Why do I bother going out?

Hey world! 

Okay, despite being on fast, I still go out with my friends and meet people, etc., etc.  I enjoy it for themost part -- I like to see the different ways people smile or laugh, the way they fidget with their clothes or napkins, and usually I think of ways to write down their mannerisms, or incorporate them into a story of some kind.  Plus people are funny!

But then, every now and again, some gentleman will catch my eye and I decide he might be fine to speak to.  All downhill from there.  I met a nice young man yesterday, with light brown wavy hair and a sharp fuzz of light stubble on his chin. He was wearing a pinstripe jacket and drinking Bud Light.

Yes, Bud Light.  I probably should have stopped right there.  He was sitting in front of an array of quality beers on tap and opted for a Bud Light in a bottle.

Continuing, I think he's relatively intelligent, likes dogs, lives nearby, all good things.  Then I find out he just got out of the Navy.  That's not a dealbreaker. My dad was an Army man, it's not intrinsically a bad thing, just a bit different than most people that live around the Berkeley area. 

Then somehow the conversation steers toward the fact that someone of mixed heritage, such as being part Hispanic, could be paid more and given more opportunity for advancement in the Navy. 

Oooh, danger, Will Robinson! 

At first I refused to even go down that road.  But after much cajoling, I admitted the idea made since to me. I understood it because from the multi-lingual perspective, would it not behoove the military to have someone that can communicate in foreign countries?  Pinstripes did not have such a liberal perspective.  I guess gunfire is the universal language.  This convo continues into a discussion of immigration and affirmative action, upon which we did not see eye to eye (why he would even bring this up to a non-white person such as myself will never be clear to me...for an affirmation of his feelings, maybe?).  It was like talking to a wall, which was, I'm sure, what it felt like from his perspective as well.

The interaction begs the question: why do I bother going out?  I walk into Berkeley of all places and meet the one backward thinking person there.  I'm cursed, I swear!  Check the "currently reading" image.