"talk to us"

2008 - JULY 25

westlake center (with rachel) in seattle, washington, usa

Rachel just became unemployed and decided she wanted to join me in the "Talk To Us" sessions. We went around 6:00pm to Westlake Center, and initially, people were really reluctant. We decided it was maybe because it was around rush hour and people were in a rush to get home; it got better later on.

---

The Two Dudes I Couldn't Really Understand
The first two people to talk to us stopped by and talked to us, but it was an awkward convo. They were two African-American kids that were really hard to understand. One was wearing one of those handkerchiefs around his face and didn't talk. The other one was friendly, but he was a little odd. He said he was going to stand on the street corner to be a "living, breathing stereotype," and he was going to be the "angry black guy standing on the corner." A little random and kind of funny. but kinda very random.

The Dude From Louisiana
This guy was nice, nice. He walked by us at first (after giving us a smile), but came back right after. He asked us how many people had talked to us, and we said not many. He said, "That's Seattle for ya!" and I said, "Usually, it's a lot better than this." He said that if it had been Louisiana we were in -- where he is from -- everyone would've stopped to talk to us, ask us what we were doing, and invite us to their homes. He didn't have much to say, though, other than the fact that he was meeting up with his friend. He basically just wanted to say that he thought things like this were great because they make people stop and think, and help people understand that other people exist.

The Guy I Argued With
This guy had an extremely interesting way of looking at things. He was the fourth black male to stop and talk to us! Four out of four! Anyway. He aske me if I was a citizen, and I said I was. Then he said, "I don't know if I'm a citizen sometimes," and I naturally asked him why. He said, "Because I'm black," and then he said, "Well, at least you have some rights." That brought a tear to his eye, because he thought I meant that black people don't have all the rights. I don't necessarily think that, but I said some because I figured he was thinking that if he said he didn't know sometimes if he was a citizen because he was black. Miscommunication.

Anyhow, some other stuff transpired, and he asked me if I was in school. I said I'd graduated, and that I had been a Sociology major. He asked me what the solution to the world's problems was. I said I didn't know. He said, "You have a Sociology degree, but you don't know?" and then proceeded to tell me I was a "clone" because I had a Sociology degree -- that having a degree and going to college made people clones. To which I responded, "What if I didn't think it was necessary?" and he said, "It's too late. You're already indoctrinated."

He then went off on how no one wants to solve the problems in the world because they would be without a job -- that sociologists would go on to become social workers, but they would only social work enough to solve the problem a little but not 100% because they simply wanted to keep their own jobs secure. He thought that solving the problem of homelessness or of the poor would mean the jobs of social workers would be eradicated. I didn't know how to argue against that.

At some point while he was bitching and crying, I kind of started to yell at him, and I said, "You don't like rich people. You don't like people with degrees because you think they're clones. You don't like social workers because you don't believe they're trying to make a difference. Who do you like, then? It's not like poor people aren't trying to be not poor anymore."

He didn't have anything to say about that and sat there for a while, silently. And then after a while, I said, "Nothing to say?" and he said, "Popcorn that's put in a pan is still popcorn if it doesn't explode," or something like that. I didn't understand.

Then he said something about how Martin Luther King was once asked why he was looking melancholy, and he said he was looking melancholy because he was thought he was trying to integrate his people into a burning house. And he said some crap about how fire changes things and that for change to be made, America must burn. I was all a little confused by this.

The Friends Of The Guy I Was Arguing With
At some point, a few people interrupted -- people who knew the guy I was arguing with. There was one large African-American dude and his wife (maybe). They were yammering on about god and religion. They asked the guy I was arguing with if he'd spread the word about god yet to me, and he said he was getting there. And the god guy said, "Well, I'll leave you to it, then," and left.

Well, the guy never did share anything about god, thank god, but if you're going to talk to me about clones, what about religious clones?? TALK ABOUT CLONES. anyway.

The Homeless Lady Who Was Confusing
Another lady came by, staring at our signs for a long, long time without saying much. She finally came by and asked if we were in school or something, and the guy i was arguing with (who knew the lady) said that I had a Sociology degree. Apparently, they knew each other from a soup kitchen or something, and she asked me if I knew where that soup kitchen was. I said yes. She asked if I'd been there, and I said no. and then the guy I was arguing with said, "She wouldn't ever be going there. She has a sociology degree." Bitter much? That's pretty much the gist of it.

The CouchSurfer From Finland
Unfortnately, I didn't get to talk to this guy because I was too busy arguing with the one guy, and Rachel was talking to him. He was from Finland and was basically just CouchSurfing across the United States (which was funny, because I had just signed up for the site the day before), and had used RideShare to get a ride to Seattle from Wyoming or something.

The Homeless Guy Trying To Save Us
At some point here, the security guards came by and shooed us away because we were sitting on Westlake property, and no one was supposed to loiter there (we'd long seen the signs but ignored them!). Another homeless guy who had a sign asking for $20 was trying to save us, telling them that we didn't want money and that we just wanted to talk to people, but we ended up getting shooed away anyway. Nice of him, though. We just went to the planters across the walkway from where we were, and that worked out fine. It was literally like a three foot distance from where we were.

The Game Producer From Massachusetts
This guy was pretty much just trying to kill time while his friend was doing something else. He was here for a Microsoft meeting and had just moved to Boston. He was a producer (?) for Lord Of The Rings Online. I didn't talk to him that much -- mostly just small talk. Upper-middle class white guy. He said it was cool that he goes into meetings and just discusses hit points all day. Haha.

The "Jesus Loves You" Lady
She asked us, "What do you want to talk about?" and we said, "Anything." She said, "Did you know that Jesus loves you?" (The Massachusetts guy was still here and obviously uninterested when she came by.) We answered in the negatory. She continued by saying that god would show himself to me sometime. I said, "I hope he does, because if he doesn't, I will never believe him." She left on that note.

The Casual Game And Toy Creator From Los Angeles
This guy's name was Ferad or something. he said he had tried to make up a story for his name before, since no one had actually heard of that name. He said he used to make up stories about where the name was from but that he'd forgotten it. I said he should say something about the fact that he is a prince, and he said it was something similar to that. Haha. Anyway, he was a freelance casual game designer and was just up here to crash some conference or something. He had bought an eye mask from Daiso, which is a Japanese dollar store. I asked why, and he said, Christmas -- whatever that means. *__* He was very patient... when the Christian guy (see next guy) was babbling on and on and on, he was obviously uninterested but still stuck around until the guy was finished. *__*

The "Jesus Loves You" Man
Clones much? As if his wife asking us, "Did you know that Jesus loves you?" wasn't enough (see previous), he comes by and says, "Talk to you about what?" and we say, "Anything." he responds by saying, "Did you know that Jesus loves you?" I mean, come on guy! Nice thoughts ad all, but you're a bit too um... clone-like! Except, whereas his wife backed off really fast, this guy shared personal stories for muuuuuch too long. There was the Massachusetts guy still hanging around, and Ferad, and everyone was stuck listening to how he used to be an alcoholic but was no longer one and that Jesus saved him. He told us that if we had a bible, we should read john 3:16, and I mean, come on. Pick a better verse. Any fool off the street can tell us to read that verse, and I've remembered that verse since I was a little kid. He was nice and jolly though, so I can't fault him too much, and they didn't argue about no one being interested in Jesus. They mostly just spread positive vibes, despite the fact that they were preaching, so I'm kinda mostly okay with it even though it was just a little boring.

As they were leaving, the wife regaled a story about how one of her friends got shot in the head and got in two accidents on the way to the hospital, and that he died and went to hell, and when he came back, he knew he didn't want to go back to hell, so he changed his life. She said he had been a bad man prior to that. Well, that's certainly interesting. I thought she was going to say something about how he got shot, and then started believing in god, but at least this story has slightly more weight to it. Then they went on their merry ways.

They were, though, in my long times of doing this, the first couple that actually straight-out preached to us. Other people have given pamphlets or done run-by, "Jesus loooves yoooooouuuu!"'s, but they were the first ones that actually stopped and TRIED to make a difference, so kudos to them on that, although their plights fell on deaf years. Before leaving, the lady also kept saying, "He's going to make a difference in your life" -- to me in particular -- and she also said at some point that she wished she could witness it when it happened. If she were a little more um, not fanatical about Christianity, I would have maybe given her my info or gotten hers to see if it ever happened. But no. No thanks.

The Friend Of The LOTR Online Guy The friend of the LOTR guy had been buying a drink in Starbucks, and when he came out, he got me and rachel drinks (this all while the couple was preaching). He said, "You must be tired after listening to this guy yammer on!" and we thought it was very kind of him, although I didn't really feel the drink.

The Group Of Kids From Bellingham
This group of kids who had just graduated from high school -- despite the fact that they looked older than Rachel and I -- stopped by after two of the guys, Donovan and Paul, noticed us and came by. Their friends stood a ways away watching until they realized that Donovan and Paul were talking to us just fine and that we weren't terrifying... and then it was all good even though the fact that we were surrounded by a wall of kids was kinda scary. *__*

They were in perfect male-female order! Going female-male-female-male-female-male. The kids had driven down two hours from Bellingham or whatever just to watch Dark Knight in IMAX. That's dedication right there. They all loved it. Donovan works at Colophon Cafe in Bellingham. He told me to look him up if I went there this weekend -- which I planned to. Paul said Bellingham was kinda hippie and that people would DEFINITELY talk to us there.

Anyway, when they first walked up, paul was mentioning that people did "Free hugs" in Bellingham, and I said that I felt free hugs weren't intimate enough. The girl to the left of him asked, "Can I get a hug, though?" and I said yes, and we exchanged huggles.

And then we talked a bit about Donovan's totally mangled shoes that were orange and green and looked like they had been destroyed. They had been signed by Flogging Molly. He was also wearing red and blue socks. AWESOME. Apparently paul's shoes had been set on fire seven times -- which I wanted to ask him about, but there was way too much conversation going on.

All in all, cool kids, and they asked us if there was anywhere in the Westlake area to eat that was cheap. We said no and told them to walk ten blocks east to Capitol Hill to find something to eat. i gave them a REDEFINE card telling them to check it out since they obviously liked music (at least, liked Flogging Molly). That was all after I said that people always thought we were selling things when we weren't... but they said it was okay since this time the selling of things came after the talking and that it was an effective method of selling things. And off they went.