I worked with a guy who was your typical “patriot.”

Mid 50s. White. High school diploma. Manual laborer. Overbearingly macho.

One day at lunch during the George Floyd protests, I was showing another coworker the video of the swat team in Detroit that shot those people with paintballs while they were standing on their own front porch. “Patriot” butts in, “Those aren’t the regular police! You do what they say or they’ll shoot you and they’re within their rights to do it!”

I, in the only moment of genius in my life, ask him, “If one of those guys told you to suck his dick, would you?”

He faltered for a second and said, “Yes.”

The whole break room (which was made up of mostly 20 something year old dudes) started absolutely howling with laughter. “Patriot” tried to reason or explain, but for the first time in his life couldn’t yell over someone to “win” an argument.

I will cherish that moment as long as I live. Doubt he learned anything though.