Milk Money
So I’m interested in everyone’s take on the following!
I’ve got a convenience store on my corner where I’ve been going for years. It’s owned by a Lebanese family and for years I’ve seen them all every day, the dad, sons, cousins, whoever works there, and every time I walk in, they all call me cousin and we laugh, joke, talk, hang out. We know each other well.
Flash to last year, the first week of the war. I walk into the store to pick up milk. I know how my family in the North of Israel is doing with bombs raining on their head. I know that the store owner’s family in Beirut has bombs raining on their heads. I walk right up to him, with my bottle of milk and say, “I hope your family is OK and that this craziness is over quickly.” He responds, “my family is not OK thanks to your family,” and then turns away, not even ringing up my milk! Next day, huge sign in the window that says “Thousands of Lebanese Refugees. Israel’s Fault!”
Ok, fair enough. So I start walking an extra three blocks to a different convenience store. I guess I’m not wanted. (I mean, he didn’t even let me buy milk!) Yesterday, I’m out running errands, and I run into the store owner who asks me where I’ve been! I kind of mumble something about the summer, war, blah blah blah and he looks at me like I’m nuts. Says something about “history and forget about it” and “we miss seeing your smiling face.” So what do you think? is he really over it, or does he just want my milk money? 
And if he is over it, explain that, because the dude was seriously MAD at me!
Join the Conversation
I think he answered you and said he was over it.
If he hated you that much I doubt he would take your milk money or have anything to do with you. If you’re that concerned about how he feels, why not be honest and ask him.
It doesn’t sound like the situation was about you. He was mad at a country and you walked in at the wrong time. I would give him the benefit of the doubt. He has always been gracious in the past, right?
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but you’ll never know when on next similar occasion the same kind of animosity breaks out again – (like in Iraq where all good neighbours since longs became bloody enemies, because of the wrong religion)
yes – I’m also one the first ones to reach out friendly hands after a quarrel – let’s forget it all etc. – but deep in myself I would stay highly suspicious – will in next situation like that my neighbours become my enemiy? -
but as always giving peace a chance I’d always would believe till the last moment that my neighbour is my friend – & I’d hope that he’d had the same belief
This is so familiar to what happened in 2002. It was when the Gujarat riot took place in India. About 3000 people were killed. I went to a school that had a really large South Asian student body and most were Gujarathi. God it was like I was in the twilight zone for a week or two before everything went back to normal.
The Muslims whom I would say hello to usually wouldn’t say hello back to me. Hindus kept on questioning my loyalty… what the hell was I suppose to do? I am Hindu, yes, but I had no connection what so ever to Gujarat. Do I automatically become the enemy because I am a Hindu or am I suppose to ignore my Muslim friends because some shit happened on the other side of the bloody world.
I am sure that’s sort of how it may have been for Jews and Muslims living side by side.
So fucking frustrating.
Well, one more reason why humans are fucked.
I agree with Melissa about that, it was just a human reaction, anger, fear, sadness … I don’t think your milk money would be enough for him to forget his anger, he would starve if he was still mad at you, but the fact is that it wasn’t personal, and he knows that, so if he is saying he’s over it now, give him a chance and let’s pray for peace.
Peace comes after war, this is why it’s called peace.
I deeply understand that Lebanese, and from that I’ll tell you that he’s over it, reach out to him and you’ll see that, just like all the Lebanese people, he appreciates life more than anything, more than war.
Well, the thing is the people who are responsible for the war/bombings etc. will never pay the price for what they did and for the people they killed . The normal people who have nothing to do with it will pay the price:(
e.g:- after 9/11, alot of Muslims in the US and the west were harrassed/killed/ostracized and etc… and till this day, alot of moderate muslims are payingg the price when they travel around.
I hope I made some sense!
I’d agree with what most of the people said here. He reacted on what was happening in his country. You walked in at a bad time
While emotional, humans tend to do craziest things possible.
I always found it odd when someone says or does some horrible thing. Then later says “Hey remember when I victimized you? Well, it’s OK now, because I’m over it. I forgive you for what I did to you.â€
Um. Am I supposed to say “Thank You�
Ask the Iraqis.
I think that he was caught in the heat of the moment, or in that case in the heat of the 33 days!!
But, it’s nearly impossible for a person not to be judgemental, no mater how openminded that person is!!! I think that everythong would be ok now, but you never know what might happen!!
My guess is either he did some serious thinking after his little “rage issue” or someone yelled at him for acting that way towards you knowing that it was never intention that his family gets hurt.
You can ask em with the sarin that doesn’t exist.
Right…
Every single response here has covered an emotion I’ve had about this. When it originally happened, I felt like Jina did in his example — so depressed about people in general. Since I ran into the store owner this week, I’ve been feeling like “if he’s let it go, its time to forget about it.” Of course, there’s a little bit of what Brando wrote about, too — just because he’s over it, how come its assumed that I’m over his response to me. But overall, people are people, and since we always had good relations before this incident, I picked up some stuff at the store today — and all was well. I sure hope it continues to be.