Umans of Uber

Technically, Scott was never my Uber passenger, but I just had to write about him anyway.

I’ve seen him six or seven times walking on Kempsville Road, not far from my house. Okay, walking isn’t exactly the word. It’s more like prancing. He bops to the music in his headphones.

He wears sunglasses and waves flamboyantly at passing cars–especially if they honk.

But the most prominent thing about him is the sign on his back:

GAYS FOR TRUMP

From the first time I saw him, I’ve been dying to find out what he’s all about. I assumed at first it was supposed to be ironic. But what would be the point of that?

So, yesterday evening, I had just turned on my Uber app and was waiting for my first ping when I spotted him doing his thing. I zipped into the Atlantic Shores Baptist Church parking lot and hailed him.

Before I try to recount the conversation, let me make this clear. Scott isn’t crazy. He’s zealous, intelligent and articulate. He’s also pleasant and likable. I really enjoyed making his acquaintance.

I had to yell a bit to get his attention because he was wearing headphones and had his back to me.

“Dude! Hey, dude! Can I talk to you?”

“Sure. What’s up?” Big grin.

He shook my hand, apologizing because he was sweaty. It was almost one hundred degrees and humid.

“I’ve seen you around half a dozen times now and I gotta know. What’s your story? What’s this all about?”

“It’s my passion. This is something I really care about.”

“Clearly. So why Donald Trump?”

“Well, for one, because he cares about the threat to our borders through illegal immigration. We’ve got to do something about that. And we have to do something to get our economy going again.

I have a good friend who just lost his job because his company relocated to another country. Trump wants to stop companies from shipping our jobs overseas.

And I care about my 2nd Amendment rights. I want to maintain the right to defend myself with a firearm.”

“Right,” I said. “I get all that. But it seems odd that someone who is gay would support someone like Trump…”

“But that’s the most important thing,” he said. “The greatest threat to people like me–by far–is radical Islam. They want to kill gays. What got me started with all this was the Orlando massacre. I realized those were my people down there getting slaughtered by an ISIS radical, and I had to do something.

 Only Donald Trump is willing to face the real threat of radical Islam.”

That last point made sense. It had never occurred to me.

I asked Scott about his chosen method for campaigning. It seems a little nutty. But his explanation made sense too. He’s into fitness. He figured when he went out for a run or a brisk walk that he could wear the sign and accomplish two things at once. He said it’s been a good experience. Some people shout insults, but most people honk and wave and show support. Some, like me, have stopped to talk to him.

I asked Scott’s permission to use his image and his real first name. He was all for it, since it could only help spread his message.

This world is an interesting place full of interesting umans.