A Quokka Dreeds its Weird

While gardening, no less!

Don't worry, he doesn't know where I live. I wasn't at home, I was doing some work elsewhere in the neighborhood in a fenced-in lot.

So there I was, peacefully pulling weeds, when a white guy walked past with a kid I assume was his son, neither wearing masks. They looked like a totally normal white suburban family (which as we all know from horror movies, means I should have run for my life.) The kid looked about four years old and was on a scooter. Just as they were passing me, the kid took a tumble.

I looked up and said, "Are you all right?"

The kid picked himself up, the dude looked at me, and then he said in a hostile tone, "That's a Marxist organization! They're Marxists! Do you know that?!"

That seemed like a total non sequitur, so I said, "What?"

"Black Lives Matter! They're Marxists!"

It was then that I remembered that I was wearing a BLM mask. And also, taking a closer look, I saw that he was wearing a TRUMP 2020 baseball cap.

I was not really prepared for a political debate, so I just said, "No, they're not."

"Yes, they are!"

I didn't see much point in continuing the debate, so I said, "Well, I disagree."

He walked closer, I waved him back, he didn't move, so I got up and backed up. I was inside a locked lot and he was outside, with a chain-link fence between us, so I was worried about him breathing on me, not attacking me.

"It's not a matter of agree or disagree!" he yelled. "It's facts! It's on the Black Lives Matter website that they're Marxists!"

"No, it isn't," I said.

"Yes, it is!"

"No, it isn't," I said. "That's just not correct."

"Just you wait," he said. "The squatties will all get their necks squeezed."

He didn't yell, but said that in a kind of gleeful tone. It was extremely creepy. His kid was just standing there with his little scooter the whole time, watching.

I had no idea what a squatty was, but figured it was some Q-Anon or white supremacist derogatory term. When I'm hearing death threats I like to know specifically why I'm being threatened, so I said, "I don't know what that word means."

"Squatty, squatty," he said. "You know."

"No. I've never heard that before."

"The bald lady, you know... they'll all be strung up, all the Marxists! It's on the Black Lives Matter website that they're Marxists!"

"No, it isn't," I said, belatedly realizing that he meant "the squad" in Congress. "I believe in justice and equality for all. Listen, you should join, see for yourself..."

He gave a loud, maniacal laugh - seriously, it was a HA HA HA HA - and said, "When you try to take over the country, I'll be there to stop you!"

I said, "Listen, I have work to do. You have a nice day."

"You're Marxists! Marxists!" He stomped off with his kid, belatedly yelling, rather aggressively, "You have a nice day too."

That is the first time I've ever gotten a death threat as an adult from someone who was not having an obvious psychotic episode. In broad daylight, in a public place, in front of his child. I have to say that it was pretty disturbing.

(Yes, yes, technically he was threatening the Congresswomen, not me directly, but he certainly seemed to be implying that I should also be killed.)