Ashton Bindrup, a waiter at an Ogden, Utah restaurant, shared a five dollar bill he received as a tip from three Trump supporters which had a message written on it: “Get out of America fag.”
Bindrup shared the bill to Facebook, writing, “I can't imagine hating someone enough to go out of my way to write a slur on the tip I'm going to give them. They asked me for the pen, by the way. Guess I shouldn't have walked away after giving it to them . What I can easily imagine, however, is that these three Trump supporters have (probably recently) been in contact with other Trump 2020 supporters. Other people who clearly shared similar beliefs. But why didn't anyone ask them about hate? Why didn't any of their friends talk to them about discrimination? What DID they talk about? And is it possible that any of those conversations — perhaps about don't ask don't tell, or marriage equality, or job security — led to the impression that there is a mutual hate in the Trump Constituency toward people like me? I can't tell you what causes hate. I can't tell you what these customers were or weren't thinking.”
“I like to think that generally it is ignorance that causes hate,” Bindrup continued. “And what I can tell you is that like-minded people tend to seek each other out. For some reason many of these individuals have found each other in the Trump electorate. And even if you're against hate, and you truly want great things for America, if you support Donald Trump for President then you have also connected yourself to all his other supporters. This is true whether you accept it or not.And I think you need to ask yourselves why it is so many of Trump's other supporters speak and act with hate and with discrimination. Because if you believe differently, then these individuals are giving you a bad name. They are giving the Trump Presidency a bad name. And I hate to say it, but as open minded as I try to be, the next time I meet a Trump supporter I will have a hard time not remembering that five dollar bill I got today. I will have a hard time not immediately worrying about whether or not I'm perceived as ‘gay' or ‘straight' (not that it should matter).”
“In time, this memory shall fade,” Bindrup concluded. “I'm good at letting go of the hard things and moving on through forgiveness. But right now while it's fresh, I hope my words reach out to some of you — my dear family and friends — and I hope that you (at the very least) become more mindful of how you present yourselves and what you say both online and in person. Because we all have the ability to effect change in a group for the better, but it's change that can only happen through example.”