Regardless of how progressive society becomes, accepting the lifestyles of others is something some people just can’t, or won’t, do.
When one Buffalo Wild Wings waitress served a family of five, she learned first hand that while most people respect the differences of others, some refuse to accept them.
Who Is Sarah Heaton?
Sarah was a 20-year-old gay woman living in Illinois. She worked as a waitress at Buffalo Wild Wings, where she took pride in her work and treated all of her customers with respect.
Growing Up Gay
For Sarah, growing up gay wasn’t easy, just as it’s not for many gay and lesbian individuals. Even if she was lucky enough to have a few supportive people in her life, there were always those that would hate on her…
Buffalo Wild Wings
One night, Sarah went into work and waited tables at Buffalo Wild Wings like she normally did. But, this night was different, and as Sarah would soon learn, people can be really cruel.
Family Of Five
Sarah was given a family of five to serve and they seemed nice and pleasant. She cordially interacted with them throughout the night, just as she did with all her tables. Sarah refilled their drinks as she was trained to do and provided them with top-notch service. Despite Sarah’s efforts, however, the family was not satisfied.
End Of The Night
As the night came to an end, Sarah wrapped up food for her remaining tables and gave the family of five their bill. Knowing the level of service she provided them with, Sarah expected a generous tip.
The Tip
When Sarah went to look at the bill, however, her tip was less than generous. In fact, there was no tip at all. The family actually wrote “0 –” next to the tip. Needless to say, Sarah was shocked.
Less Than She Expected
Sarah never received a tip for $0 in her life, so naturally, she assumed it had to be a mistake. Being that the bill came to $60.55, $10 would have translated to a 17 percent tip, which was about average. Despite her optimistic outlook, however, when Sarah took a closer look at the bill, she noticed a shocking message.
How Did They Know?
The family wrote a note to Sarah which explained why they left her no tip and they reasoned it was because she was gay. But, how would the family know Sarah’s sexual orientation if she never discussed it with them?
The Tattoo
Well, Sarah’s tattoo explained it all. On her forearm, Sarah had an LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Queer) tattoo. LGBTQ-friendly tattoos are represented by vibrant colors, and Sarah’s tattoo must have given her sexuality away.
Meaning Behind It
The only reason Sarah got this tattoo in the first place was because she is proud of who she is. Sarah also wanted to show her solidarity with other LGBTQ individuals. To put it very simply: this tattoo meant something to Sarah, and to have a family not tip her because of it was cruel. Not to mention, the words they wrote Sarah broke her heart…
The Note
Sarah read the note: “Can’t tip someone who doesn’t love Jesus. Bad tatoo [sic].” After reading these untrue-words, and taking note of the family’s poor spelling, Sarah stepped away from the table to collect herself. She was in tears…
Homophobic
“How could this family do and write such hurtful things when they know nothing about me?” Sarah wondered. “I do believe in Jesus and God. I myself am a Christian.” After she collected herself, Sarah wondered if there was anything she could do to make herself feel better and that’s when she thought of a genius plan…
Social Media
Sarah took a photo of the bill and a photo of her tattoo and posted them side by side on Facebook. As you can imagine, Sarah’s friends and others were outraged.
Repost
One of Sarah’s friends, Emily Sotakoun, decided to share the image on her Twitter to show her support. She wrote: “Just a reminder, customers/people like this REALLY exist.” Twitter users became livid after seeing how Sarah was discriminated because of her tattoo. “Am I next?” many of them wondered…
In true social media form, Twitter users began sharing the post with their friends, who shared it with their friends, and soon, Sarah had an army of support around her. This turned out to be the only thing that made Sarah feel better after she experienced such unimaginable cruelty.
Showing Their Support
One Twitter user commented on Emily’s post saying: “Jesus would have tipped 25%!” Another user offered to give Sarah a tip out of their own pocket to make up for her loss. Jefferson Bethke wrote: “Hi Emily. Does your friend Sam have a PayPal or anything? Would love to counteract that terrible/shameful display with some generosity.”
Solidarity
Others started taking photos of their LGBTQ tattoos and sharing them on Twitter, saying: “I stand with you!” This outpour of support was incredible for Sarah to see. Despite the hate she experienced, there were thousands of good people out there trying to make her feel better!
Kind-Hearted People
“I’m personally so sorry,” another user wrote. “I hate that Christianity is portrayed as a thing of exclusion and hate. It’s the polar opposite of what it should be. I’ll send you a tip when I get paid on Friday. Sorry you had to experience hate. No one should. For any reason. Ever.”
No Regrets
Sarah said that this unfortunate experience has only made her prouder to have the tattoo. “Someone asked me the other day if I would go back in time and get the same tattoo. And I said, ‘No. I would get it bigger.’”
Ignorance
What Sarah experienced is unfortunately what a lot of LGBTQ individuals go through on a daily basis. People being ignorant and not accepting toward others who aren’t the same as they are should be a thing of the past by now. Sadly, it may never be.
