A Street Encounter with a Canvasser

I was walking home from my parking spot in downtown Berkeley. I had just finished a day of work and I was talking to my father about a few things. I had good luck passing by all the street beggars without having to acknowledge them, but then I saw another guy coming up ahead.

He didn’t look like the begging variety, rather a person that tries to get money from you to support some cause -- a canvassing job. These canvassers definitely suck if you're not from Berkeley or familiar with downtown, and you don't know their scheme. They basically say, "Can you spare a minute to talk about _______ (insert global warming, gay rights, Greenpeace, proposition 8, hate crime legislation)." Then you figure, being the good Samaritan that you are, sure I have some time. He or she stops you for a while and you realize that it was all just a ploy to get some money from you. They don't really care at all if you believe in their cause or not, and I question whether they believe in it either. They just got a job as a canvasser and are trying to make some money.

...Anyways, I saw this guy standing there and I knew that he was going to say something, but I was hoping that my conversation with my father would get his hopes down. I walked by and he said, "Are you registered to vote?"

I said, "Sorry," and put up my hand, as if to say leave me alone.

Then the canvasser said, "Are you talking to your boyfriend?"

I didn't know how to react. Was he trying to insult me or did he really think that I was gay? Given that I live in the liberal city of Berkeley, I don't think that it's supposed to be an insult. I looked back at him while I continued to walk and gave him a puzzled look. He just stood there offering no explanation. I scratched my head and walked away.

I found myself still thinking about it later and then I decided how I feel about it. "Fuck you! You piece of shit! Quit bothering everyone on the street and get a real job."