shot”. Similarly, when there is a sign that starts with “Warning: You are entering a … ” and ends with “Proceed at your own risk.”, many people will become cautious, especially those who have rarely seen such signs.
Wow, I would definitely be scared if I had seen such signs around here as well. Especially if I had my son with me… you can never know what crazy people you have around yourself. The Charlottesville only proves this. I am really glad that it was just a joke though.
I am not from America but here, we are very conservative and we sadly have many racist people. I am white myself but I still feel like racism is horrible. I can’t imagine what people go through just because of their skin color. I always encourage my boy to be open minded because we’re all humans!
Thank you for visiting and commenting. The US constitution is very specific about individual’s rights, which are free from any bias based on race, religion, color, or gender. As many people pointed out in the comments section of this post — there are good and not-so-good people everywhere. Good will always overcome the difficulties. Thank you for visiting, commenting, and sharing your thoughts on this. Best regards.
I do understand what you felt in that moment. When we have our kids with us we feel the danger in different ways, sometimes even if there is no danger we just see it coming. When we are alone we don’t get scared so easily.
Thank God it was just the owner sense of humor and not something real!
Yes, the signs were just a joke. You are right — sometimes we are over cautious. Thank you for visiting and commenting.
Haha,what a joke.This would have had my hairs standing.I hate violence with passion.Thanks for sharing.
You are welcome. Thank you for visiting and commenting.
I have to send this to my parents. They’d enjoy it.
Haha . 🙂 Thank you for visiting and commenting. Have a wonderful week ahead.
The violence is very unsettling… Thankfully those signs you read were only jokes… Sigh, humanity cannot all be lost, can it? I won’t give up hope xx
I agree with you — Humanity cannot be lost. May be, it was the frustration speaking at my end. I won’t give up either. Have a wonderful evening.
We are living in the best of times, the worst of times, and we’re having trouble identifying which is which some of the time. Thanks for this post. It puts the worry about the world in context with a real setting and your reactions. My God help us all.
In so many aspects, this is the best to live in. Yet, we have a long way to go to overcome our weaknesses. Thank you for you thoughtful comment. Have a great rest of the weekend.
The first sign I’ve seen often in places and in general I’ve never known it to be more than something for humor. However, the second sign could be considered either for humor, or something much more. I’ve noticed during my own travels around the US that sometimes signs like that are actually representative of a person’s or communities’ feelings. I feel it is rather unfortunate to dismiss others from your life without the opportunity of getting to them personally, but everyone has their own perspective and opinions on life. Though I appear fairly Caucasian, I would also be a bit concerned and on guard walking into a place of business that had such a sign on their door.
Yes, exactly. I get cautious when I see a vive of strong feelings in some signs. It does not matter what colors my family members have. As you said, I just do not want to walk into places with my little one where there is the slightest chance of some happenings.
Thank you for visiting and commenting.
I think less about race than about what makes some people do bad things. I keep hoping good will overcome evil.
Absolutely. Humanity is all that matters. It is not the race, ethnicity, or religion. I do too believe like you, good will always overcome evil. Thank you.
There are good and evil people all over the world.
IT is not a matter of race, but iT is a matter of behavior.
Pity old believes of supiority is coming back by Some people.
IT frightens me!
Kind regards,
I totally agree with you that good and evil have nothing to do with race. Goodness, kindness, and humanity will always overcome all the differences and difficulties. No fear, my friend. Have a great week ahead.
Well said. wherever you go right now there is danger that awaits because there are evil people. Sometimes I dread watching news television all I see is war, rallies, etc. Sometimes I don’t get their point what are they fighting for. It is really their behavior that matters.
So true. Hopefully, the everyone will realize that the fightings are not worth anything. Let there be light.
The perpetrators in Virginia were animals. We need to put an end to such things. We also have to be careful though, not to paint too broad a brush. I knew someone who was killed by a member of a minority community. The killer was a bad, bad person. There are many bad people out there of all races, nationalities, and ethnicities. The death of my friend by one evil person, does not change my opinion of all the good, decent American people of all races, I see every day. God bless America.
Exactly. Good and bad are not associated with race, nationality, or ethnicity. Good and evil are just good and evil.
I am extremely sorry to hear about your friend. I can only imagine your feeling of such a senseless loss.
Have a wonderful Sunday followed by a great week. God bless America.
I was a young mother when the civil rights movement was strong, in Houston, TX. I experienced a lot of hatred and disgust by whites against blacks and Mexican people. I can’t understand how some white people think that they are the best and should be the only ones on our planet. Maybe it results in most religious icons pictured as white. Personally I feel this is ridiculous, since Jesus’ birthplace location. I don’t agree the confederate general statues should be taken down. They are historical figures whether we all agree or not. I don’t believe the confederate flag should fly over the United States flag anywhere anytime. One of my granddaughters is black.She has two Korean brothers and five white brothers and sisters. When living in CO, the people across from them put up a confederate flag showing their disgust. To me it is all upsetting and discouraging and I think Trump’s campaign and presidency have fueled this unrest greatly. Very sad.
You have a so lovely multicultural family. You know what? Your family is all what America is about.
Thank you for visiting and writing a detailed comment. Have a wonderful day.
It’s a sad county we are living in.
What happened in Charlottesville is really sad. Thank you for stopping by.
There is a store in Mayhill, NM that has some seriously racist signs all over the front door. It’s was in the news a couple months ago.
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We didn’t know about the Mayhill store. Thank you for telling us. Have a wonderful Sunday.
Seeing such signs in public is just sadning. Humor or not such signs shouldn’t be put up anywhere in public as it gives a bad impression. I just hope the world can get through this mess someday.