Andy Ross from Vancouver, Washington, was running errands when he met a mother and her young daughter in a very strange way.
He walked into a store and saw a little girl looking at him. He had worked at his construction site all day in the hot sun, so he did have some dirt on his face.
As Andy was checking out, the little girl and her mother walked up to him and kept staring at him.
As they were walking to the door, Andy saw his mom point to him. Then she told her daughter in a quiet voice, “That’s why you need to stay in school.”
Wow. Andy, who is engaged to his girlfriend Jenna and loves his son very much, said some harsh things to the woman who was being critical. He wrote an open letter to her and put it on Facebook. In the letter, he told her why she shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.
There were many things about Andy that they didn’t know.
Andy Ross from Vancouver, Washington, was out running errands when he ran into a judgmental mother and her young daughter. It was a surprising and powerful meeting.
Now, his amazing answer is making the rounds on Facebook:
“Today, I had a “educational” conversation with a woman and her daughter that was very interesting. Before I went home, I went to the store. As I did, a little girl kept staring at me. That’s fine. I know that when kids see someone as dirty as I was, they are interested. As I was paying, they ended up in front of me.
Still staring, the little girl’s mother told her to stop.
As they were leaving, I heard her mom say quietly to the little girl, “That’s why you should stay in school.”
I thought it would be a good time to teach this mother and her 7/8-year-old daughter something.
Here’s what we talked about: “First of all, I’m a very educated but dirty man. I have a high school diploma, a college degree, and a lot of medical certifications.
So to think that I’m not educated just because of how I look is pretty ignorant.”
“Second, if you tell your daughter to stay in school because I have tattoos all over my arms, that will stop her from being creative and could hurt her imagination as she grows up.”
“Again, this goes against your point, ma’am. Forrest Bateman gave me tattoos and other body art, and I’m proud of them.
It shows how proud I am of my country and how I served as a special operations medic on many combat tours.”
“Third, if you think that statement is about the elk on the hat I’m wearing, which is not shown, you might not get it.”
“I co-own Evergreen State Outdoors and am proud to own an outdoor company and support my right to hunt and own guns responsibly.”
“In the end, I chose to work in the building industry. I’m proud to say that I’m helping to build America, and I enjoy my job every day.”
“When I got out of the military, I tried working at a desk, but I didn’t like it.
I like to work with my hands and spend time outside.”
“In the end, it’s just part of being dirty some days.
I make good money, get benefits, and have no trouble taking care of my family.
“So my looks have nothing to do with how smart I am or whether I want to get a higher education.” I told them to have a good day and try not to judge people before they’ve told you anything about themselves.