Barneys accused teen of using fake debit card for $349 belt because he's a ‘young black American

www.nydailynews.com...

So, a young man goes with his debit card into a ridiculously expensive department store, buys a stupid $350 belt, and is immediately apprehended, handcuffed, and detained for 2 hours because of the idea that SURE a young black man couldn't possibly have afforded a $350 belt. It must have been a fake debit card he used. This was the reason behind the alert called into the cops.

This is sad.

This is truly a case of someone doing *nothing* wrong, but being treated like a criminal solely because of his age, skin color, and assumed lack of ability to pay for something of this cost without doing so illegally.

Often racial issues leave me with a bad taste in my mouth. I feel many folks consider themselves a "victims" and deserve special treatment. However, this clearly is not the case. This is simply a matter of the store and the cops acting entirely out of order, and flexing their muscles to show this young black man exactly who is boss.

I'll say it again, this is sad.

reply to post by SadistNocturne


Im sure he will get a form of compensation and the workers involved have been fired.

although thats a guess and not based on fact.

I worked for the ohio civil rights commission for 15 years and it's really sad when you see some of the discrimination that goes on. We had a case where a group of black teenagers went to an Applebee's after a game and were forced to prepay for their orders. When they filed a civil rights complaint Applebee's answer was that they had a right because black people had skipped out on a bill before. It's just sad.

$350.....for a belt???? Jesus. Anyway, yep its sad. There will always be racism... always. There are bad people of ALL races.

I think the most I ever spent on a belt was like......$29. My wife bought me a pair of $299 jeans from the buckle last Xmas and I almost crapped a kitten. Seriously tho....racism is bad. Don't do it.

hknudzkknexnt
reply to post by SadistNocturne

 

Im sure he will get a form of compensation and the workers involved have been fired.

although thats a guess and not based on fact.

No actually from my experience they will make the stores employees go to a sensitivity class. There is a possibility that the ALJ will award punitive damages to the kid but it is highly unlikely. At least in Ohio.

A spokeswoman for the NYPD denied Christian was detained for two hours, saying he was brought into the precinct at 7:04 p.m. and was allowed to leave at 7:45 p.m.

Read more: www.nydailynews.com...

Oh, well then that makes it all okay?

Profiling is one thing. Everybody does it. We couldnt survive if we didnt.

What permits this to happen is a system of law enforcement that operates way beyond original scope with pre-crime and constant paranoid suspicion.

Racist people are a reality and they arent ever going away. What we have is a system set up that not only encourages racist behavior but openly rewards it.

No different from sociopaths and the system of politics. An asshole is powerless. An asshole in the right line of work is a monster.

Reign in law enforcement as an institution and strike 98% of all the laws from the books and it wont matter if some lunatic or bigot becomes a cop because he wont be able to do anything about it.

We cant change humans but we can at least not hand them the tools they need to wreak havoc on the rest of us, namely the institution of law enforcement.

What is sad is that the first thing the kid and his mother point to are charges of racism when they have no cause to say that.

According to the article there have been 47 arrests recently of people using fraudulent means to purchase stuff at that store and the fact they have detectives on stand-by tells you how big the problem is.

It sounds more like a drag-net operation where anyone young or doesn't look like they should be shopping there are being questioned.

Of course, since this kid is black he's probably being advised about the easy payout he can get for yelling racism.

catfishjoe
I think the most I ever spent on a belt was like......$29. My wife bought me a pair of $299 jeans from the buckle last Xmas and I almost crapped a kitten. Seriously tho....racism is bad. Don't do it.

You really shouldn't do that to a Kitten, PETA is going to be all over you for that.

Spookybelle
What is sad is that the first thing the kid and his mother point to are charges of racism when they have no cause to say that.

According to the article there have been 47 arrests recently of people using fraudulent means to purchase stuff at that store and the fact they have detectives on stand-by tells you how big the problem is.

It sounds more like a drag-net operation where anyone young or doesn't look like they should be shopping there are being questioned.

Of course, since this kid is black he's probably being advised about the easy payout he can get for yelling racism.

You must be young or pretty naive not to know that this is racism, and as I mentioned earlier there's no payout to the kid just a class the store will have to pay for. So quit telling yourself that those lazy good for nothing blacks are out to bilk you for every dime, you know they are brought up that way. Get out there and see what is really going on. Racism is just ignorance always.

damwel

Spookybelle
What is sad is that the first thing the kid and his mother point to are charges of racism when they have no cause to say that.

According to the article there have been 47 arrests recently of people using fraudulent means to purchase stuff at that store and the fact they have detectives on stand-by tells you how big the problem is.

It sounds more like a drag-net operation where anyone young or doesn't look like they should be shopping there are being questioned.

Of course, since this kid is black he's probably being advised about the easy payout he can get for yelling racism.

You must be young or pretty naive not to know that this is racism, and as I mentioned earlier there's no payout to the kid just a class the store will have to pay for. So quit telling yourself that those lazy good for nothing blacks are out to bilk you for every dime, you know they are brought up that way. Get out there and see what is really going on. Racism is just ignorance always.

How do you know it was racism if you do not know the races of all the others who have been arrested for the exact same thing recently?

Don't you think you are making an assumption without all the facts?

Is it not possible that Barney's is profiling based on age and look rather than just race?

Have they turned away other blacks or just young ones who don't look like they belong shopping there?

How much have they lost to theft or fraud recently?

Doesn't seem like I'm being the naïve one here now does it.

i dont know how to insert an image on this site
img577.imageshack.us...

i kinda like the belt. im a fan of silver jewelry and such to.

but there is no way in hell i would have payed that much lol

I'm not sure what's sadder...

That some racist asshole unjustly profiled another human being...

or the fact that so many can actually understand why they might.

This place sucks, for all of us.

reply to post by lernmore


What would you do if it were your store and you were constantly being ripped off?

Would you just pretend it didn't happen or try and take action to ensure that it stops?

It sounds like from the article that the man had a Chase Credit Card with his name one it, produced a State ID to confirm the identity and the card processed with no issues. Why would someone assume that the card was fraudulent?

Are credit card thieves getting so advanced that they make up Valid Credit Cards and Government Issued ID's?

The only thing I found weird in the article was the shopper said he produced a State ID to the Counter person, yet produced a Driver's License to the Police. You typically wouldn't have both of those in your possession, either one or the other, not both. That part of the story doesn't make sense to me.

reply to post by Spookybelle


Did you miss the part of my post where I was sympethetic to both points of view?

I just don't have the kind of people skills it takes to be in retail, so thankfully I'll never be in that position.

I guess I wouldn't know until I was.

reply to post by lernmore


Well this young man did have the proper ID and everything went through fine so he shouldn't have been harassed and certainly should not have been brought down to the precinct.....on that I have no issue.

However, profiling certain clientele is a wise move. If your running a high-profile store like Barney's there are just some people who don't look like they fit into that atmosphere and the odds increase that they are up to something nefarious.

It would be just like some white guy showing up in a 3-piece Armani suit to a hip-hop concert. Something is probably out of the ordinary here.

I can almost guarantee that Barney's has no policy instructing their employees to racially profile people or target them on that basis since getting caught up in a scandal like that would simply ruin their image. They may have told their employees to be on the lookout for any people that don't fit their usual clientele list though because of recent fraudulent purchases.

reply to post by Spookybelle


That's what I just said in my first post, only I didn't take four paragraphs to do it.

so many can actually understand why they might.

reply to post by lernmore


Well you may want to refrain from biased accusations like this then

That some racist asshole unjustly profiled another human being...

if you wish to avoid a sensible debate about your posts.

reply to post by Spookybelle


Oh, for crying out loud... that's the premise of the entire OP!

That some mean, asshole, racist clerk, and some store cops unjustly profiled a young black man and took him to jail. How else would you characterize it?

Now you're just upset because you read it wrong... admit it, and move on already.

Sheldon Cooper isn't very good at sarcasm either.

Besties?


ETA: Let me try to re-word it, maybe it will sound better.

-----------------------
It sure seems unfair that the young man got unjustly profiled, but I can see how it happened.
-----------------------


Hell, even that doesn't sound right, but it is what it is.

It's not much different than the way you just "profiled" me.

reply to post by lernmore


See that sounds much more reasonable and we are apparently in agreement.

You can only respond to things the way they are written in the context of a forum.

You are right though, its unfortunate this young man got caught up in something he was not partaking in but as for direct racism on the part of Barney's I would have to say that it more than likely wasn't the case.

I'm not sure how liability would fall but perhaps it should be the police department who is at fault for actually putting this person in lock-up if even for only a short amount of time.

That, to me, is unreasonable.