Kristopher Keichinger.
I was walking into a TJMaxx in October of 2005 with my current husband Travis Raymond and we were simply holding hands. I heard these six words screamed at us from a minivan full of kids, I did not react well, I returned my own hateful words to the 16 year old in the van that yelled them at us. This then escalated and even got physical. After returning a equally hatful word to my now “enemy,” I walked hand and hand with my partner into the store to locate his parents. I told them what I had said and done to their 16 year old boy. I explained to them why I used these words and that I could not understand the hate in their son’s heart, as he was african american. Those words hurt for me to say back to this boy because I had never used them before but I wanted him to feel the same way I did, which was wrong. After explaining this to his parents and why I did what I did, I expected another fight but instead I got a tearful hug from the man. The words he said back to me forever changed my life, “It’s okay, I understand….” P.S. It would not let me upload a picture at work but if you would like it please feel free to email me at kmkeichinger@gmail.com.
