It was a calm morning in Richardson, Texas, when Andy Ternay and his partner walked into the First Watch café, ready for a casual breakfast. The café was bustling with families and friends enjoying their morning meals. But the peaceful atmosphere soon changed when the restaurant manager approached them with a request to leave.
The manager explained that several customers had complained about Andy’s t-shirt. The shirt made a bold statement—on the front it read: “FUCK TRUMP AND FUCK YOU FOR VOTING FOR HIM” and on the back, it said: “FUCK THE RACIST ALT-RIGHT.”
Feeling confused and a little frustrated, Andy decided to share what happened on Facebook. “First, we were approached by a manager who let us know that customers were very distressed by my shirt and that children might see it,” Andy wrote. “I expressed deep sympathies and let her know that explaining ‘grab ‘em by the pussy’ and golden showers to my daughter was equally unpleasant.”
To Andy, his shirt was a personal expression of his beliefs. He wanted to show where he stood on political issues and to support those who felt marginalized. But the manager didn’t see it that way. She told him that a group of customers was “suffering due to my indescribable poor taste.” Andy didn’t agree. “I didn’t see a problem,” he said. “We had been served drinks and made our orders. Why ask us to leave now?”
Things started to heat up. After Andy and his partner had made their order, a cook came over and asked them to leave. They were shocked but decided to make the best of it. “We ask to tip our server for occupying her table, get drinks to go, and leave,” Andy wrote. As they walked out of the café, one table of white people actually applauded.
But the story didn’t end there. In the parking lot, a Black server approached Andy. “I just wanted to let you know that I quit,” she told him. “You should hear these people asking not to be seated near Muslims.” Andy was taken aback. It was a revealing moment that made him realize how deeply divided some people were over the issues at hand.
In an interview with The Daily Beast, Andy shared that he had received several compliments about his shirt from people of color. “A Latino lady at the register thanked me, and two African American servers said my shirt was awesome,” he said. He explained that the reason he wore the shirt was to make a statement for people who feel isolated.
“I don’t want people of color, Muslims, LGBTQ people, immigrants to feel alone,” Andy explained. “The proper use of white male privilege is to help lift others, to speak truth to power.”
After leaving the restaurant, things took another unexpected turn. Andy was stopped by a police officer in the parking lot. “I stop the car and ask the officer if she is there over a t-shirt,” Andy wrote. The officer nodded. She asked for his name, but Andy politely refused. “I cited Cohen v. California (1971), in which the Supreme Court upheld the right to wear a t-shirt saying ‘FUCK THE DRAFT,’” Andy explained. The officer, looking frustrated, simply said, “Just leave, okay?”
The corporate office of the restaurant later issued a statement. They explained that they had asked Andy to leave because of complaints from families with young children. “Just like young children cannot go to R-rated movies because of language like that, we don’t think they should be exposed to it in a family restaurant,” the statement said.
“We absolutely understand our customers’ uneasiness and decided to refuse service to that individual. This decision was based on vulgar language, not any political statement or race.”
Despite the incident, Andy didn’t want to condemn the restaurant or boycott it. His post quickly went viral, receiving over 42,000 shares. What bothered Andy the most, however, were the responses he received from the African American community. “I have gotten heartbreaking messages from African Americans saying they’ve lost faith in their white neighbors,” Andy told The Daily Beast. “They no longer feel like their neighbors have their back.
My shirt was a reassurance that they are not alone.”
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