08/30/2026
Two weeks ago Oli shared a video of someone annoyed and confused about our Sunday mask policy. Most of the comments were our kind of people: understanding & supportive.
But we hit the wrong side of things and a whole bunch of folks who don't understand us found the video and made their opinion known about how dumb, mean, & awful we are. 🙄
Oli was perfectly polite in the interaction, gentle parenting them through the options of wearing a mask or leaving. In their post they let the frustration of this being a weekly thing bleed into it.
Even then they were still nicer than they could have been.
Nicer than I probably would have been.
This week you get an example of why I am the way I am
Why my guard is always, automatically, up
Why I am always at least a little anxious when new people come in the store, especially if they fit a certain demographic.
Regardless I always try to not let my initial assumptions color the interaction until they've proven themselves to be a threat. And usually they're perfectly lovely.
After 6.5+ years though of living like that I'm f**king tired. It contributed to my massive burnout and struggle with if I wanted to renew our lease.
After 2 years of living through that my staff is tired.
But still they show up every day without complaint. They come ready with enthusiasm and grace for people.
We have a motto here: y'all means all but you gotta act right!
No matter how many s**tty people reinforce my internal bias and anxieties we keep pushing forward. We chat about it as a team and then shake it off so the next person in the door gets our best.
We're not perfect, far from it.
I'm fully ok with not being everyone's cup of tea. There are plenty of businesses who try to be.
Love that journey for them, but I built Bettie's Pages to be a refuge for my friends on the island of misfit toys. And we'll continue to be that.
The person in this video probably thought it was the funniest, edgiest, thing to shout into our store.
They probably didn't care or even consider how that experience could make the people inside the store feel.
I hope they never have to live like I do, with the fear of what might follow the shout.
♥️
