Nothing angers me more than being racially profiled while trying to buy groceries. The other morning, I drove to Costco to purchase bottled water for a local community drive with a Christian radio station. While there I decided to grab a box of crackers to eat with my tuna.
Since I’m exercising more and eating healthier, I grabbed box of whole wheat crackers that were on display. As I walked away, I realized my error of not comparing prices, so I returned and browsed the cracker aisle. Withing minutes a white/Hispanic male employee came and stood right in front of me. Not working, just staring at the shelf in front of him.
Angry, I took a deep breath and wondered if it were too soon to confront him. I’ve begun confronting employees who I know are racially profiling me. It addresses the problem, embarrasses them and lets the employee and staff know that I’m aware of what they are doing.
Unsure of how to deal with the Costco employee I asked him how to maneuver the palette I had since I’d never used one. With a very clear attitude he mumbled a response that didn’t answer my question. Pressing him further he explained how to use it by keeping it in the center aisle and away from the shelves. Afterwards he walked away and so did I. Only to see him walking towards me as I left the back of the store with the bottled water. Yes, I glared at him.
Stopping on an aisle to see if the store had any dry beans (cheaper than canned) this same employee was returning to the front of the store with a co-worker as I exited the aisle. Wanting to let him know that I was fully aware that he was watching me I asked if the store had any dry beans. The answer was “no” to my surprise. Apparently, it’s a seasonal item. I walked to the checkout area only to see him exit a doorway after seeing the checkout employee scan the box of cracker.
This typical nonsense is the reason it’s easier to eat junk food than it is to eat healthy. Grocery shopping is an exhausting, anger inducing experience where black people are presumed guilty and not treated with respect. This type of treatment has limited my access to grocery stores in general. Regardless of the store chain there’s always an employee pretending to work by having a cart in front of them, but not actually doing anything except watching the black person shopping. I refuse to patronize these places and my non-confrontational manner has done an about face.
And even though I struggle with deciphering when and if to confront the employee whose watching me I always feel the need to speak up for myself. Often praying for wisdom on whether or not to do so. Imagine this delima each and every time you enter a grocery store (or department store)? To say it is unjust is an understatement and needs to be addressed. I pray for wisdom and the courage to do so. I am led to surrender this to the Lord. Done.
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