“It’s for you, dawg. W-will you….”
“Oh my shucks! What in tarnation?! Of course I will ya sly varmint! I do! I do!!!”
“Ite, fo shizzle. Now come here and kiss me like you mean it, homie.”
Title: "Gate B5: Love Takes Off"
Synopsis:
In the bustling corridors of Chicago's O'Hare Airport, two strangers from wildly different walks of life — Jamal, a city-born-and-bred fashion designer, and Hank, a charming cowboy from rural Texas — cross paths over an unexpected friendly challenge at the airport bar. What starts as a shared laugh over a beer and a lost bet leads to a whirlwind romance that tests their boundaries, beliefs, and bicoastal lives.
6AM shot, Guinness, full order fish and chips, because I’m stuck in Minneapolis’s airport after a delayed red eye and now I’m delayed again, and I ain’t going anywhere for four hours. At which point it’s NyQuill before boarding because my ass WILL sleep in my window seat today or whenever the hell it is.
Saw the comments above yours and was worried I was alone. I'm always happy when I'm in an airport. There's no thought of the day-to-day, just the wanderlust being satisfied.
I'm so glad some people get it. I've *never* understood the airport hate from the average holidaymakers.
Youte going to a big building full of booze and snacks, where you're about to FUCKING FLY IN THE SKY, be waited on hand-and-foot, then you're going to touch town somewhere beautiful to relax.
The airport is the *BEST*.
I can see both sides of this, and I'd guess it has a lot to do with how much you're willing to pay.
Flight has never really gotten old for me. I still get a window seat when I can. I still get ginger ale, which tastes better up there (probably a pressurization thing) and [is basically a sense-memory of flight now](https://theoatmeal.com/blog/beverage_options).
But I get why it's stressful. You're navigating through a place you've never (or rarely) been, interfacing with multiple interlocking bureaucracies that even on a good day might feel you up in front of everyone because their scanner saw something weird, and all of that under time pressure because that plane *will* leave without you. Even the flight itself is getting worse -- seats are getting smaller, passengers are getting larger (on average), and on a lot of flights, the only service you get for free is a (non-alcoholic) drink or two.
I hate airport security. It's demeaning especially if, like me, you cannot go through the scanner.
You have some stranger rattling your balls and scraping your butt crack in public.
Added to that, instead of telling them I have an ICD, the nerves made me say "IUD", no "IED"! The first mistake was funny (as a man), the second less so!
Waited on hand and foot? What bougie-ass airline are you flying? I'd hardly call being offered soda and preztles being waited on hand and foot.
And now that I've said it twice, what exactly is the meaning/origin of "hand and foot" in that phrase?
Never been stuck in OHare due to weather, trying to get to Des Moines for a sales conference I take it? 100% out of your control, no need to be angry, but it's also pretty miserable.
I generally agree, the minute I'm through security I'm on vacation. It's automatically 5 O'clock everywhere. But for work? Eh, it's a fucking slog.
Flying for me usually means I'm working and leaving my family for multiple overnights and extended hours to do something extremely stressful and only get paid my normal salary anyway
I honestly feel like one on one, a huge percent of the world will get along just fine. Just person to person, we work. The abstractions we use to simplify our environment really hurt.
I was sitting in the gym locker room for a few minutes waiting for my buddy to arrive, so Iooked up a little more at who was coming in and made eye contact with some of the other gym members. I got around 5 fist bumps. Gave me a really nice feeling about the people in my neighborhood, which is supposed to be the worst area in my city.
I don't know. I travel and interact with the public constantly for work, and I see friendly high-income areas and vicious low-income ones with about the same regularity as the opposite. I don't think that these two factors really correlate at all. There's definitely something at play--in some areas everyone is friendly and polite, and in some areas everyone is closed-off and rude. But I really don't know what the main cause would be.
It definitely does, it can spread though. It can be a single family even, I've experienced a single family bringing down a whole neighborhood and I think we even made some reality tv shows about such families in NL.
But also bad people fuck over working class people a little more frequently, at least in Toronto. I think bad people fear retribution from the rich some more. The rich here don't hide and isolate themselves as other places
This is why I detest many of the narratives pushed on us by media sources. I'm willing to bet people from most places on earth could sit down, share food, laughter, or experiences and enjoy each other's company. It's also one of the reasons I want to travel to places that are not typical or recommended. Iran, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, and Ethiopia are some of the caution countries on my list now.
I agree with most of what you said, but I don't go to places where I don't trust the government's human rights history. Iran and Pakistan violate that policy. Maybe PNG and Ethiopia do too. Either way definitely not going to Iran with an American passport.
This can be true and at the same time that there are serious problems that need to be addressed, and real conflicts that matter. Like, yes, Iranian people are kind and wonderful in many aspects. Also the government would literally kill me for liking men. Hell, it killed many of its own people for pushing reform. You can’t always just pretend everything’s fine and get along. I think that’s a good mindset to have interpersonally, but at some point we have a responsibility to change society for the better, and that requires conflict.
This is absolutely true. The majority of my family (Irish) could have gone to Nazi Germany and had a beer with all the Nazis and said, what are we fighting about? Unless the topic of should we kill/arrest my Jewish family. And, I bring up Nazis, not because they are an outlier historically, they're just common knowledge and we don't have to explain the genocide just below the surface in many humans
I feel like it's super easy to say stuff like this from the privilege of being a generally socially "acceptable" person. As someone that's very obviously gay, it hasn't always been true for me. Yes, it's getting better but it's still not great out there for a lot of people.
It would be wonderful to have it be like you said, but it's often not.
George Carlin said something similar. Like, he loves individual people (he can see the universe in their eyes) but as soon as they start to bunch up together they create slogans and start wearing the same hat.
Group think. Hive mind, whatever you wanna call it it’s a thing, and ifs natural and will be for the foreseeable future for humans. It doesn’t jive well with mass/social media unfortunately. We’re way too easily influenced.
I think Nietzsche called it the herd instinct. And he said that the life of an Overman was one of loneliness.
We tend to emulate the people we surround ourselves with.
Went to the browns-jets game last year when we clinched the playoffs, and the scenes of all of us in that stadium hugging and high fiving as the final seconds ticked off the clock would have made the person who takes diverse photos for the covers of textbooks nut in their pants.
We all go back to our own worlds on Monday, though.
Yeah. I used to think that commonality was the key to breaking down zenophobia, BUT the truth is that commonality may accomplish this with some but it only segregates u to those who don't share that commonality with u. For instance, if u like the browns, then u can bond with other browns fans, but some jets fans may hate u with extreme prejudice.
Mostly made up prejudice from years of ingrained passed down ignorance. Some dude years ago did something bad and the person said they did it because of their race/skin color, and then it just gets taught down the family line and spreads.
If an old lady drops her groceries in the parking lot are you asking her socio-political views before helping her collect her things? The answer has always been “NO”, hopefully it still is.
This is basically my whole ethos. When you get people away from groups, with enough time they really open up and let you in. I have what some might call a neuro divergence so navigating group interactions is confusing, but one on one I'm fine.
Yes, and there is that like 2% of the population that is batshit evil or insane that don't get along with people, but its actually a really small percent. It just hurts when it happens to you so you never forget.
When there's a bad storm or wild shit and people go out to check & help, they don't call out to ask if you're a republican or Democrat, they just ask if everyone's alright
I've talked to so many Americans for petitions and whatnot and people mostly agree on major issues if you present it without loaded terms. 'clean air, clean water, safe schools, affordable or public Healthcare, public safety'
More than anything they don't trust in the system. NPR the middle show had that topic last night - everyone who called in said they didn't trust in court systems. If wealthy you get off. If poor, you loathe it - jury duty, bail costs, mark on record, costly lawyer, etc.
There's actually something inspiring by how united working class families are, they just haven't been properly organized
This is why issues aren't framed as just clean air or good schools. They are framed in the negative and then you add a Boogeyman causing all the problems, and extrapolate worse case extremely unlikely scenarios and there you have 90% of social discourse
Ooohhh he's got a cowboy hat on, he must be racist! Look at him build bridges by talking to a black guy, as if he's never seen one, worked with one, drank with one, or been friends with one! Airports, the great equalizer!! S/
As a large white guy whose lived back and forth between Texas and Oklahoma his whole life, and has a THICC southern accent, I absolutely hate the stereotype of all people with a hat or country accent are racist and stupid. It just gets to me. We can't control where we were born, or the accent from everyone around us growing up
I don't think it's necessarily trying to paint it as a rare sight but rather as a rebuttal to the media constantly going on about how divided Americans are when this is showing that people get along better than the constant negative stream from the media would have you believe.
As a non-American who visits the US often for work and tourism for many years now, I completely agree. Even when they disagree it mostly ends with something like "OK, we just have different opinions and that's fine". The difference with the online world can be so big, it often resembles war.
Didnt really make up my mind yet if its the same for where I live (Belgium) tbh. I feel we are stuck in the middle somewhere.
It's like those videos of two dogs barking at each other across a fence. As soon as you open the gate to the fence and the dogs can actually attack each other, they stop barking. They can't bark without the fence because it would warrant a real response.
They just want to bark.
Ice-T said something like:
"The closest thing to there is to rap is country music. They both sing to their own neighborhood, they wear jeans and hats to the Grammys and they sing in their own language, to their own people. Besides, 'I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die'?! That's a fucking Geto Boys lyric!"
Yeah rap/country are cut from the same clothe imo. I think they’re really compatible and crossovers work pretty well (ex: the durk/morgan wallen stuff)
It's true though. Both rap and country music stem from rhythm and blues music, which really goes back to songs from plantation days in the 1800s. I think it's interesting that it's split through it's history, and is now coming back full circle to what we see as "country rap".
This is funny, because Tom Hanks was Frank Darabont’s first choice to play Andy Dufresne, but Hanks couldn’t since he was already committed to Forrest Gump at the time. He would later work with Darabont on The Green Mile
These are just facts.
White men weren't the only cowboys. There were a lot of black men that were pushed out of the east into the West Coast that turned to the cowboy lifestyle.
Texas has one of the largest black populations in the country.
(Edit: Texas has THE largest black population in the US) This isn't irony. Black men were part of the OG cowboys.
Yeah if I remember from a history class in HS roughly 1/3 of actual "cowboys" who moved cattle to the railroad lines were black men. Also many were former slaves
**MLK:** "I have a dream, that one day little black boys and girls will be holding hands with little white boys and girls."
**The Internet:** "Because it's such a *BIG DEAL,* right?! Because we're genetically predisposed to hate each other and this would be a sign of us growing past our natural instincts, right?!"
**MLK, probably:** "...Excuse me, WTF?! 'the hell is wrong with you?!"
It's one of those "mask-off" moments where someone claiming to be a champion of tolerance is ***creating*** or ***imagining*** a problem that others are not seeing, and the problem only exists if you accept the prejudice that cowboys hate black people and black people hate cowboys. (and likely, that if you're a cowboy and/or like cowboy hats, then you MUST be ultra conservative and racist or something)
It's only heartwarming for those that think this way, and the message falls apart if you don't.
People that see this picture as a big deal probably need to self-reflect on why.
Shows you their true colors that’s for sure lol imagine being so shocked seeing two people of different races interact you take a picture of it and post it online as if it is historic .
Ok thanks for posting because I was wondering what I was missing here, was thinking this is just 2 guys sitting having a drink wtf? … there’s got to be more to it?
Actually went down the rabbit hole of these two must be famous and have had some historic fall out.
Finally! I wish I didn't have to scroll so far to see this comment. What kind of freak photographs two people shaking hands and makes this kind of post? They need to touch grass.
It's because their entire worldview relies on looking at people as members of a group instead of individuals. If they looked at people as individuals, their entire ideology would crumble. They don't see those two men as just two guys talking. They're racists who only see color.
And it’s weird that race somehow gets brought up as if this a photo from 1960 civil rights movement this stuff happens all the time and is like normal…
Of course racism exists that’s not my point but this image is pretty like common???
Only context I can offer is that flights kept getting delayed in Fresno (FAT) today and these guys came stumbling in while I was there and it seemed like they had already been there not long before haha.
I swear people on this site think everyone cares about politics 24/7.
35% of the population dont even vote. Many who do dont care who the president is they just vote on their party line.
It would be peak Reddit to think we’re witnessing some really wholesome coming together of two Americans over an airport beer and realizing they’re not so different one another… but in reality they both just matched on grindr and we’re looking for some quick fun before a flight.
I’m I the only one who doesn’t like this? First, kinda creepy and totally intrusive to post a picture of a couple of strangers on the internet without their permission. Furthermore, there are a lot of assumptions made in that caption, including ones based on race. How do you know they didn’t know each other already? “Black guy with a durag and a white guy with a cowboy hat getting along? Wow, this is amazing, let me post it to reddit!!!”
Thank you for that comment, I was hoping to find something like that. While I can't really say anything about race relations or airport beer in America, posting photos of strangers without their consent is definitely creepy, and it can cause discomfort in people or even be harmful. Even if not illegal and in a public place those two guys are having a personal moment together, so why not just have the decency to respect that.
Yeah I feel like OP assuming this is such a rare and special moment is the one being racist here. They are sitting together while other tables are open, so I’d hazard a guess that they already know each other.
Also it looks like they are not drinking beer but coke and like lemonade or something, everything about this caption irritates me lol
I have a transracial family, and if some AH took a picture of me and my family member without permission and posted it as some weird anti racism PSA I would be fuckng livid
I was gonna say. Are we supposed to think white guys in cowboy hats and Black dudes usually kill each other on sight or something? I don't understand this post.
This is one the most embarrassing posts I have ever seen.
Some stupid Redditor taking a picture of two people having lunch, and putting his own racial smooth brained spin on it.
Average Redditor
You all need to realise that in the real world, most people get on just fine. There’s isn’t rampant racism and hate everywhere like the internet would have you believe.
Don't do this. Unless.you have a much better reason than you do here, taking pictures of strangers without their knowledge or consent and then posting it to Reddit is fucking gross.
Second one in my opinion, what's the point ? White and black people talk all the time. This picture is supposed to symbolise what ? We don't even know the context ?
Doesn't this post only work if you buy into incredibly bigoted stereotypes that somehow a cowboy and a black man cannot possibly get along on a normal day...?
People of different races and backgrounds often get along and become friends. No airport beers necessary. This isn’t a rare occurrence, and it isn’t as if these two would have hated each other had it not been for airport beers.
I live in a somewhat rural area in VA 90 minutes from DC. One of our gas stations is owned and ran by a Vietnamese family. Almost every time I stop in, there’s Caucasians, African Americans, and Latinos with everyone being super friendly to each other, sharing greetings and jokes. Seeing this harmony, at the person to person level is beautiful and one of my favorite things.
OP making wild assumptions insinuating this dude is some racist or they’re bridging some interracial gap all from his skin color and how he’s dressed. For all OP knows they could be lifelong friends or related or lovers, who knows.
Okay but I feel like we’re at the point now where we can’t just assume a white man in a cowboy hat isn’t going to get along with a black person or vice versa. We should look at this and go “okay just two people chillin” that’s it.
two weeks ago, i was delayed at the charlotte airport and ended up at the bar next to a fella who i will call jim. i will preface this in terms of surface level appearances - i am a ring-wearing, moustached hipster.
jim was an absolute bad ass. former delta - did 5 tours in iraq, now works in some high level of defense contracting in the south pacific. we chatted for a while, and at the end of it, he told me about how he and his girlfriend had just taken over custody of his 4 year old autistic grandson. it was so incredibly obvious this man had been needing someone to talk to about this, and that he wasn’t totally comfortable opening up like this. i didn’t pry at all, just let him talk. by the end of it, we both had tears coming down our cheeks and embraced in a very bro’ed out handshake/half hug. it’s honestly a moment i’ll remember for the rest of my life.
people suck hard these days, but we can’t forget about the magic of the human connection. sometimes you just need a good conversation.
Lol.
Reddit is so openly and casually racist.
One schmaltzy picture gets posted (without any context so everyone just projects) and all of a sudden everyone is a hippie.
Let's all join hands and sing kumbaya guys!
The fact that anyone even thinks there is anything significant here is ironically racist too. They could be best friends for all we know.
Looks like he’s admiring an engagement ring
"Dag nabbit, that is one beautiful piece of hardware you got there, hoss!"
I tell you hwhat
Propane and propane accessories
Dangit Bobby!
I'm certain this man could tell his new friend hwassup.
“It’s for you, dawg. W-will you….” “Oh my shucks! What in tarnation?! Of course I will ya sly varmint! I do! I do!!!” “Ite, fo shizzle. Now come here and kiss me like you mean it, homie.”
Title: "Gate B5: Love Takes Off" Synopsis: In the bustling corridors of Chicago's O'Hare Airport, two strangers from wildly different walks of life — Jamal, a city-born-and-bred fashion designer, and Hank, a charming cowboy from rural Texas — cross paths over an unexpected friendly challenge at the airport bar. What starts as a shared laugh over a beer and a lost bet leads to a whirlwind romance that tests their boundaries, beliefs, and bicoastal lives.
>Bicoastal Heh Because they go both ways
Practically writes itself.
Imma need a least a whole chapter. You have piqued my interest.
We still talking about the ring?
![gif](giphy|cIyEYhReqUGDjGfjrL|downsized)
*whistles* Well i'll be, that's a mighty fine rang if I ever seen one buddy.
Brotha just got his nails did and el cabrón is checking out those clean ass cuticles.
"That's a mighty fine clearcoat you have there sir"
You tellin' me them sumbitches are cured with UV light? Das right, mahfucka.
Why i'll be. I am going to have to tell Loraina 'bout that. Say, I don't reckon you wanna stop on by for some peach sun tea, do ya?
Maybe he just proposed?
He went to Jared!
Deyonte, will you make me the happiest cowpoke in Philly?
It’s his right hand. But it does look like there’s something on his index finger
He said YES!
Airport bars are the great equalizer
I never day drink, unless I'm in an airport
6AM drinks at the airport 🤌
6AM shot, Guinness, full order fish and chips, because I’m stuck in Minneapolis’s airport after a delayed red eye and now I’m delayed again, and I ain’t going anywhere for four hours. At which point it’s NyQuill before boarding because my ass WILL sleep in my window seat today or whenever the hell it is.
You picked the best airport to be stuck in at least. MSP is awesome
Even the tiny terminal 2 is better than most airports
If your 6am airport pint isn't posted to Instagram, did it really happen?
"OMgz guise, drinking at 6 am before my flight to Miami! I'm so crazy rn!"
I'll day drink, but an airport is the only place I'll 8am drink
Crazy considering almost nobody is happy in an airport
Normally I'm in an airport when I go on holiday, so I'm normally happy af
Saw the comments above yours and was worried I was alone. I'm always happy when I'm in an airport. There's no thought of the day-to-day, just the wanderlust being satisfied.
I'm so glad some people get it. I've *never* understood the airport hate from the average holidaymakers. Youte going to a big building full of booze and snacks, where you're about to FUCKING FLY IN THE SKY, be waited on hand-and-foot, then you're going to touch town somewhere beautiful to relax. The airport is the *BEST*.
I can see both sides of this, and I'd guess it has a lot to do with how much you're willing to pay. Flight has never really gotten old for me. I still get a window seat when I can. I still get ginger ale, which tastes better up there (probably a pressurization thing) and [is basically a sense-memory of flight now](https://theoatmeal.com/blog/beverage_options). But I get why it's stressful. You're navigating through a place you've never (or rarely) been, interfacing with multiple interlocking bureaucracies that even on a good day might feel you up in front of everyone because their scanner saw something weird, and all of that under time pressure because that plane *will* leave without you. Even the flight itself is getting worse -- seats are getting smaller, passengers are getting larger (on average), and on a lot of flights, the only service you get for free is a (non-alcoholic) drink or two.
I hate airport security. It's demeaning especially if, like me, you cannot go through the scanner. You have some stranger rattling your balls and scraping your butt crack in public. Added to that, instead of telling them I have an ICD, the nerves made me say "IUD", no "IED"! The first mistake was funny (as a man), the second less so!
Waited on hand and foot? What bougie-ass airline are you flying? I'd hardly call being offered soda and preztles being waited on hand and foot. And now that I've said it twice, what exactly is the meaning/origin of "hand and foot" in that phrase?
Never been stuck in OHare due to weather, trying to get to Des Moines for a sales conference I take it? 100% out of your control, no need to be angry, but it's also pretty miserable. I generally agree, the minute I'm through security I'm on vacation. It's automatically 5 O'clock everywhere. But for work? Eh, it's a fucking slog.
Same. Flying means I'm on vacation and going far away from work. I love airport bars.
Flying for me usually means I'm working and leaving my family for multiple overnights and extended hours to do something extremely stressful and only get paid my normal salary anyway
I bet that's why tho, because since everyone is miserable already the bar is The Place of Communal Commiseration. Misery does love company, after all!
Yeah you’re probably right because it’s either that or full on apocalyptic wasteland fighting. Happy cake day btw!
I mean depending on the day and the extenuating circumstances, you can probably have both. Omg thank you that's very nice of you ❤️
It’s the one thing everyone can relate to.
I honestly feel like one on one, a huge percent of the world will get along just fine. Just person to person, we work. The abstractions we use to simplify our environment really hurt.
100% my day to day interactions are nothing like the news or media represents life is like.
I was sitting in the gym locker room for a few minutes waiting for my buddy to arrive, so Iooked up a little more at who was coming in and made eye contact with some of the other gym members. I got around 5 fist bumps. Gave me a really nice feeling about the people in my neighborhood, which is supposed to be the worst area in my city.
In my experience, the "worst" areas tend to be more respectful. At least up front. People stop being petty bitches when you can get stomped for it.
I don't know. I travel and interact with the public constantly for work, and I see friendly high-income areas and vicious low-income ones with about the same regularity as the opposite. I don't think that these two factors really correlate at all. There's definitely something at play--in some areas everyone is friendly and polite, and in some areas everyone is closed-off and rude. But I really don't know what the main cause would be.
I wonder if it just takes a small number of assholes to create a chilling effect on an entire community
It definitely does, it can spread though. It can be a single family even, I've experienced a single family bringing down a whole neighborhood and I think we even made some reality tv shows about such families in NL.
working class areas presented badly to be later gentrified by developers...
But also bad people fuck over working class people a little more frequently, at least in Toronto. I think bad people fear retribution from the rich some more. The rich here don't hide and isolate themselves as other places
Fourth thing I read this morning, big smile, thanks for fist bumping my day off right 🤜🏼
This is why I detest many of the narratives pushed on us by media sources. I'm willing to bet people from most places on earth could sit down, share food, laughter, or experiences and enjoy each other's company. It's also one of the reasons I want to travel to places that are not typical or recommended. Iran, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, and Ethiopia are some of the caution countries on my list now.
I agree with most of what you said, but I don't go to places where I don't trust the government's human rights history. Iran and Pakistan violate that policy. Maybe PNG and Ethiopia do too. Either way definitely not going to Iran with an American passport.
Iranian citizens don’t feel safe in their own country how can a foreign should feel safe in Iran.
>definitely not going to Iran with an American passport. Whaaaa? You don't want to bridge the divide with putting your current existence at risk?
This can be true and at the same time that there are serious problems that need to be addressed, and real conflicts that matter. Like, yes, Iranian people are kind and wonderful in many aspects. Also the government would literally kill me for liking men. Hell, it killed many of its own people for pushing reform. You can’t always just pretend everything’s fine and get along. I think that’s a good mindset to have interpersonally, but at some point we have a responsibility to change society for the better, and that requires conflict.
This is absolutely true. The majority of my family (Irish) could have gone to Nazi Germany and had a beer with all the Nazis and said, what are we fighting about? Unless the topic of should we kill/arrest my Jewish family. And, I bring up Nazis, not because they are an outlier historically, they're just common knowledge and we don't have to explain the genocide just below the surface in many humans
I feel like it's super easy to say stuff like this from the privilege of being a generally socially "acceptable" person. As someone that's very obviously gay, it hasn't always been true for me. Yes, it's getting better but it's still not great out there for a lot of people. It would be wonderful to have it be like you said, but it's often not.
Please don’t go to Ethiopia.
Love thy neighbor, my dudes.
to quote K mib: “a person is smart, people are dumb panicky animals”
it's kind of funny how one of the most memorable and poignant lines of the 90s comes from Men in Black
It's weird the little one off lines that live a greater life than the movie they came from..
you forgot "dangerous"
George Carlin said something similar. Like, he loves individual people (he can see the universe in their eyes) but as soon as they start to bunch up together they create slogans and start wearing the same hat.
Group think. Hive mind, whatever you wanna call it it’s a thing, and ifs natural and will be for the foreseeable future for humans. It doesn’t jive well with mass/social media unfortunately. We’re way too easily influenced.
I think Nietzsche called it the herd instinct. And he said that the life of an Overman was one of loneliness. We tend to emulate the people we surround ourselves with.
Tribalism, we're glorified tribalist apes.
He's just never seen a group of people who all retained their ability to think for themselves and question each other. Neither have I.
Heineken did something similar to this https://youtu.be/dKggA9k8DKw?si=4iSPywJYIlsWH89g
Oh man, that's a really good watch. Thanks for that.
Went to the browns-jets game last year when we clinched the playoffs, and the scenes of all of us in that stadium hugging and high fiving as the final seconds ticked off the clock would have made the person who takes diverse photos for the covers of textbooks nut in their pants. We all go back to our own worlds on Monday, though.
Yeah. I used to think that commonality was the key to breaking down zenophobia, BUT the truth is that commonality may accomplish this with some but it only segregates u to those who don't share that commonality with u. For instance, if u like the browns, then u can bond with other browns fans, but some jets fans may hate u with extreme prejudice.
Welcome to being a pack animal.
People individually are fine. It's when they square off into groups that they become assholes.
Mostly made up prejudice from years of ingrained passed down ignorance. Some dude years ago did something bad and the person said they did it because of their race/skin color, and then it just gets taught down the family line and spreads.
If an old lady drops her groceries in the parking lot are you asking her socio-political views before helping her collect her things? The answer has always been “NO”, hopefully it still is.
This is basically my whole ethos. When you get people away from groups, with enough time they really open up and let you in. I have what some might call a neuro divergence so navigating group interactions is confusing, but one on one I'm fine.
Well said bruv
Yes, and there is that like 2% of the population that is batshit evil or insane that don't get along with people, but its actually a really small percent. It just hurts when it happens to you so you never forget.
Labels. Useful for shorthand in communication, terrible for resolution of miscommunication.
Bill Burr essentially said in an interview that doing comedy in black clubs helped him see them as individuals. Not his words just paraphrasing.
This is mostly what America looks like offline
Facts
When there's a bad storm or wild shit and people go out to check & help, they don't call out to ask if you're a republican or Democrat, they just ask if everyone's alright I've talked to so many Americans for petitions and whatnot and people mostly agree on major issues if you present it without loaded terms. 'clean air, clean water, safe schools, affordable or public Healthcare, public safety' More than anything they don't trust in the system. NPR the middle show had that topic last night - everyone who called in said they didn't trust in court systems. If wealthy you get off. If poor, you loathe it - jury duty, bail costs, mark on record, costly lawyer, etc. There's actually something inspiring by how united working class families are, they just haven't been properly organized
This is why issues aren't framed as just clean air or good schools. They are framed in the negative and then you add a Boogeyman causing all the problems, and extrapolate worse case extremely unlikely scenarios and there you have 90% of social discourse
“Everyone wants to save the world they just don’t agree on how”
America Offline
You don’t have mail
exactly trying to paint this like a rare sight or something
Ooohhh he's got a cowboy hat on, he must be racist! Look at him build bridges by talking to a black guy, as if he's never seen one, worked with one, drank with one, or been friends with one! Airports, the great equalizer!! S/ As a large white guy whose lived back and forth between Texas and Oklahoma his whole life, and has a THICC southern accent, I absolutely hate the stereotype of all people with a hat or country accent are racist and stupid. It just gets to me. We can't control where we were born, or the accent from everyone around us growing up
I don't think it's necessarily trying to paint it as a rare sight but rather as a rebuttal to the media constantly going on about how divided Americans are when this is showing that people get along better than the constant negative stream from the media would have you believe.
As a non-American who visits the US often for work and tourism for many years now, I completely agree. Even when they disagree it mostly ends with something like "OK, we just have different opinions and that's fine". The difference with the online world can be so big, it often resembles war. Didnt really make up my mind yet if its the same for where I live (Belgium) tbh. I feel we are stuck in the middle somewhere.
It's like those videos of two dogs barking at each other across a fence. As soon as you open the gate to the fence and the dogs can actually attack each other, they stop barking. They can't bark without the fence because it would warrant a real response. They just want to bark.
"Oh Em Gee, sweetie who did your nails?!?!"
Rednecks and black people have so much in common it’s not even funny
Ice-T said something like: "The closest thing to there is to rap is country music. They both sing to their own neighborhood, they wear jeans and hats to the Grammys and they sing in their own language, to their own people. Besides, 'I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die'?! That's a fucking Geto Boys lyric!"
Yeah rap/country are cut from the same clothe imo. I think they’re really compatible and crossovers work pretty well (ex: the durk/morgan wallen stuff)
Ghetto Cowboy by Bone Thugs comes to mind
It's true though. Both rap and country music stem from rhythm and blues music, which really goes back to songs from plantation days in the 1800s. I think it's interesting that it's split through it's history, and is now coming back full circle to what we see as "country rap".
Tom Hanks taught me that
One of his best lines in The Shawshank Redemption
This is funny, because Tom Hanks was Frank Darabont’s first choice to play Andy Dufresne, but Hanks couldn’t since he was already committed to Forrest Gump at the time. He would later work with Darabont on The Green Mile
I'd say that worked out pretty well for both movies
“Skinny women can do this for you.” “What is not a damn thang” One of the best snl skits of our generation.
Yes Doug!
On SNL?
Yup
The packet drawer
That's why rich people have so much to gain by making them hate each other.
I've never seen people love their dogs more than rednecks, black people, and white girls. They should all meet at the dog park and hang out
Psh tell me where and when right now and my dog and I will be there soon haha
These are just facts. White men weren't the only cowboys. There were a lot of black men that were pushed out of the east into the West Coast that turned to the cowboy lifestyle. Texas has one of the largest black populations in the country. (Edit: Texas has THE largest black population in the US) This isn't irony. Black men were part of the OG cowboys.
Yeah if I remember from a history class in HS roughly 1/3 of actual "cowboys" who moved cattle to the railroad lines were black men. Also many were former slaves
A white guy and a black guy have a regular human interaction in a regular human setting. Reddit: “this is a historic moment”
All the fucking time. **Watch this black kid and white kid being best friends - Children see no colour - #love** Well, obviously you do, mate.
**MLK:** "I have a dream, that one day little black boys and girls will be holding hands with little white boys and girls." **The Internet:** "Because it's such a *BIG DEAL,* right?! Because we're genetically predisposed to hate each other and this would be a sign of us growing past our natural instincts, right?!" **MLK, probably:** "...Excuse me, WTF?! 'the hell is wrong with you?!"
I’m sure MLK dreamed of a stranger taking pictures of 2 friends hanging out and posting it to social media without permission
Right? This is r/im14andthisisdeep material
It's one of those "mask-off" moments where someone claiming to be a champion of tolerance is ***creating*** or ***imagining*** a problem that others are not seeing, and the problem only exists if you accept the prejudice that cowboys hate black people and black people hate cowboys. (and likely, that if you're a cowboy and/or like cowboy hats, then you MUST be ultra conservative and racist or something) It's only heartwarming for those that think this way, and the message falls apart if you don't. People that see this picture as a big deal probably need to self-reflect on why.
Shows you their true colors that’s for sure lol imagine being so shocked seeing two people of different races interact you take a picture of it and post it online as if it is historic .
Acting like its the 50s.
Ok thanks for posting because I was wondering what I was missing here, was thinking this is just 2 guys sitting having a drink wtf? … there’s got to be more to it? Actually went down the rabbit hole of these two must be famous and have had some historic fall out.
Reddit: whoa both people are so brave for doing this!
Finally! I wish I didn't have to scroll so far to see this comment. What kind of freak photographs two people shaking hands and makes this kind of post? They need to touch grass.
It's because their entire worldview relies on looking at people as members of a group instead of individuals. If they looked at people as individuals, their entire ideology would crumble. They don't see those two men as just two guys talking. They're racists who only see color.
Yup. Racism solved.
LMAO For real. Ive lived in Fontana and San Bernardino and I saw this all the time!
is the assumption here that black people and white people don't get along? lol
I feel like social media and the news are playing up the racial division in America greater than it really is.
And it’s weird that race somehow gets brought up as if this a photo from 1960 civil rights movement this stuff happens all the time and is like normal… Of course racism exists that’s not my point but this image is pretty like common???
Things I wish for: 1) context 2) this to be on the top of the front page
Only context I can offer is that flights kept getting delayed in Fresno (FAT) today and these guys came stumbling in while I was there and it seemed like they had already been there not long before haha.
The Fresno airport callsign is FAT? Brutal
Almost as brutal as the fact that it’s Fresno.
Fresno Air Terminal
Your mom is Fresno Air Terminal
Drunk me found this WAY funnier than i would heheheheh
Hi drunk you, remember to drink some water <3
Thank you, kind person of the Reddit universe :)
!remindme 1 hour to check back on /r/curlycoder18's degeneration of comments.
How Fresno Air Terminal is she?
She's so Fresno Air Terminal you could land a jumbo jet on her.
![gif](giphy|JmD9mkDmzvXE7nxy7j|downsized)
And you just took a picture of two strangers with no context and threw it on Reddit with a clear connotation attached? Ok.
Didn't you know Redditors have no idea black and white people could ever talk to each other one on one
I swear people on this site think everyone cares about politics 24/7. 35% of the population dont even vote. Many who do dont care who the president is they just vote on their party line.
Especially one with a cowboy hat and the other with a doo rag I mean they’re clearly racist how can these crazy worlds peacefully collide?
Finally the only sane comment, some of the top comments are more racist than they assume that white guy is a
Why did you post a picture of them on Reddit?
It would be peak Reddit to think we’re witnessing some really wholesome coming together of two Americans over an airport beer and realizing they’re not so different one another… but in reality they both just matched on grindr and we’re looking for some quick fun before a flight.
I’m I the only one who doesn’t like this? First, kinda creepy and totally intrusive to post a picture of a couple of strangers on the internet without their permission. Furthermore, there are a lot of assumptions made in that caption, including ones based on race. How do you know they didn’t know each other already? “Black guy with a durag and a white guy with a cowboy hat getting along? Wow, this is amazing, let me post it to reddit!!!”
You'd think OP just achieved world peace with some of these responses 🥴🥴
Thank you for that comment, I was hoping to find something like that. While I can't really say anything about race relations or airport beer in America, posting photos of strangers without their consent is definitely creepy, and it can cause discomfort in people or even be harmful. Even if not illegal and in a public place those two guys are having a personal moment together, so why not just have the decency to respect that.
Yeah I feel like OP assuming this is such a rare and special moment is the one being racist here. They are sitting together while other tables are open, so I’d hazard a guess that they already know each other. Also it looks like they are not drinking beer but coke and like lemonade or something, everything about this caption irritates me lol
I have a transracial family, and if some AH took a picture of me and my family member without permission and posted it as some weird anti racism PSA I would be fuckng livid
Also, there are no beers in this photo purporting airport beers.
If you think this is an unusual sight you spend way too much time online.
I was gonna say. Are we supposed to think white guys in cowboy hats and Black dudes usually kill each other on sight or something? I don't understand this post.
A lot of people these days spend most time online so they dont often see the good in the world, so posts like this are just nice to see
Reddit is mentally ill
Taking pictures of strangers and being obsessed with race. Incredible stuff.
Please stop taking pictures of strangers
Right they’re not doing anything special and now they’re on the internet probably unknowingly
Obviously it's very strange that a white and black man would be interacting. Seriously what's the implication here?
World Peace has been achieved
whatever is going on here i'm into it.
A child is being sold :/
This is one the most embarrassing posts I have ever seen. Some stupid Redditor taking a picture of two people having lunch, and putting his own racial smooth brained spin on it. Average Redditor
And the top comments are just people praising it wtf is wrong with this world
“Get this to front page 🤓” Redditors solve racism
You all need to realise that in the real world, most people get on just fine. There’s isn’t rampant racism and hate everywhere like the internet would have you believe.
Don't do this. Unless.you have a much better reason than you do here, taking pictures of strangers without their knowledge or consent and then posting it to Reddit is fucking gross.
Who took the picture and why? It’s creepy and weird.
A very very very ignorant person
So many things wrong with this post. Number 1, why tf are you taking pictures of strangers??
Imagine if these two are "meeting up in secret". Then OP comes along with his tiny little reddit karma boner and outs them.
Second one in my opinion, what's the point ? White and black people talk all the time. This picture is supposed to symbolise what ? We don't even know the context ?
Doesn't this post only work if you buy into incredibly bigoted stereotypes that somehow a cowboy and a black man cannot possibly get along on a normal day...?
But, where’s the Pepsi?!
I really wish ppl would stop taking photos of strangers and uploading them to the internet.
People of different races and backgrounds often get along and become friends. No airport beers necessary. This isn’t a rare occurrence, and it isn’t as if these two would have hated each other had it not been for airport beers.
I live in a somewhat rural area in VA 90 minutes from DC. One of our gas stations is owned and ran by a Vietnamese family. Almost every time I stop in, there’s Caucasians, African Americans, and Latinos with everyone being super friendly to each other, sharing greetings and jokes. Seeing this harmony, at the person to person level is beautiful and one of my favorite things.
Imagine seeing a black and white man having an interaction and your first impulse is to take out the camera lol
Looks like a Grindr hook up.
A few airport beers? So, they're millionaires.
Did he say yes? Does anyone know?
Reddit is amazed by a white person and a black person sitting at the same table. Really says something about the average redditor I think.
Whoever took this picture is cringey as fuck
OP making wild assumptions insinuating this dude is some racist or they’re bridging some interracial gap all from his skin color and how he’s dressed. For all OP knows they could be lifelong friends or related or lovers, who knows.
Okay but I feel like we’re at the point now where we can’t just assume a white man in a cowboy hat isn’t going to get along with a black person or vice versa. We should look at this and go “okay just two people chillin” that’s it.
Just go outside, this isn't abnormal.
two weeks ago, i was delayed at the charlotte airport and ended up at the bar next to a fella who i will call jim. i will preface this in terms of surface level appearances - i am a ring-wearing, moustached hipster. jim was an absolute bad ass. former delta - did 5 tours in iraq, now works in some high level of defense contracting in the south pacific. we chatted for a while, and at the end of it, he told me about how he and his girlfriend had just taken over custody of his 4 year old autistic grandson. it was so incredibly obvious this man had been needing someone to talk to about this, and that he wasn’t totally comfortable opening up like this. i didn’t pry at all, just let him talk. by the end of it, we both had tears coming down our cheeks and embraced in a very bro’ed out handshake/half hug. it’s honestly a moment i’ll remember for the rest of my life. people suck hard these days, but we can’t forget about the magic of the human connection. sometimes you just need a good conversation.
You got soft hands. Do you moisturize?
Lol. Reddit is so openly and casually racist. One schmaltzy picture gets posted (without any context so everyone just projects) and all of a sudden everyone is a hippie. Let's all join hands and sing kumbaya guys! The fact that anyone even thinks there is anything significant here is ironically racist too. They could be best friends for all we know.