I am at a truck stop in western South Dakota.....

[imanamerican63]

I went in to get some something to eat. There a was older couple setting in an rundown older suburban. To me, they like they were homeless and living out of the suburban. The vehicle had Trump stickers all over it. The guy was asking everyone who walked by "do you have a couple of dollars for gas and get something to eat?" I was walking back out to my truck. He asked me and I replied politely "no"! I kept walking and he yells, "hey asshole, I was talking to you". I told him politely again, "no". There was another driver walking behind! I haven't laugh so hard when I heard the other driver say to him "I guess you didn't get Trump's tax cut either?"! As we got to our trucks, I was still laughing and he walked over to my truck. He told me that the guy called him an asshole after he told him no too! I said I needed a good laugh anyway!

[muntrv]

1. But they own the libs, right?

[tblue37]

21. Apparently the libs are the only thing they "own." nt

[Wellstone ruled]

2. Interesting,

now you just made my day. They were probably on their way to Sturgess,mooch some few Beers and spend their Trump Tax Break they didn't get.

[Takket]

3. Tell him the 1% has his money if he needs it.

[TheBlackAdder]

4. I'll stop at the Petro from time to time to eat. Most of the drivers seems to be Right Wingers.

[A HERETIC I AM]

11. They are and there is a reason for it

As an OTR driver myself, I can tell you exactly why that is the case;

Because I am a member of a profession overwhelmingly populated by morons. You don't have to have any kind of real intellect or intellectual abilities, much less curiosity or any critical thinking skills to be a truck driver. You just don't.

Couple that with endless hours on the road where one constant is the ever present, right-wingnut AM and FM radio personalities constantly telling these poor sods, who by the way, as a group haven't had a raise in over 30 years, that their lot in life is the fault of people who want to spend their taxes on things like health care and feeding poor people, but their troubles can be solved by voting for people who in reality couldn't give two sloppy fucks about them.

But heaven forbid those damned libtards give any of their hard earned money to someone who needs it to survive.

Oh yeah...they are overwhelmingly Christian, as well.

[Midnight Writer]

25. Testify!

[TheBlackAdder]

31. Couple that with the warehouse workers and managers they have to deal with and there's no hope.

[LittleGirl]

43. that's exactly been what I've experienced

with the truck drivers. My cousin missed his turn on the highway because of right wing radio just the other day.
Another trumper that thinks that running a business (to bankruptcy) is smart and qualifies him to be potus.

[ConnorMarc]

44. They're not Christians

They're CINOs, Christians in name only.

I hate what the rightwing has done to Christianity.

They've soiled the name.

They are actually demonic, and the Bible speaks of their acts...what will happen to them.

Hint...it's not good.

[renate]

51. This needs to be sung far and wide

We all know the acronyms RINO and DINO.

CINO is so much worse because of the holier-than-thou hypocritical extra element.

[radical noodle]

27. Welcome to DU!

[Lugnut]

39. Welcome to DU!

It's so nice to have you here.

[beveeheart]

40. Welcome to lucky you!

Living the life! Good job!

[beveeheart]

46. Hope you didn't think that I was implying you didn't work for it.

And I can see that you did work hard. I meant how lucky to be where you are.

[BumRushDaShow]

58. So what do you do for a living

or are you a young retiree?

[LittleGirl]

45. Living the life!

Welcome to DU!

[Skittles]

59. may I ask

how did they know you were Jewish

[marble falls]

5. I usually give cash to folks asking me for gas/food cash, but hearing someone ...

being called an asshole would keep me from being generous.

[CentralMass]

6. I'm not judging but thats not my thing. I probably would have flipped them a few bucks.

[imanamerican63]

15. I did not have any small bills only a couple of twenties.

I don't give money out, because I have seen people get robbed when they pull out their money. It is a safety reason.

[JoeOtterbein]

18. Thank you.

Of course you would. So would I. Because he needs it more than us. (tears)

[CentralMass]

30. +1

[Tipperary]

55. I give money to people too.

I do not ask about their political leanings.

[mysteryowl]

23. Me too

[Judi Lynn]

56. Who would want to replace them, anyway? You'd have to go to their houses, beat their wives,

kick their dogs, wear those stupid clothes, carry ridiculous patio torches, (updated portable cross-burnings) and go to rallies to listen to the world's most abject fool raving wildly about how great he is, and how horrible everyone is who can't stand him.

No one would want to replace them, only other MAGAts can stand them.

[Jake Stern]

33. The OP did the right thing

Difference is the poster is far more polite about it than I would have been.

Tell 'em to fuck off. Speak to them in a language they can understand.

[Jake Stern]

37. That got me picturing someone doing the pug head tilt

[mr_lebowski]

50. Funny, I just came home from Walgreens ... a mentally-ill 24-ish man

he looked SE Asian ... maybe Filipino ... was fumbling through the lighter display and jabbering to himself incessantly and asking my checker how much every lighter was while she was ringing me out ... he put a lighter down on the counter at one point, then went back to searching and jabbering ... I asked her how much, she said 2.99, I gave her the money and said 'just tell him someone bought it for him ... that'll get him out of your hair' ... she was grateful ... I heard her tell him as I was walkin to the door, and she was like 'that guy right there bought this for you, you should thank him!' ... I stopped and looked back ... and he just goes 'oh cool!' ... put it in his pocket ... then went back to looking at the lighters ...

[treestar]

53. why, they don't believe in helping others

but want help themselves?

[demmiblue]

62. Same. n/t

[UniteFightBack]

7. I love killing them off with humor and sarcasm. It's my specialty. nt

[Progressive Jones]

8. I just spent a week in SD, WY, and MT.

A lot of people of the Trumpish persuasion out there. Being from Chicago, this was a bit of a culture shock.
I did, however, chat with a couple of ranchers in the Billings, MT area that were Dems.
They were chuckling about a guy with a MAGA hat who came into the gas station we were at.
The MAGA hat guy was an elderly man, all dressed in red, and riding a bicycle.

[Turbineguy]

9. Sad really,

Victims of Fox News and Trump and they don't even see it.

[leftyladyfrommo]

10. Truckers are taking huge losses right now. nt

[diva77]

12. are you sure they weren't using the stickers to patch rust holes?

Dem stickers are probably more durable

[alittlelark]

13. Gonna be the bad guy and say I feel sorry for ppl like this.

They are older, dirt poor and desperate - there is likely some mental illness involved, These ppl are the weak desperate types that tRumps focused racist words are focused on. They are likely incapable of logical and rational thought. In their feral desperation they cling to the words of a foul racist so that they can blame their situation on ‘the other’.

These ppl are the sad pathetic base that tRump exploits.

............I have no answers however.

[GulfCoast66]

14. Yeah. With you. I just don't have hate in me.

Sympathy in perhaps too much abundance.

I see my immediate family and my Democratic friend doing ok and living happy lives. And then these hate filled trumpers, some family members who are just miserable. All poor rural folks. But I shut my pie-hole.

[Mariana]

19. All the hate in the OP's story came from the Trumpster. nt.

[Vdizzle]

32. And that is the difference...

...sympathy and empathy. Traits that are not common among the GOP wingers.

[Demovictory9]

22. me too. but they vote to screw over women, poc, other poor people

[lunasun]

28. Nope they want me dead or gone Hate/ racism is not a mental illness

[cos dem]

16. You should have offered to pay him $1 for each POS sticker he peels off his truck.

[alittlelark]

17. OMG !! I LOVE that idea !

[Marcuse]

20. This explains that.

[renate]

52. It's so weird the way this has been in plain sight for 50 years

And nobody’s found an effective way of countering it.
Maybe that just shows how elemental that reaction is. But dealing with it is the key to everything.

[treestar]

54. +1

They are white. They have that. And they expect to be looked up to for it.

[TeamPooka]

29. Panhandling with Trump stickers is bad marketing. Trumpers are not charitable and

the liberals who are by nature such are turned off by the Trump brand.

Probably just lazy scammer con artists taking after their hero Donald anyway.
* I am being sarcastic here because I do have sympathy for people down on their luck and in real need but their reactions point to the idea that they are not panhandling for "need" but choice.

[soryang]

34. Calling someone an "asshole" at a truck stop is the last thing you want to do

I don't doubt that it occurred. I was an OTR driver. My observation was that people who used fighting words in a truck stop needed to run for their lives at some point. I never talked politics at a truck stop, unless I knew I was in safe company. If someone is down on their luck, I'd give them enough for a hot dog and a drink, that's it. If someone got hostile, well tactfully disengage.

[RainCaster]

38. If he has money for stickers and cigs, he doesn't need more

Tell him to "get a fucking job". I have never said that to anyone, but I have never been in that situation either.

[lunatica]

49. LOL!

[Tipperary]

57. Laughing at "an older couple who seemed homeless."

Wow.

I would say cool story, but really this is just sad.

[mtnsnake]

60. The OPer didn't laugh at the Trumpsters. He laughed at the remarks of the other guy who

was also verbally assaulted by the Trumpsters. All the OPer did was politely tell them "no."

[theophilus]

64. Lack of compassion is killing this country. On both sides. Engage and try to reason. Even if the

RWer rejects you. Overcome evil with good not being hardhearted. That is my opinion. It is satisfying to "put down" the stupid but it is not what will allow us to be victorious in the end.

[imanamerican63]

65. I did not have small bills.

He was the one who was rude. I politely sad I didn't have any spare cash.

[Tipperary]

66. When I see people begging, even if I have no cash on hand, I go buy them a sandwich or something.

It is really not hard to do that. Not expensive either.

[sammythecat]

68. +1 n/t

[panader0]

67. The panhandlers in my little town argue with each other over the best corners.

Many are young guys who look like they could work if they wanted to.
The last time I gave was to a guy with a dog. I bought him a small bag
of dog food.
I think many of them spend your donations on alcohol, so it's best
to give food rather than money.

[Tipperary]

69. I agree with this, though I really do not begrudge any one a beer either lol.

But I like to buy a sandwich for people when I can.