r/BlackPeopleTwitter
•
u/ThickCapital
•
Feb 15 '23
•
1
Always gotta be on the lookout to show innocence Country Club Thread
4.5k
u/tittylieutenant
Feb 15 '23
•
I tell my non black friends this all of the time. The lengths I go to for others to not see me as suspicious is more than I have seen them do.
- Take off hoodie
- Never put your hands in your pockets while walking into the store and while shopping.
- Don’t look around too much.
- Slow down before walking out of the store. If you walk too fast, they might think you are trying to get away.
- If the alarm goes off as you are walking out of the store, walk back into the store and wait until you’re excused by an employee.
1.6k
u/randydingdong Feb 15 '23
Been there. Done that. Was at the health food store today and almost put some garlic into my pockets because I ran out of space. Not going down for .79 off garlic.
971
u/Yasuminomon Feb 15 '23
Bro you could be an old white lady and anyone would think you’re stealing if you put something in your pocket
907
u/littlemac564 Feb 15 '23
If you are an old and white, the store will say you made a mistake/forgot and ask for the item politely.
226
u/Yasuminomon Feb 15 '23
Yeah because no one wants to accuse an old person of stealing plus ykno dementia lol. It’s like when I used to work in retail in the changing rooms and a customer is “missing” an item, I’d ask them if they “forgot” it in the room
96
u/queenweasley Feb 15 '23
Looked up Karen Garner. Police broke her arm over like $13 worth of stuff, she was 73
→ More replies41
u/temp91 Feb 15 '23
What is the scam that involves leaving clothes in a changing room?
→ More replies153
u/thatwaffleskid Feb 15 '23
I think they're saying the customer was hiding the item on their person to steal it, so when they noticed it missing they called the customer out without actually accusing them of stealing.
36
42
u/suckmyglock762 Feb 15 '23
Karen Garner, an old white lady with dementia, was noticed by Walmart attempting to walk out of the store with a few bucks worth of product.
They certainly didn't mind accusing her. They called the cops who showed up and beat her, broke her shoulder, and denied her medical attention for hours while they laughed about it.
52
u/crazypyro23 Feb 15 '23
If there were ever two organizations that would team up to brutally beat and mock an old lady, it would be Walmart and the cops
→ More replies14
u/SnooLemons1528 Feb 15 '23
Now find where its a regular occurrence. Anyone can find one incident or irregular occurrence. when multiple people from different walks of life that share one common denominator say this happens, gotcha post are irrelevant.
→ More replies→ More replies6
u/Schnogglet Feb 15 '23
Sadly not where I am from. Local old lady was caught stealing. Might have been done that for years. It was just fucking crackers. The employees wanted to give her a warning but you must report it to the regional manager. Long story short, big food stores here have a no excuse policy, they had to ban her for 1 year with also calling a lawyer on her. I get where they come from, still sad for that old lady.
→ More replies43
u/ArmedBull Feb 15 '23
Fuck, even when I'm working at the store I feel like I'm stealing when I put something in my pocket.
→ More replies→ More replies13
u/the_corpse Feb 15 '23 edited Feb 15 '23
nah bro, as a big white dude that doesn't carry a bag, i put shit in my pockets all the time, nobody has shit to say. Most I'll get is a cocked eyebrow when I empty my pockets at the register to pay.
edit: just to be clear, I don't steal. I pay for everything in my pockets. Hell, I've gone back to pay when I found something I didn't pay for.
→ More replies22
u/Yasuminomon Feb 15 '23
Well you definitely looks sus which is my point
12
u/the_corpse Feb 15 '23
i look sus for a lot of reasons, but i think the major point here is that when you look like an old white lady (or me) it doesn't matter when if you look sus, people leave you alone. You give a black man my beard and hoody, let him put a can of monster in his pocket and watch how fast they descend on him.
→ More replies102
u/PrisonaPlanet Feb 15 '23
I’m white and I would never put something I haven’t paid for yet in my pocket. I also don’t bring anything INTO a store that is or might be sold there (think like a drink or snack or stuff like that).
Also don’t bring back packs/bags into stores, no strollers unless absolutely necessary. I always turn around if the alarm goes off too, no sense in just ignoring it on the off chance there is a mistake and I really am leaving with something unknowingly.
353
u/eekamuse Feb 15 '23
Just a heads up for you: we all know that the same thing happens to white people, but it's overwhelmingly a problem for Black people because of racism.
When you say "I'm white and" this happens to me too", it sounds like you're dismissing racism.
I'm sure that wasnt your intention, but be aware of it. It's something that racists do all the time to claim racism doesn't exist.
169
u/idiotinbcn ☑️ Feb 15 '23
💯 The number of yts in this thread doing that shit is annoying AF.
→ More replies33
u/mrshulgin Feb 15 '23
If only everyone could approach discussions like you just did: pointing out a problem while not attacking the person.
Unfortunately many of us are so frustrated that we've been dragged past that point, but we need to remember that's where we should be.
23
u/eekamuse Feb 15 '23 edited Feb 15 '23
Thank you very much. I've sone a bit of reading about conflict resolution.
But i do plenty of attacking too. When it's clearly racist.
For all i know they are. I went with the information I had
→ More replies26
u/mlp2034 Feb 15 '23 edited Feb 19 '23
Its because of this weird space our history and society has put us in. We grew up in a white supremacist world and forcibly have been taught and adopted many of their ways which is necessary for survival that they do not have to adhere to vice-versa.
To make my point clearer is, because we have to learn how they shake and move in this world and they dont have to on the flip-side puts us in a space where we understand way more about them than they do us. They have no idea what we think really. Thats what makes them so susceptible to many misleading or uneducated messages about black ppl by the likes of Fox News and anything like it.
Ive been around many white ppl who believe we both exist the same and have all the same opportunities, and while they are certain this is so, Im looking at them like they are a first grader.
The reason they don't know is because the white supremacist structure made sure they didnt, and its so effective that even works on some of us. If they taught much more about black ppl outside of a disrespectful gloss over of slavery and civil rights as early on as elementary school, they wouldn't have these questions and would better understand us from the beginning. I just try to be patient knowing this, but on their part there should be a bigger push to learn as much as they can about us.
58
u/Cleverusername531 Feb 15 '23
I am also white, and I feel like I have the ability to open a drink or a package of food while I’m still shopping. I am self-conscious about putting my hands in my pockets (‘do I look suspicious to them?’) but that’s because I was raised by a crazy caregiver who accused me of all kinds of things, things that weren’t even things, and it didn’t matter whether I had done them or not. So now I’m walking around on alert about everything. But I don’t actually feel afraid that someone will say or do something to me; and if they did I feel a sense of confidence that the interaction would be fine and go in my favor.
→ More replies76
u/PrisonaPlanet Feb 15 '23
I never understood the people that would open product in the store prior to purchasing it. I worked in retail and would have people hand me wrappers of food they had ate WHILE SHOPPING to throw away for them, fucking weirdest thing to me lol like would you put on an outfit and then bring the tags to the register to buy it? That shits weird.
→ More replies34
u/Cleverusername531 Feb 15 '23
Okay handing it to you is weird. Especially in retail.
I open drink containers in grocery stores occasionally if I’m really thirsty (or low blood sugar-y).
31
u/beastmaster11 Feb 15 '23
I mean, how else are they going to pay for it if they don't hand it over. Do you open it and not pay?
→ More replies9
u/Rendakor Feb 15 '23
It sounded like the opened the wrapped, ate the food, and gave the wrapper to the employee to throw away (not to pay for). Like, please help me steal this by concealing the evidence.
→ More replies14
u/Monkeypupper Feb 15 '23
Wrong, they are the food and gave the wrapper to the person to ring up. It’s what all white people do.
→ More replies10
u/Maebure83 Feb 15 '23
I have never known anyone that did that, regardless of skin color.
I've found open food containers left in random places in stores on rare occasions, but I never open anything before I pay for it.
→ More replies29
u/ReynAetherwindt Feb 15 '23
I also don’t bring anything INTO a store that is or might be sold there
I, too, shop for clothes in the nude.
8
→ More replies13
u/Dr_Bluntsworthy_ThC Feb 15 '23
I'm half white but pretty white looking and I do all those things without thinking twice because I know I'm not doing anything wrong. I've put shit in my hoodie pocket when I forgot to grab a basket and overestimated my ability to carry with my hands, if the alarm thing goes off at the grocery store I just keep walking. Because I know I didn't steal. And no one has ever stopped me or harassed me for it. Probably because I'm pretty white looking.
→ More replies→ More replies19
188
u/crimsoncricket009 Feb 15 '23 edited Feb 15 '23 •
My husband is white and is utterly heart broken every time he experiences something new like this with me. On our like third date, we had to cut through a barnes and noble to get to our movie and ended up missing the movie so we hung out in the B&N for a while.
And I guess for him, the consequences of loitering while brown was not as apparent until this night when we first had 3 folks follow me all over the store, taking turns in each zone to look very intrigued by the books they were picking up and putting down the entire time. He notices and starts texting me like “are you seeing these people?? Are they following us??” So I tell him “yea lol it happens” and he gets really riled up and I beg him not to say anything because let’s be honest what’s the best case scenario here? It’s our third date!
And like 45 mins go by, and we’re looking at records. Enormous fucking records that we could not possibly carry out without being noticed and two managers walk up to us to ask what I’m doing. I tell them I’m looking at records. They ask me am I going to buy any of them. And my husband loses his absolute shit— pre iPhones so it really didn’t amount to much in terms of accountability. And we got kicked out. Which I guess is not what he was expecting? Maybe when this happens to white people, they hand them gift cards and a complimentary mint or something.
He was so fired up by this and wanted accountability so badly, and here I was telling him that really didn’t exist. I remember at first thinking like “damn white people are fragile” and he says out loud “you must be thinking like damn white people are fragile” lmao
But he always says that experience was his first eye opening experience like that. It was just a Tuesday for me. Lol
→ More replies92
u/obsidianbreath ☑️ Feb 15 '23
Your experience reminds me of how some of this often starts very young. In high school, I attended a Jesuit private boarding school.
The white kids could be late for studies, call teachers by their first name, do extremely wild shit or acts of vandalism, and it would be written off as boys will be boys. But let a back kid be a little loud, not even rude, just talkative, and you would think he was the spawn of Satan. The punishments would just rain down on him. Constant monitoring and excessive reporting.
I learnt that being black, the rules don't apply the same to us as they do to them. By the time I graduated, I wasn't as phased by the difference in treatment.
That's the way the world worked, and I'd grown accustomed to policing myself more so as not to be seen as a threat.
→ More replies28
u/10000Didgeridoos Feb 15 '23
Lmao who the fuck is calling teachers by their first name anywhere? That is wild. I don't think I did that ever except for college professors who told me to call them their name.
I can't imagine being in grade school like "Hey Greg, is this gonna be on the test?"
→ More replies183
u/FattieBanton Feb 15 '23
I particularly hate winter time (besides the weather) because it means having to go into a store with a big ass coat. Asset protection / security automatically start following you in the store with their not-so-subtle all black attire. At least in the summer time I can go into a store with shorts, t shirt, and sandals which in their mind reduces places I can hide things
Reminds me of my senior year in high school. My prom date was a filipina chick (passed for white) and we went as a group of maybe 4-5 teens to the mall so she could get a dress and I was the only black dude. She said she was gonna steal it and it thought she was joking. When I realized she was serious, I went outside to wait for them because i wasn’t tryina get caught up over some nonsense. Sure enough they stole it no problem.
63
u/eekamuse Feb 15 '23
I wish everyone in America would read posts like this. As kids in school. But they can't even read books, in some states, so it's never going to happen.
No one should have to live with this shit.
22
u/rumbakalao ☑️ Feb 15 '23
How do you steal a whole ass dress? Does that even fit in a purse or did she just wear it underneath the clothes she walked in with? I'm curious now lol
→ More replies→ More replies16
171
u/Lumpy_Slip8111 Feb 15 '23
And always have receipt on hand
→ More replies64
u/alabamaterp Feb 15 '23
I used the self checkout at Walmart and it didn't print my receipt. I made damn sure to let the associate know that I needed a receipt because I didn't want to get harassed by the person at the front door. It took a minute or so to retrieve from their system, but I got it.
34
u/1984-Present Feb 15 '23
It's not Costco, tell the door person to get fucked
→ More replies24
u/mochacho Feb 15 '23
They're all just people doing their job, just tell them no thanks.
If they insist, then tell them to get fucked.
→ More replies102
u/SlapahoWarrior ☑️ Feb 15 '23
I used to live with some white guys that would offer to take me to the convenient store all the time. I already knew I was getting followed around the store by the employee. Turns out that the guys I lived with knew this and would purposefully take me with them so they can steal and get away with it. I don’t live or talk to them anymore.
A more fun story: My friends mom would get followed around and have the person following her carry all the stuff she plans on buying.
→ More replies29
u/idiotinbcn ☑️ Feb 15 '23
That is fucking terrible.
14
u/reezy619 Feb 15 '23
Correction: the first part is fucking terrible.
The second part is fucking baller
87
u/Cleverusername531 Feb 15 '23
This reminds me of how some men (who don’t already know) are amazed and appalled when they learn about the lengths women go to protect themselves at night or when alone. I want all people to know about this.
→ More replies12
u/jadedea Feb 15 '23
When guys ask why don't I have outside hobbies, and when I tell them I get off work at 5 so any outside hobby would have me going home at night....no thanks. It's very difficult to find something to do that will limit my chances of negative encounters. Not avoid 100%, just limit the chances. As in, I still expect to get attacked even if I do choose a hobby. Sad.
42
u/NoiseHERO Feb 15 '23
Ah shit, I do ALL this. I hate being on that "are you me?" reddit shit but... Ah man this one bugs me. Especially 4.
35
u/Bopethestoryteller Feb 15 '23
I tell my son to take off his hoodie everytime we enter a store.
36
u/ISpeakSarcasmOnly Feb 15 '23
I tell my 8 year old girls to do the same thing. They are tall athletes and pass for teens. They don’t understand. The anger in this mama bear.
24
u/Jordanwolf98 Feb 15 '23
I always make sure to ask for my receipt too instead of saying they can keep it or email it to me or something. Always need that proof right there that I purchased
22
u/choerrybullets ☑️ Feb 15 '23
Yuppppp. And to add to that list, whenever I take something out of my purse or pockets, I always make sure there’s some store employee OR a camera that can properly see me. Cause it’s not me they’re throwing into a Walmart prison!
→ More replies9
9
u/EstorialBeef Feb 15 '23
Number 5 is pretty universal but I can imagine how much more of an issue the rest must be.
→ More replies24
u/DrSnarkyTherapist Feb 15 '23
Nah. White lady here and I keep walking. Never been an issue.
19
u/rei7777 Feb 15 '23
Also white lady here. I used to glance around but 99% of the time employees weren’t paying any attention to the alarm, so now I just leave.
→ More replies18
u/markrichtsspraytan Feb 15 '23
Also white lady, but I always stop, especially if I’ve bought anything that might have a security tag on it. Aside from not wanting some vigilante mall cop trying to tackle me, I don’t want to deal with having to try and remove one of those security contraptions at home. Cashiers forget to take those off all the time.
9
u/EstorialBeef Feb 15 '23
As a white guy that sounds mad to me probably depends the area/"shopping etiquette?"
8
u/haveutried2hardboot ☑️ Feb 15 '23
This is exactly right! That's the list I had given to me and the one I have given to my kids. After COVID, you don't have on both shades and the mask inside the store.
→ More replies7
u/ZeuxisOfHerakleia Feb 15 '23
I also do that but its not my skin colour its anxiety LOL
→ More replies
1.7k
u/ThickCapital Feb 15 '23
When walking to my car after dark, I have found myself unlocking my car way before I get to it just to make it light up so people realize I’m headed to my own vehicle.
581
u/daj0412 ☑️ Feb 15 '23 edited Feb 15 '23
dang.... this one i didn't actually even realize I did subconsciously...
→ More replies330
u/THEXDARKXLORD Feb 15 '23
If I’m walking to my car after dark, I arc my trajectory away from anyone walking in my direction. I make it especially obvious for any women I’m walking past in the parking lot.
259
u/zryder2 Feb 15 '23
Same. The other night I was at the grocery store and a younger woman (mid 20s) came by my car just as I was getting out, which meant I would be right behind her walking into the store.
So I did the only thing that made sense - got back in my car and pretended to look for something until she was gone.
Just a normal day in the life.
59
u/SwallowsDick Feb 15 '23
I would do this as a white guy too
→ More replies16
u/Cartman4wesome Feb 15 '23
I do this because I don’t like to walk behind someone who’s going just a bit slower than me. Messes up my walking speed and flow. I could pass them by that would mean speeding up and then slowing down, which I just feel weird doing.
→ More replies39
u/mayblossom_ Feb 15 '23
I was one accidentaly racist in a parking lot... I'm a tiny white woman, I was walking home and it was dark. I was so cought up in my own thoughts, that I didn't saw the black guy walking in my direction in the dark. When I noticed him just a meter before me, I was startled and loudly exclaimed "Oh my god!", like that poor guy was trying to rob me or something. Still feel bad about that
78
u/Timmytanks40 ☑️ Feb 15 '23
Oh I used to have to sprint walk to get ahead of female students on campus or else I'd end up following them all the way to the dorms.
22
37
u/gingerbreadguy Feb 15 '23 edited Feb 15 '23
I think it's considerate for men of any race to give women a wide berth in lonely places at night. Lets us more quickly discern those who are encroaching boundaries and being closer than necessary, if that makes sense.
(And sex offenders are more likely to operate within their own race so there is no sense on being more scared of someone outside your own race.)
37
u/THEXDARKXLORD Feb 15 '23
Yeah that’s a big part of it for me.
It’s really women of any race, not just white women.
Lurking on r/AskWomen really helped me be more empathetic towards a lot of the concerns women have for their physical safety just moving through the world.
14
→ More replies10
u/grinhawk0715 Feb 15 '23
Same. Hell, I hate accidentally following someone.
I'm not trying to get shot by a scared person with their .22.
I'm fucking tired of answering to White people's trauma while ignoring my own.
→ More replies51
u/Infinite_Resource_ Feb 15 '23
depending on the model, you can push the lock button again to light up the car, no need to unlock it
→ More replies32
u/Legendarybbc15 Feb 15 '23
I typically do that but it’s more due to my poor sense of direction lol. I just need to know where my car is
→ More replies16
18
u/AncientSuntzu Feb 15 '23
No flex here but I bought a Tesla a few years ago and I use Bluetooth to get in. But sometimes, when the Bluetooth takes a second to kick in, there’s this evil eye animation that shows up on the screen and the horn beeps to indicate you’re getting to close. That shit always scares me because I’m definitely in the whitest of white suburbs when it happens and they ALREADY were watching me. Lbs.
14
u/tevert Feb 15 '23
I'm white, but I'm seeing a few similarities to the behaviors I slip into to let women know I'm not stalking them.
→ More replies7
u/TheBoctor Feb 15 '23
Same. I’m a big white dude, and I make it a point to look non threatening and non confrontational when possible. Keep a decent distance behind any lone woman, or speed walk so I can be ahead of her.
If a lady is loading her car in the parking lot next to mine I’ll take a looonnnggg time heading back so she can be in her vehicle before I get close.
Glasses help, so does a light colored jacket. But women have every right to be wary of men, so I do my best to show by my actions that I’m hopefully one less thing they have to worry about.
→ More replies→ More replies9
u/LogicIsMyFriend Feb 15 '23
The smile I give their stressed faces when walking up to my 2020 Lincoln while dressed in all Polo while knowing I earned this shit legally!!
959
u/NickTButcher Feb 15 '23
Going into a store and not finding what you want then having to buy a pack of gum. Or walking out of a department store and hoping the alarm doesn’t go off
→ More replies336
u/yeetgev Feb 15 '23 •
I once bought this nasty smelling hand sanitizer for $15 because it was the cheapest item near me because the person I was with (who was white) didn’t buy anything from the store and I felt like because I was there as well I had to just buy it instead of walking out and possibly being confronted. The person I was with questioned why I bought the sanitizer too 💀 which now feels dumb but worth it to avoid any confrontation
193
u/sean1oo1 Feb 15 '23
No I’d have left that alone, ik it feels weird in GENERAL to walk into any store and walk out without buying anything but if you didn’t need to buy anything you didn’t need to gaslight yourself into doing so.
70
u/littlemac564 Feb 15 '23
I stop doing that because I got tired of returning items to the store. It is also a drain on my wallet.
→ More replies32
u/PandaKing00 Feb 15 '23
I did something similar just last week. Went into a shop for beer but they didn't have the beer I wanted so I bought a pack of brioche burger buns and left 😑 they only cost £1.30 though so it was worth it to not look sus.
703
u/anatomatt Feb 15 '23 edited Feb 15 '23
Me having glasses helps people feel comfortable around me.
339
u/PenultimateJedi Feb 15 '23
Fuck. Yep, though I never shave or do my hair. So it’s a mix bag. I’ve adopted a lot of my dad’s “entitled” attitude that used to embarrass me as a kid going places with him though. Turns out he wasn’t entitled at all, he just demanded respect.
→ More replies122
u/Joelblaze ☑️ Feb 15 '23
But having glasses is wild tho.
I used to be really overweight, never really had a problem out in public, plenty of smiles and people saying high.
Lost a lot of weight and put a lot of muscle back in its place, a lot less smiles and a lot more "😐", and I noticed for the first time I was being watched in a store I was shopping in.
Started wearing my computer glasses everywhere and we're suddenly back to smiles again.
I had dinner with coworkers a while back and I had my glasses on my head. One of them (a white woman) asked if I really needed them and I said no. She then scoffs and says "I didn't take you for the 'personality glasses' type" and I just laugh along and change the subject.
→ More replies129
u/BILLCLINTONMASK Feb 15 '23
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=14ECj4OcCC0
Curb Your Enthusiasm nailed it
71
u/ArcticBeavers Feb 15 '23
This is better than anything the civil rights leaders ever came up with
Lmaoo
30
21
18
u/ChubbyBlackWoman Feb 15 '23
Comedian on tik tok says the same thing. I'm sure my glasses are the only thing that keep people from thinking I'm a homeless person.
→ More replies8
u/hopp596 Feb 15 '23
Absolutely! When I have my glasses on instead of contacts, people are more relaxed around me 🤓
663
u/MuddaFrmAnnudaBrudda ☑️ my anecdotal experience is everything Feb 15 '23
I always get a receipt in a shop. I don't care how friendly the staff are or whether I bought 1 or 10 items. That receipt can be the difference between you getting home safe or getting a barely literate security guard with bad breath spoiling your day.
113
82
u/narcolepticturtle ☑️ Feb 15 '23
When I get gas and pay for it at the pump, I always get a receipt even though I never need it JUST IN CASE they think I stole the gas and they run me down or call police, I can show the receipt. It’s also for anyone around to see me holding a lengthy receipt so I have witnesses. Everytime.
→ More replies23
u/MagicCarpetofSteel Feb 15 '23
Wait how the fuck can you steal gas with pay at the pump? Doesn’t it make you give your credit card first?
10
u/narcolepticturtle ☑️ Feb 15 '23
You can pump gas and then pay inside afterwards. I choose to pay at the pump so I don’t have to go inside. So it could look like I didn’t pay… my irrational fear is that if the cashier is busy, he may not have noticed that I prepaid and think I drove off after pumping.
19
u/Sinicul Feb 15 '23
Every gas station I’ve been to in the past 10 years requires paying before pumping. Didn’t know some places still let you pump first.
→ More replies→ More replies51
u/turkturkleton Feb 15 '23
It's like that Patrice O'Neal bit about how he collects receipts and never goes an hour without buying something because the paper trail is an alibi.
→ More replies
406
u/easy10pins Feb 15 '23
I went to a jewelry store to by a specific Citizen watch I wanted. I was dressed in coveralls since I had just left work. (welder by trade).
I walked in and got this strange chill in me like someone was watching me. Then I realized THE WHOLE DAMN STORE STAFF was staring at me like I walked in masked up with a gun in hand.
Thank goodness someone asked me "Can I help you?" and told her the exact Citizen watch I was looking for. I got the watch, paid, and quickly left the store.
280
u/KassDAH ☑️ Feb 15 '23
I live in a predominantly Black country and have had this happen to me as well. As a teen I would always save any money my mom gave me to buy lunch and just eat when I got home so I could save enough to buy her a nice Xmas gift. Well one year I saved a pretty penny, went to a well known jewellery store wanting to buy her a ring since that’s her fave type of jewellery piece. Walked in and every single worker looked up at me, sneered then preceded to ignore me. I was ignored for about 15 minutes while they kowtowed to the white tourists who were just browsing (why the hell would they buy the store’s expensive ass jewellery when they can get it for cheaper back home?). The manager, who funnily enough was white, saw what was happening, chastised them and forced one of them to help me. The lady came over with an attitude and asked if I could even afford anything, the AUDACITY. I had her pull five rings, brought out the cash then said nahhhh I’m good, I don’t like what you’re offering. She was gobsmacked by how much money I was holding, realised she would miss out on a good commission and tried to call me back into the store. It be even your own that treat you suspicious and less than, especially when white customers are around too.
129
u/obsidianbreath ☑️ Feb 15 '23
This is so true in colonised countries. Your own will offer premium service to white people and treat you, one of their own, like a vagabond who just walked into their paradise. Its disgusting.
52
→ More replies45
u/_87- Feb 15 '23
This sounds like so many predominantly black countries to me. Colonisers taught us this and we continued it.
91
u/Fireproofspider ☑️ Feb 15 '23
I was dressed in coveralls since I had just left work. (welder by trade).
I don't get this one. People who sell to rich people should know that clothes really don't denote ability to pay. I'd say a better signal is whether the person looks healthy/clean but even then.
When we were looking for funding for my company, the joke was always that the worse dressed guy/gal in the group was the one to talk to because they were the one with the money. The richest guy I've ever met dressed and looked like Trevor from GTA.
→ More replies13
→ More replies16
u/no_talent_ass_clown Feb 15 '23
I'm not Black but I did have an instance of the same thing happening to me. My waterbed sprung a bad leak at 2am - in a condo - so I was up all night draining and wrestling it out. I was exhausted and looking exactly like what I'd been doing all night when I rolled into a department store at 9am to buy a bed from the ground up.
Everyone saw me but it took an hour before someone would help me and I could explain why I was there. I spent 2500 1995 dollars!
Like I said, it happened to me once. In 1995. I can't imagine how it must feel to have it happen over and over.
364
u/Blk_Rick_Dalton Feb 15 '23
The amount of times I’ve unnecessarily bought a drink or a pack of batteries after walking into a store and not being able to find what I was looking for ….smh
→ More replies76
u/Jordanwolf98 Feb 15 '23
Thank God for $1 Arizona and $1 Double Mint cuz I’m with you there lol
→ More replies
328
u/krysthegreat1819
Feb 15 '23
•
As much as these burn my biscuits, I’ve decided I’m not doing these anymore. I like to shop in the evening after my kiddo is in bed. If I head to Walmart, they always check my receipt on the way out the door. However, if I see you following me around, it’s a wrap. I will flat out stop shopping and leave. I’m not a criminal. If I walk into a store and they don’t have what I want, I walk out. I’m a person, I matter, and I’m going to take up space.
27
→ More replies7
228
u/kingkooolin ☑️ Feb 15 '23
I used to be like this but I got sick of making other people (mainly the yts) feel comfortable around me.
→ More replies46
u/hopp596 Feb 15 '23
I feel you, sometimes it‘s about my own comfort though, I‘m not trying to get stopped and searched at the door.
23
u/Sharp_cactus_ Feb 15 '23
Exactly. I hate that I cant just live normally, but if I can avoid being followed around a store then I’m going to do whatever it takes. I even cut my hair cause I know if I don’t do my hair and leave it all big and puffy then I get looked at differently. Like I’m fucking tired.
→ More replies
189
u/PMmeurdixout4harambe ☑️ Feb 15 '23
This needs to be country club’d asap. And I haven’t even been verified yet. But the amount of stupid comments I’ve read from clearly non black people in just 5 minutes is insane. Some of them sound like the undercover racists as my job, “bUt wHaT aBoUt rEvErsE raCiSm aNd viCtimHoOd 🤡” people wanna go home alive. There is enough proof of black people getting judge jury and executioned immediately with no due process over petty shit or simply minding their business vs non black people being apprehended alive for the most heinous crimes.
20
u/elitegenoside Feb 15 '23
How is reverse racism even relevant here? I'm a white dude that grew up in a trailer park in the backwoods and this is one of those things that I just can't relate to. A lot of things are more about class divides than race, but this is not one of them. I've had to deal with some bullshit, but never had to think about taking my hood off in a store. Never had to buy a pack of batteries because the store didn't have what I went in for. I walk in and out at whatever speed I want, not a thought in the world.
I swear, "some" people think racism is only getting called the n-word.
→ More replies18
146
u/538_Jean Feb 15 '23
Not going into a store with stuff from another store If I don't have the receipt real close...
→ More replies91
u/Sharp_cactus_ Feb 15 '23
Oh my god this. As a black woman, I NEVER enter the store with any bag bigger than a clutch. I have been followed numerous times around stores, even the fucking grocery store y’all. We get fucking followed when we’re trying to buy food. People really don’t know what it’s like to live with melanin.
9
u/AverageGardenTool Feb 15 '23
I had to get a back pack that looks like a purse, or can transform into one because I was always forced to put it behind the counter.
If it's not a backpack, I lose it. Period. I also walk everywhere so a backpack for my groceries is important.
I roll my backpacks and stuff them into my small purse to be treated with respect. If I have a stain on my shirt, and my afro out, nothing I do matters.
I hate it here.
11
u/Sharp_cactus_ Feb 15 '23 edited Feb 15 '23
I fucking hate it here. I feel you, I really do. There’s no feeling worse than feeling like an outsider in the country you were born/raised in.
I miss my big ass, curly tangled fro. Having to conform how I look has been one of the hardest realities I’ve faced. It gives me so much more appreciation for the black folk who have been fighting for us over the years. And we still not done fighting.
108
u/Weird-Ingenuity97 Feb 15 '23
Walking slowly in and out of stores and making sure you don’t put your hands in your pockets is a big one
23
u/PM_ME_STUFF_U_LIKE Feb 15 '23
I was in aldi the other day and scoffed at needing a cart. Narrator: He needed a cart. So my hands are full and I still need cream cheese so I put the cream cheese in my coat pocket. I go through checkout and forgot about the cream cheese. I find it before I walk away from the register though and just give it to the woman and say I forgot to pay for this. She's all smiles and rings me up no problem. None the worse for wear.
It never occurred to me I get that benefit of the doubt because I'm not black.
→ More replies
103
u/obsidianbreath ☑️ Feb 15 '23
Depending on my mood and store, I get petty and make them hold my clothes while I'm shopping or ask them to run and check for things.
If you're going to follow me, you're going to work!
19
→ More replies9
u/NyctoMuse Feb 15 '23
I don't like using emojis on reddit but 😭😭😭👍 this the type of mind to be low key opportunistic (and we need to be in this world)
6
u/obsidianbreath ☑️ Feb 15 '23
Naaah, buts that what you get for being a nosey ass nancy. Now you going to get involved acting like you lost in the store following me.
If I'm trifling I'll ask them to try something on because I have present I'm buying for someone with their exact body type.
You sure you ain't got better things to do??? I thought so too.
92
u/surferskaterpro Feb 15 '23
Every time I leave amazon.com I empty my shopping cart
→ More replies26
69
u/Sco_Queen Feb 15 '23
I know I'm in the minority with this comment. I live in the south and in a majority white town but I have yet to feel like this or experienced anything like others in the comments.
64
u/AwesomePocket ☑️ Feb 15 '23
I’m the exact same.
I live in the Deep South and have broken every single one of the little “rules” in this comment section many many times.
I just don’t live my life in constant fear of being profiled. If its gonna happen its gonna happen. I can’t fix racists.
→ More replies45
u/littlemac564 Feb 15 '23 edited Feb 15 '23
Do you live somewhere that everybody knows your name? It is not about living in fear but it only takes one time for an incident to happen. There have been quite a few incidents in these “sundown” towns that tell me to pay attention to my surroundings.
23
u/AwesomePocket ☑️ Feb 15 '23
Not even remotely where “everybody knows my name”. I’ve never lived anywhere that small. It really is as simple as not being afraid/not caring, man.
Going out of my way to prove I’m not a criminal? Nah, I’m not gonna burden myself with that. Not worth it.
→ More replies22
u/cgtdream ☑️ Feb 15 '23
Agreed. Fear isn't whats being spoken toward here. Its about not putting yourself in situations where you could be mildly to extremely inconvenienced. And a tad sprinkle of self-awareness too.
I used to live in Birmingham and got this treatment all the time as a kid. Even in smaller towns that were predominantly white, I got that treatment. Shit, I went to apply for a grocery store job in "the white part" of Birmingham, and folks reported me to the (black) manager for being suspicious (did a bit of shopping before getting the application).
Its great that (to the people you are replying too) never experienced that in their lives, but too many of us have...And its just a matter of when, not if, for them.
→ More replies44
u/lovbelow ☑️ Feb 15 '23
I’m in the Deep South as well and idgaf how suspicious I look. I ignore people out of spite. I refuse to feel like I’m doing something wrong because of the color of my skin.
15
u/kilometr Feb 15 '23
I feel that if you were going to be accused of stealing when you weren’t cause of your race, none of these things would’ve prevented it anyways.
20
u/fai4636 ☑️ Feb 15 '23
Yeah exactly lmao. If someone finna be racist they finna be racist regardless what I do
39
u/littlemac564 Feb 15 '23
My mother lives in the South. I remember one time she was being watched in the store and someone else was shoplifting. They didn’t catch the other person because they were so busy watching my mother. My mother was a senior with grey hair. Go figure.🤨
13
u/cgtdream ☑️ Feb 15 '23
Reminds me of that scene from..Dont be a Menace to South Central while drinking your juice in the hood - where they wayans are being followed everywhere they go, while that one white dude was robbing the store blind.
16
u/Kdkaine ☑️ Feb 15 '23 edited Feb 15 '23
Same. I just walk into every store like I own it. If I don’t find what I’m looking for, I walk right back out that bitch empty handed with no hesitation.
If I’m doing a return, which I do often, I just walk in casually with the confidence of a 50 year old yt woman, holding my bag of returns. I usually browse first with my bag in hand as a power move. I find that people are less likely to think you’re stealing when you’re transparent and have a dgaf attitude.
→ More replies13
u/Physical-Honeydew320 Feb 15 '23
It’s interesting to read these things. To be honest I don’t think of any of this when going to a store. Never been accused of stealing. I’ve been stopped by cops for other reasons but I wasn’t doing anything in particular to cause that.
→ More replies8
u/LiahRain ☑️ Feb 15 '23
Same here except when it has happened, it's done to me by someone that is also Black 😐
→ More replies→ More replies7
66
u/MotherSpirit ☑️ Feb 15 '23
I went to and worked DIRECTLY NEXTDOOR to a convenience store. They must have seen me every. single. Day.
One day I see some new dumbfuck manager point to me. Literally point. And say "See her bag, there goes one right right there", then they stared at me as I got my stuff, paid, and left.
I never went to that damn store ever again.
→ More replies
55
u/callitajax Feb 15 '23
So sorry hear about all these things that black people go through. Genuinely hope society can be better to you all.
20
20
u/Sharp_cactus_ Feb 15 '23 edited Feb 15 '23
Unfortunately, it’s a reality we all face. I’ve experienced this shit my entire life. It’s even scarier now with how many racists wanna start shit. When I walk into a store I know they see me as one thing: black. I recently got followed by security at the grocery store. Who the fuck follows someone who is food shopping? Like just me being black was enough to cause suspicion for this man to follow me around the store. It’s bullshit.
I’ve made a comment like this before. The incident is super fresh so when I saw this post I had to join the convo.
50
u/Coolmarq ☑️ Feb 15 '23
Looking at & nodding your head to the workers because they didn't have what you came in there for but dont want anybody to think you stole something
45
u/loveypower ☑️ Feb 15 '23
Does anyone ever look around for a lone gunman in the store or parking lot after some of the incidents at grocery stores where people target black people or other poc?
→ More replies26
u/ThatBlkGuy27 ☑️ Feb 15 '23
I look for weapons on my fellow citizens and I'll mentally map their location so I know where to run AWAY FROM
44
u/jonstoppable Feb 15 '23
lol. if i have something in my hand, i hold it high and extended away from my body
( so it clearly looks that ı'm not trying to hide anything)
→ More replies7
42
u/rexmus1 Feb 15 '23
I'm a very white blonde lady. About 20 years ago, I went to the local big grocery store with my friend who was black and also preggers. There were a lot of offices in that area, and the grocery store itself was right on the border of a ritzier residential area. It was obvious by the way we were both dressed that we were office workers at lunch. About 5 minutes in I was like, "check out that creepy dude, wtf why is he following us?" She casually said, "oh, that's just store security following us cuz I'm black" like this happened all the time. I was absolutely flabbergasted. It led to a very honest conversation about what she dealt with every day. It also led to my social justice awakening, because I was SO fucking pissed at the details of what she went through every day just to live and work around white people.
35
u/ervin1914 Feb 15 '23
I just have my receipt on deck when I am leaving Wal-mart, as I don't want some $10 an hour worker getting cussed out because of corporate policy. My homeboy on the other hand threw his receipt at a joker who let the white folks with a full buggy leave no problems but wanted to check him with his one item in hand.
→ More replies
29
u/KingJosef10 Feb 15 '23
Always in the store with my keys in my hand so you can hear where I'm at.
Never walk behind a white woman, don't care what's going on.
25
u/aredeewhy Feb 15 '23
Seen many people walk out the store after the alarm hits and they never slow down or look startled. I walked out with another guy and I was stopped with my bag. As I’m being asked politely for my receipt the guy Ahead of me who didn’t stop walked back and care freely just said “oh I forgot to put this hat back. Just testing security lol”
21
u/kmill73229 ☑️ Feb 15 '23
Imma be honest I don’t do nun of that shit because I shouldn’t have to.
→ More replies
20
u/ChampionshipFew1849 Feb 15 '23
as a white person, this thread is eye opening and heartbreaking. i hope for a better world someday
→ More replies
19
u/DavidHilter999 Feb 15 '23
My nonblack partner could not understand this. Thought I was being dramatic. Only had to grocery shop with me ONE time to agree that we're now switching duties and the shopping is safer and less anxiety-inducing for them. Sad we have to live like that.
17
19
u/The_Funky_Rocha Feb 15 '23
Buying something random because you didn't see what you were looking for 🙃
→ More replies
18
u/Victorious1MOB Feb 15 '23
Sooo true especially when a few white friends from college stole openly from Walmart. Talking full length mirrors, Xbox controllers, food, toiletries, liquor… they would make money on requests for students dorm rooms. I ( big black guy with dreads) would get my bag checked with the receipt in hand 😆
16
u/sgm94 Feb 15 '23
When I was in high school me and a buddy (both white) were doing typical teenage shit wandering around the mall, when we see security stop a well dressed black guy and search his bags, we looked at each other in ratty clothes one bag each and were like damn so this shit is real. We yelled at the security why are you searching him?! Look at us we look exactly like the teens that would steal shit, he just blew us off.
7
u/Hot_Ambassador_1815 Feb 15 '23
Reminds me when I was 19, and took a late night trip to the grocery store to buy some 25 cent burritos. It was me and a 15 year old dude that was in my buddies band. He was drunk off his ass, barely could stand up. Get stopped by a cop inside the store and I’m the one who gets harassed and he wants to search me. Meanwhile, the drunk 15 year old is standing right next to me swaying, and doesn’t have a word said to him.
17
u/EngageMaximumCoitus Feb 15 '23
As a Mexican, same man. Shit blows having to do the little minor things of everyday life to prove I'm not doing anything "shady" in other people's eyes.
→ More replies
15
14
u/disabled_rat Feb 15 '23
This didn’t really hit my white ass until I was hanging w a black friend and he actively tucked in his shirt and left his coat in the car
I just walked in w baggy everything and a bulky hoodie, and got no looks. He walked in and got at least 3 quick glances
14
u/Zetice Mod |🧑🏿 Feb 15 '23
Y’all need to live your life. Doing too much for no reason..
37
u/Moycetwatkins247 Feb 15 '23
Yeah the thought cross my mind, but I’m not going out my way to prove to strangers that I’m not a criminal.
14
u/Zetice Mod |🧑🏿 Feb 15 '23
Right. That’s some inferiority complex right there.
27
u/PenultimateJedi Feb 15 '23
I get that some people don’t want to be hassled. I remember encounters when I was younger that were really off putting. Now I’m in my middle ages and I would love to talk to your manager about you following me from aisle to aisle.
→ More replies22
20
u/ThatBlkGuy27 ☑️ Feb 15 '23
This is ignorant of the trauma other black people have suffered being the targets of accusations of theft, which was common for the system to di since they could lock us in
Can't tell you the amount of times shit went missing in group homes and it was insinuated it was me and I was often the only black kid in my homes.
Not to mention, profiling is serious and real and asset protection be mad racist dudes that never could get past police academies, so they prey on people in stores
→ More replies
12
u/Funny_Breadfruit_413 Feb 15 '23
I don't do shit extra. I'm not paying for what I don't need. If you do anything to make me feel uncomfortable I'm walking out. I have nothing to prove. They're gonna think what they think.
13
u/Wall_E_13 Feb 15 '23
With love, fam…seeing some of the dismissive comments in this thread is disheartening. I’ve seen “for no reason” as a modifier for these behaviors many of us engage in to keep ourselves safe. We have all seen a news article or a repost on a blog site or SM that have given us examples of reasons many of us behave this way. I’ve seen folks say we’re “doing too much.” I’m not trying to die because somebody who hates my skin decided to make my day difficult because they can. Anything I can do to reduce harm and get my ass back home in one piece is what I’m gonna do. Please let’s remember our empathy, even when our own lived experiences make it hard to see from another point of view.
I envy those of you who don’t feel/haven’t been taught these behaviors are necessary for your safety; I empathize with those who do/have.
11
11
u/OhZone17 Feb 15 '23
Yo! Does anyone here ever feel paranoid when ur behind someone in a store and u take the same couple of turns as the person in front of u and they think ur following them? I hate that shit. Sometimes I’m worried everyone thinks we’re up to no good…idk 😔
→ More replies
11
u/Old_Bet2428 Feb 15 '23
I’m a black woman and I refuse to do any of the things I used to do. Keep my big purse in the car and just take in my wallet, not allow myself to browse and not buy, making sure my hands are visible. I’m going to bring in my big bag, take my time and be natural. I refuse to do it. I haven’t had any problems as of yet. I’m not going to pay (as in buying items ) to feel like I’m being harassed.
10
7
u/10J18R1A ☑️ Feb 15 '23
I walk with my wallet out or with the item in front of me
Fun story though...at a Kmart in Dayton (no idea if it's still there or not but I know what bet I would take), I took a worker on a field trip with me up and down the aisles while he was doing the worst Metal Geal: Blue Light cosplay ever. Took as many small items as I could carry until the last aisle, then put them all down in a random spot, smiles at him, and left.
8
u/weirdoinchains Feb 15 '23
Even though no one is regularly stopped here, (any race and/or ethnicity), I keep my receipts at the top of my bag or in my hand until I walk out and freely show it should the alarm goes off. But since I stand out they’ve seen me pay already 😅
7
u/Cozyuni123 Feb 15 '23
Fuck allat i just be myself 🤷🏾♂️ Ian a theif so if you checking me get ready to be disappointed cause ian steal nothing
7
u/OutInABlazeOfGlory Feb 15 '23
I once told a convenience store cashier I didn’t want a receipt, and she (gently) lectured me telling me to always get a receipt in case people think you’re shoplifting. I was confused at first but then I remembered: she’s black, and so are the kids she’d usually be telling this to. So of course folks are gonna be racist and assume they shoplifted.
I’m white, so I almost never have to think about stuff like that. It’s just not a concern. But that was very much a reminder of my privilege as a white person.
7
u/DiDalt Feb 15 '23
I used to work security at a mall in a bad part of town. I was told to focus on black men because "they're the real criminals". I grew up as the only white person in my friends group. I tried my best to report the racist behavior but racism was well established within the company. I finally got a new manager whom is a minority. He took my side and we started focusing on everyone instead of only black people. Turns out, old white women were stealing x4 more than every other group combined. No one ever checked them until I got there. They'd go after perfume and the cheap ($20) jewelry, dump entire rows of product in their bag, and walk out the door. The other thing is that I've only caught white people trying to return items they stole for money.
6
u/Jordanwolf98 Feb 15 '23 edited Feb 15 '23
I’ve legitimately said somewhat loudly throughout the store what I am going to grab so mfs don’t think I’m stealing and I can never sit there and decide either it’s gotta be a grab and go situation.
7
6
6
u/jthomas102923 Feb 15 '23
Sometimes it gets to the point where I don’t even like going into some stores by myself but that might just be do to my regular anxiety
•
u/AutoModerator Feb 15 '23
This post is now officially for BPT country club members only. For more information, see here - https://www.reddit.com/r/BlackPeopleTwitter/comments/gumxuy/what_is_bpt_country_club_and_how_do_i_get/.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.