What Would You Do If This Happened To You: Shopping While Black

AWFUL! the problem is we experience bad shopkeepers even if we are black.
what a horrible racism i cant belive,its not like she was a gangster with a pistol or somethig..
a black woman na costume cmon@!

reply to post by cenpuppie


This scenario wasn't even real, and they stated that in the video. The customer and the clerk were acting. If/when someone produces a real video of something like this occurring, then maybe we can form opinions. Sounds like BS to me; I have lived a lot of places, and never saw anything like this.

Originally posted by mikellmikell
Bob Evans kept putting me by the restrooms. I'm just a single white guy. The first time it was no big deal. The second time I said i didn't want to sit there and they moved me 2 tables away and I realized all the men were in this area and all the women and families were up front by the windows. The third time when they headed me twards the restrooms I asked out loud why all the men were getting put back there and everybody looked around and realized it was true. I walked up front and sat by the window. The manager asked me to leave and I called the police and filed a discrimination report with them and the company. Nothing ever came of and today we went there for the first time in a year or 2 and sure enough she made a left turn for the restrooms we turned right and sat by the windows. The manager came and asked what the problem was and I flat told him. He turned around and walked away. We were never served.My partner today was my lawyer. Cha Ching!!

OOO, hope you nail them for that one. The ONLY time I ever saw anything racist from a service person was something that happened to my daughter and I, and we are white. This one was bizarre. We went into an IHOP in Tampa, to grab a late dinner. We were seated by the hostess, and sat looking over the menus. The waitress our area came past, and clearly saw us, but for some reason didn't stop to get a drink order. We figured we'd give her a minute, in case she was finishing something up, but we waited awhile, and she never came for even a drink order. After we had been there several minutes, another group was seated at the next booth; a group of black people. Virtually immediately, the waitress (a white girl) was there at their table, chatting, friendly, and helpful. Everyone at the table noticed how irritated we looked, and they seemed quite embarrassed by her behavior. They could see we had not even a glass of water, and they knew we were there first. Not their fault the waitress was an idiot. At any rate, at this stage, I actually asked her loudly what the issue was, and if we were invisible or something. She acted all shocked, like she couldn't imagine what I meant, but you could see she was simply annoyed underneath. We ended up leaving, and going elsewhere, after a very apologetic manager asked what he could do to fix things. I flat told him to fire the &^%$#. She wasn't there later. In that case, all we could figure that she was a wannabe black or something. I don't think she even realized how horribly everyone else thought her behavior was.

Originally posted by EyesWideShut

Originally posted by LordBucket
reply to post by Benevolent Heretic

 

I'm upset that the vast majority didn't step in and help their fellow woman

Ok...but I would guess that far fewer than 20% would step in if it were, for example, a white teenage boy being frisked. I'm guessing a lot of those who stepped in to defend her did so solely because she was a black woman.

I wouldn't expect 20% of people to come to my rescue if I were the one being asked to leave.

The fact that you people are upset that she didn't get better treatment when she received treatment far better than I could expect in the same circumsances, honestly...annoys me.

You're missing the point, You wouldn't get that treatment because you're white. This thing was based solely because of race. Maybe I'm off but I've NEVER heard of any WHITE person being kicked out of a place and frisked because they were white.

I have personally been ignored for service, and I am white. Details of one case already posted. Another time, we were in an upscale mall, trying to get waited on in a food court, and the Asian woman working there was completely ignoring us. Then she rushed to serve a woman in a nice business suit. I have also seen racist reactions towards me in black areas. A place my oldest and her son lived was mostly black, and this one guy would always scowl at me when I drove there, and once even kicked a can into my car. Racism from ANYONE is wrong, and it can and often does go both ways. I have also known someone told they could not get food stamps because they were not Hispanic. The clerk told her that only Hispanic applicants ever got aid of any sort. Denying that a white can be a victim of race will only contribute to the problem.

Originally posted by Benevolent Heretic

Originally posted by LordBucket
This was a social experiment to see how many people would rush to the aid of blacks.

I'm going to have to agree with whomever said that you're missing the point. This woman was a PERSON being treated wrongly. Because she was black, 80% of the observers ignored it, either not wanting to get involved or thinking she deserved it. To be fair, they should have done the same experiment with a white person for comparison.

I'm really sad that you feel the way you do and saddened further to see that many agree with you. If anyone claims that racism is over now that Obama's been elected, I have only to point them to this thread.

I'll not try to explain further, because I am certain it would be a waste of my time.

Why is it assumed that 80% didn't get involved because she was black? Maybe 80% didn't get involved because it wasn't their business, and they didn't know all the circumstances. If they did the same thing with a white "customer" and a black "clerk", and got far different results, this might be valid. As it is, it simply shows that a lot of people don't get involved in other people's business. That's it. Maybe some of them didn't even hear what was said. My own hearing is such that any background noise effectively covers up normal conversation, and I probably would not have caught what was being said. Gee, would that make me racist and uncaring if I didn't go over and butt in? Those calling this an example of racism, answer this; if this had been a white customer and a black clerk, would you feel the same way, assuming the results were the same?

Originally posted by magnetik
Ive been followed, pulled over, attacked, cursed out, threatened, arrested(for riding a bike at night on the sidewalk), denied jobs, etc because im black. I dont cry about it i understand its the nature of the beast

Are you sure it was because you are black? My brother and his friends used to get harassed when they were walking down the sidewalk. White boys, dressed normally, in an average neighborhood. Why? Because some cops simply like to harass people, no matter what the color. Now, being denied a job based on color is wrong, and if that happened, I hope you took action. I got all over the case of the head of housekeeping at the hotel I was working at. She was refusing to hire anyone but Hispanics in her department, and we were getting complaints. She lost the right to review applications over that one, and was completely ticked at me.

As much as i would love to see the whole world wake up to the fact that skin colour doesnt matter, we are ALL a part of the same race- Human- But things like this video make me realize how unlikely that will probably be for many, if not most.. i was impressed with the people who actually did say something..personally i would have not been able to keep my mouth shut had i seen this happening in a store i was in!! the word livid comes to mind with this.. racism is certainly not dead, sad to say and in many ways it continues to become worse, with of course corporate media help..
My partner and i arent 'normal' some class us goths, some class us rockers and even part hippie lol..we have a few facial piercings and long hair, but we are simply ourselves, and for that alone we do get followed around stores and watched closely, even in places we regularly shop at! I agree with the previous comment that it isnt just black while shopping, its being out of the social norm and shopping as well.. same in airports..
Thank you for posting this video, as much as it angered me in places it was still a very good experiment done.

I have never seen anything like this personally...

I am of olive skin, dark hair and dark eyes- My father is Israeli.

I was shoping with my sister in law who is milky white with platinum blonde hair. We where suspected of shoplifting at a bottle store because we walked into the store with bags of groceries from the grocery store right next door. We walked to the fridges, put the bags down to call my boyfriend on his cell wanting to ask him what beer/cider he would prefer.

He said not to worry, he would them on the way home. Because we walked out without buying anything, the store clerks suspected we had stolen something.

I don't think this is entirely a racial matter, I think it is circumstancial as to what you are doing, how you are acting etc.

But what does piss me off is this- JUST BECAUSE SOMEONE DOESN'T BUY SOMETHING, DOESN'T MEAN THEY STOLE SOMETHING!!!

I would just like to ad- It is wrong to do this experiment with the store clerk being an actress and in on the whole thing. If the problem doesn't exsist, don't make it a problem.

It woul be better to this test in a store with only the customer being an actor, and see how the store clerk treats them.

Even a white person going into a high end store dressed shabby or like a hobo is going to get some dirty looks and ridiculed.

The problem here is class, not race.

I had another fun time- this time, riding the bus in town. Black driver.

I had not gotten my butt onto the seat, this woman took off like we'd been launched. I missed the seat I was aiming for, borked my elbow and loudly said "Were we cleared for that takeoff? I can only hope we're cleared for landing later!" Oddly enough, women, and other blacks were sent spinning off the edges of their seats when she picked THEM up... She waited really nice til they sat down, then punched it.

I think I should complain.... but........... would it make a difference....

IMHO this is one small wheel in the cog of machinery designed yes designed to foster and maintain racial and social divisiveness in this country. Not so much the attitudes but the whole piece itself. Where are the other video documentaries that show the complete opposite? Why is this garbage constantly thrust in people's faces? Yes it is garbage, how much racism exists because of media perception, portrayal, and overkill?



PG

I do not see how you can make claims of racism being alive and well because of what happened in this experiment. The whole situation was staged. The reactions were all pre-planned and the only thing that was left to chance was the reaction of bystanders. How does not getting involved in somebody else's business make one racist? Why were there only white customers around? Why were all the staff members white?

Sorry but this is blatant propaganda designed to demonise white people and blame them for all the ills non-whites face in today's world. The conclusions reached by those conducting this experiment are ridiculous to say the least.

reply to post by Dark Ghost

I do not see how you can make claims of racism being alive and well because of what happened in this experiment.

Just because you don't see it doesn't mean it doesn't happen, that's the attitude i get from your post. So then i suppose all of the black and white people that make the claim that they faced discrimination based on X are wrong huh?

One of the greatest travesties is that one is willing to admit that racism and prejudice are still prevalent in our society today, it's still here contrary to your beliefs.

How does not getting involved in somebody else's business make one racist? Why were there only white customers around? Why were all the staff members white?

No one even came close to saying anything like that, i think your views were already leaning in one direction so a video like this your going to ignore. Only white customers around? Okay, it's obvious now that you didn't watch the video or if you did you didn't pay attention.

Sorry but this is blatant propaganda designed to demonize white people and blame them for all the ills non-whites face in today's world. The conclusions reached by those conducting this experiment are ridiculous to say the least.

Sorry but your conclusions about this video are even more ridiculous, you don't even know what they were aiming for. It wasn't demonizing anyone, it just gauged everyone's reaction to blatant discrimination, in public. If you felt that way then it tells of your views on certain things.

reply to post by berenike


I think you have a good point. But this also could of been because she was female. If you take a couple to the dealership, they always approach the man first.

I always said that if I ever bought a new car(fat chance) that I would buy from the dealership that approached me first.

I owned a retail operation for many years. No doubt there are prejudiced people who own or work in retail. Unfortunately, there are also identifiable groups that are statistically more likely to steal. That can be observed from experience and generalizations are made based on that which are unfair in individual situations. In addition to exposing racist behavior, effort should also be made to encourage people not to engage in criminal behavior that can cause retailers to make generalizations about identifiable groups, ethnic and otherwise.

reply to post by nixie_nox

If you take a couple to the dealership, they always approach the man first.

maybe if you stopped and thought about it .. maybe the people who stood up for that women didnt make the cut... they only had shown what they wanted to be viewed... this is just like any other numbers game.. winning is making the numbers fit... i bet you 50 pct of people actually stood up and said BS thats wrong... but are they going to show the right way ? or are they going to show you a loaded piece of crap...

Crap like this happens to every race, I been in a shopping while white incident.

My everyday attire consists of a band tshirt (mostly Pantera, Ozzy or BLS), jeans in varied state of worn out and black HD riding boots.

I went into an upscale clothing store that sold tuxedos so I could buy one for my wedding. I figured I would buy one, that way if the need arises I would not have to rent one.

Anyways I pull right up to the front door on my harley and go in. Right as I walked into the door I was asked if there was a problem. I told them I needed a tux for my wedding and the guy opened the door, held it open and told me they don't rent low end tuxedos.

I told the guy he could kiss my a@@, hoped on my bike and let it serenade them for a few minutes as I layed on the gas(it is loud enough my wife can hear me coming half a mile away) before I rode to another store.

Now if they did this little expierament in a mid to low end clothing store, say a place like sears, then I might be a little more affected by the video.

As it is, it isn't so much a race thing then it is a class thing.

This entire thread is utterly Mental

A: It's a set up and fake

B: even if it wasn't a setup it's SOHO... the stuff on the rack is 450.00 avg a pair of shoes several hundred a Shirt that can be slipped in your purse. If you look like you CAN'T afford it or are just browsing too long EXPECT to be watched like a hawk

C: These stores have CAMERAS so when you observe the staff bagging someone you have to Assume they have been CAUGHT and you don't step in.

These stores pay massive rent in these areas they have security that is Awesome, mistakes are RARE

If anything they completely kiss your your rear end regardless of skin color if your in there because they have no way of knowing who you are.

I'm sorry, I have spent much time in Soho in my life and spent the last year of my life prior across the street from the Biltmore in Phx NO ONE ever bothered me ever not once... 99.% of the time if they do bother you it's because something is up, YOU sent the wrong signal or were utterly out of place.

Browse?

Browse at Walmart, Browse in these places if you behave and dress accordingly and don't look suspicious...

There are fragile items worth 10-20 G sitting on display sometimes, they can kick you to the curb if your hands are Dirty for all they care, they don't need anyone they know who isn't buying getting skin oil on the 2,500 leather shoes, or playing hackie sack next to the Rolex display...

and Soho?

Half the clientele is Black... they know the difference when your part of P Diddy's entourage or a super model or an investment Banker or when you have a bus pass and a joint in your pocket...

The only thing the Rich discriminate against is being POOR, race isn't a factor, not in Soho... At least in fashion and show biz... This is Soho not the Golf Course... maybe that would be believable but this is Nonsense

In fact in allot of Soho you better be Gay or Ethnic or in show business or wealthy or something or they will kick you out regardless... You can't be a a republican type and get in the door lol...so this is just STUPID

You know what's racist?

The website or whoever made or promoted this...

Black on Black Crime... Bothers and Sisters shopping in Soho are IN CROWD... Stylish, Bougie as all Heck... they will throw anyone out who doesn't belong and 90% of the time the security will be Black too...

What the makers of this are doing is presenting Black people as POOR... this is an Insult to Black People more than it helps them...

That neighborhood sports some of the wealthiest African Americans in America... and no party, no night club, no store, no hair salon would EVER offend THEM and stay in business.

They don't care what Race you are lol... you scream Looser when you walk in the door or you don't....


You know... I can't even elaborate this...

I'll just come off the wrong way to someone... Racism in stores happens in Racist communities YES

Not flipping Soho...

Soho is Cool, Fashionable and yeah some stores you are going to be followed if you look POOR and...a 2 second conversation revels if you should be there or not...you know people dress funky or dress down, they don't assault you lol, you might be anybody...

You know... you walk in with shoes from Payless and start Manhandling the 550.00 Pradas... yeah they might ask you to go if your too goofy, RACE however wont be the reason EVER, no Soho, Not Beverly Hills...

I mean Please.... Give it a REST

Question:

How did this Black Activist experiment get in THAT Store? With Cameras?

Answer:

it's owned or Operated By African Americans LOL

ROFL, some of you are nuts or unexposed, This is the BOUGIEST Black Neighborhood in existence... this cracks me up...

In the land where Brothers will GET PAID to wear the fashions out in public because they are COOL the makers of this want to prove a Racism Point? The Owners or Manager is 100% assured of Being African American if those Cameras are there... what a Crock of POOP this is... LOL The only Bigotry in that element is against the POOR, and yeah make THAT point... maybe (frankly If I owned the place I wouldn't want people who aren't there to buy touching and unfolding the stuff either... but make that point maybe... But Racism...there? Moronic...

reply to post by mopusvindictus


You said that perfectly! This whole racism thing is getting tiresome to say the least.

Our generation (from my experience at least) are waaayyy over the whole black vs white thing. Some of the most beautiful woman I've seen are African and often I envy them.

We are past it! The old fogies need to get with it and stop opening up old wounds!