Missouri Man Arrested for Hate Crime After Abusing Server
In DepthSometimes you have stories that are easily encapsulated in the headline. Other times, you have stories that require a level of explanation impossible to fit in 70 characters. This story is the latter. Suffice it to say: this guy really, REALLY deserved to be arrested, because fuck this guy.
I realize that you can’t judge a book by its cover. To assume 65-year-old Tommy Dean Gaa of Maryville, Missouri (the man pictured above) is a racist fuckwaffle just because his appearance is that of a bit character cut from 12 Years a Slave for being “too horrifically evil” would be unfair. In this instance, however, it would also be correct. So, so correct.
So Gaa went into a restaurant (what restaurant is unclear) and had a server who happened to be a woman of color. Here are the things he did and said:
- When she asked if he wanted wheat or white toast, he said he wanted white toast because he was prejudiced.
- Grabbed the waitress’ arm so hard it left a bruise and asked her if she “liked to party.”
- Told her, “I have a place I would like to take you where I hung your grandpa.”
- No, seriously, please re-read that last one, because holy shit.
The restaurant, which unlike a lot of eateries appears to be run by people with functioning souls, called the police, because a) grabbing someone hard enough to leave a bruise constitutes assault assault and battery (thank you, commenters), and b) holy hell, that’s awful. When the cops got there, Gaa at first denied making the comments, but in the process of doing so, this complete dumbshit started using racial slurs. He was arrested shortly thereafter.
I honestly never thought I’d be reading let alone writing about a news story where police officers in Missouri were the good guys helping to deal with racist abuse, but the world is a strange place sometimes. As for Gaa, the “fuck that guy” in that lede doesn’t seem like a strong enough response, but it’s all I have right now. Just…man, fuck this guy.
Image via Fox 2 Now.