I worked as a bouncer and then a bartender for several years. I disliked the fights but most of the time things went amicably or could be talked down. Sometimes, people are drunk and they get mean when you tell them it’s time to go. That the party is over.

I was working security for a place that was the local watering hole a couple blocks from my house. This place wasn’t by definition a gay bar but was definitely staffed by mostly lgbtq+ folks and was considered a safe space for everyone. Because of this there was a large crowd of marginalized folks that came there regularly. So, the door guys had to be vigilant for hate speech or abuse because plenty of times people would wander in and see something that didn’t fit into their tiny worldview and say something racist, or homophobic or misogynist, etc.

A small group had come in and one of them had gotten just fall-off-the-barstool-drunk. They were younger kids maybe 22-23, out having a good time. This was common because we were close to a very large campus university. The kid gets cut off and is settling up and his friends are getting a cab for him so he can go sleep it off, when he decides to throw a homophobic slur at the bartender. Immediately, I let them know that they needed to get their friend outside the building STAT, or I would be helping him outside. His friends all start pulling this kid away but he’s intent on letting me know that he has more money than me, so he puts his shiny gold Rolex in my face and points to it and says

“Can you read that Motherfucker? What does it say?”

And I just said: “It says it’s time to get the fuck out.”

By that time I had the rest of the staff standing around us, so they’re all laughing and that little comment made him REAL MAD, but he had some good friends and they dragged him out whilst laughing their asses off.

Thanks for the post OP remembering this was great, and typing it out was fun.