Before I begin, let me get this detail out of the way. I am a Satanist. Just in case you've heard some B.S. about Satanism, let me just say that, no, we don't worship the devil, we don't kill people, and we don't do most of the other stupid stuff you've heard about us. If you'd like more info, I'll link it here.
For starters, I live in a fairly small town in the northeast U.S. The area around here is predominantly Christian, so I'm used to getting snarky comments here and there when people notice my necklaces or rings that have pentagrams or Baphomet on them, but all in all it's a decent place, and most of the time, I have no issues when I go out. It's usually calm and peaceful, and that's how I prefer it, because in general, I like peace and quiet, and to be left alone. However, I've always been open about displaying and talking about my religion because I know it's unorthodox, and I try to be a positive example in public because it might help change the poor perceptions about us.
Today I decided to stop in at McDonalds for dinner because I was really tired and didn't feel like cooking anything. I had on one of my hoodies that has some Satanic imagery on it. Nothing crazy, but on the front it has a large sigil that is basically a goat head inside of a pentagram. I had ordered my food, and was leaning against the counter side waiting for it, when a mom and her little kid walk up to the register. I only noticed them peripherally, as I was pretty focused on my phone, so I must not have noticed that the kid was apparently looking at me. I only heard the mother say, "Don't look at that man's shirt." I look up from my phone long enough to see the kid is just calmly looking at my hoodie, but the mother is glaring at me with everything she's got. Normally, I'm not really fond of kids, and prefer to be away from them in general, but this little guy was quiet and behaving well, so I simply went back to my phone, hoping this mom wasn't about to give me some garbage about what I had on. About a minute later, she leans in towards me, and the conversation goes as follows, paraphrased a little bit:
The only unique abbreviation in this will be CK which stands for Calm Kid, because honestly, the kid was fine.
EM: "Excuse me..."
Me: "Yes?"
EM: "What's that on your shirt?"
Me: "It's a sigil of Baphomet. It's a religious symbol."
EM: "What religion has symbols like that?"
ME: "The Church of Satan. I'm a Satanist."
EM: "A WHAT?!
Me: "A Satanist..."
EM: "That's not a religion! Religions don't worship the Devil."
Me: "I don't worship the Devil. I can tell you..."
EM interrupts me: "You're just trying to be edgy."
Me: "Ma'am, I'm 27 years old. I'm not trying to be edgy. I can tell you about the religion if you'd like?"
EM: "It's not a religion. You're young, and you're just trying to scare people. Why do you want to act like that?"
Me: "I'm sorry, but the fact that you keep saying it's not a religion doesn't make it not a religion. I'm just waiting for my food. Could you please let me be?"
EM: "No, you need to take off that shirt before you scare my son!"
I look down at the kid, and he's anything but scared. If anything, he seems a little confused by the situation, so I just tried to stop talking to the EM, as to keep her son from getting upset, but she insisted on continuing speaking to me.
EM: "Take off that hoodie NOW before you make my son cry!"
Me: "I am not taking off this hoodie."
EM: "You need to take off that hoodie! This is a Christian country, and you are spitting in the face of GOD! Take it off, NOW!"
CK: "Mom, why are you getting mad?"
EM: "You see? You're making my son upset!"
Me: "I'm not taking off my hoodie. I'm just trying to eat out. Please leave me alone."
The EM started reaching for my hoodie, but she stopped before she actually got to me. When I saw her hands move towards me, I stood up all the way and I felt myself tense up. I'm 6'4, and about 255lbs, so when I stand up straight I can be pretty intimidating. I assume this is why she stopped reaching for me. To be clear, I would not have hurt this woman in any way, let alone in front of her child, but I've come to find that looking the way I do can be great if I need to diffuse a hot situation peacefully.
At this point, though, I was pretty mad, so I looked her dead in the eye and said, "Okay, you know what? In this country I have a legal right to display my religion as I see fit, and I'm not bothering you or your child, so you need to get your food and go sit down quietly or you need to get out, because if you reach for me one more time, I will get a manager and have you thrown out." Fortunately, she decided to just be angry internally, walked away, and sat down. My food came a moment later and I went and ate out of her line of sight. Fortunately, that was the end of it. At the end of the day it was only a minor annoyance, but it really bothers me how some people seem to think they're entitled to tell me about my own motivations, or that my religion isn't real, let alone that it was okay to try and put hands on me.
