August 23, 2013, - 2:08 pm
RACISM: Meijer Store Customer Assaults, Threatens to Murder Me “bc of Trayvon Martin;” Black Employees Laugh w Her, Mock Me
I have been offline and away for the most of the week because I’ve been swamped with a ton of legal work, away at court appearances and at the law library, and working on many documents that are due. And so I haven’t been around (I will be back very soon, and my movie reviews will be up later today). But this morning, as I took a brief break (because I needed to buy food) from being totally incommunicado from the world and engaged in non-stop work, something happened that I must publicize. All the “Lee Daniels’ The Butler” movies in the world, two elections of a Black President, and everything else have not helped race relations. It has only made Black Americans feel more justified in their racism against White people. This is why two Black teenagers and their Black wannabe White companion murdered an Australian baseball player, why an old White military veteran was murdered by Black teens, and why Black on White violence is on the uptick.
Today, my life was threatened and I was assaulted “in the name of Trayvon Martin” by a Black woman. And I guess I should not be surprised. Because this is America, now . . . where Black teens murder war veterans and Australian baseball players “just ‘cuz” (although it may have been a racist gang initiation). Where anything goes because someone has lighter skin and deserves to be “gotten,” to be treated as less then human. Will this “payback” ever end or just keep getting worse? Sadly, I vote the latter.
I can’t say this is the first time I’ve been a victim of Black racism or that “now” I know how it feels. Because as a White person who has grown up in Black areas, went to a majority Black high school, and now lives in a majority Black area, I’ve repeatedly been subject to the racism of one of the two most racist groups of people in the world: American Blacks. (The other group is Muslims.) Today, my life was threatened in the name of Trayvon Martin in a store, as I tried to check out. And it was done with the Black employees mocking me and laughing with the woman who threatened me that she would “beat yo’ ass and kill you.”
I was in one of two lines for self check-out at the Meijer store in Southfield, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. (Meijer is like Walmart, only not as good.) I was waiting patiently and for a long time because, per usual at this Meijer store, several of the self-checkout stalls were not working. The man in front of me was in a wheel chair, and when the next self-checkout stall opened, he wheeled over. Then, finally another became available, and as I was heading over to it, a Black woman ran in front of me, dumped her stuff and began checking out, laughing at me. She was not anywhere in our line. I said, “Excuse me, but I’m next. I’ve been waiting a long time.” She just laughed and said, “I was in the other line and I don’t wanna wait. I don’t have to wait for you.” Yeah, why let the “White bitch” get her rightful turn in line, right? That’s what was going on here. (The other two women in line behind me were also White.)
I complained to the two Black female employees who were supposed to be manning the self-checkout, helping out customers, and so on. And they–one of them was named Denise W. and the other woman, whose badge was covered up, claimed her name is “Melinda”–refused and just laughed at me with the woman that cut in front of all of us. Then, they began mocking me and laughing at me with the other Black customers in line. Hey, look at this White bitch we’re not helping. We really got her. I said to “Melinda,” “Really? You’re laughing at me? This is funny to you?” She kept laughing.
Then, as I finally got a checkout stall, and I’m checking out, a Black woman at the self-checkout stall on the other side starts laughing at me and starts saying I deserved this “because of Trayvon Martin.” I said, “Oh, so you’re racist.” Suddenly, the woman is towering over me and in my face, in an uncontrollable rage, yelling, “What did you say, bitch?! I’ll beat your ass. I’ll beat you and kill you.” She kept repeating that, with the Black female Meijer employees, Denise W. and “Melinda,” laughing (with her and at me). Yeah, really funny. I felt my life was in danger. Her threats of violence constitute the crime of assault. I really thought this woman was going to attack me and I asked her to leave me alone. She refused, and the Black female employees refused to help me. They just kept smiling and laughing. Finally, a Black male teen (a decent guy) pushed the woman away, told her stop, and I got away.
I went to the other side of the store, and I demanded to speak with the manager. The temporary manager of the store, a tattooed jerk named, Julius Valdez, treated me like an idiot. He said it’s my fault I didn’t call the police, and that it’s not their job to protect customers or do anything in situations like these. He refused to tell me the name on “Melinda’s” badge, telling me I should go over and ask her, even though this woman was laughing as my life was being threatened. He said they can’t give out personal information, when I pointed out I’m asking what name it really says on her badge, which is covered by her hair. He refused to tell me. I asked, “Why do you have employees wear name badges, then?” He just laughed at me and told me that some woman will call me and that he can’t help me.
I called the Meijer customer service hotline to complain, and the woman who took my complaint told me it’s not Meijer’s responsibility to keep the stores safe from racial violence from customers. Oh, really? The law says otherwise. If it happens on your property–especially if your employees are a part of it–you are responsible. Period.
This isn’t the first time some racial incident like this–with Black anti-White racism showing its ugly head–has happened to me at this particular Meijer store (and I’ve heard from friends of their experiences). Several years ago, a similar incident occurred with threats made against me by a Black Meijer employee, and I complained to the manager, who promised to do something about it if I didn’t pursue the complaint further. I’m sorry I agreed to that, and I spent several years not going to that store after that. I thought things had changed since then, but I was wrong, because Black America has not changed for the better. It has only gotten more racist against non-Blacks. And this Meijer store and its employees and customers reflect that trend. The Black employees who work at this Meijer store routinely allow this kind of thing to go on because White people are less worthy in their eyes, and they are not trained in any kind of racial sensitivity to White people.
I’m sick of it, and I’m thinking of filing a complaint with the Michigan Civil Rights Commission (a sham tax-funded body which couldn’t care less unless the alleged victim is Black, Muslim, gay, or some other politically correct “target”) and maybe a lawsuit against Meijer to get the store do something about this. This is the only Meijer store where this happens that I’ve visited, and that’s because it’s the only one where the majority of the employees and customers are Black. They feel they can get away with this, and they do. The Meijer family continues to rake in billions and do nothing as racism goes on in their Southfield store.
Some might say I should have accepted the “soft racism” of the woman who cut in front of me and the Black employees who mocked me and said nothing, as I was blamed for Trayvon Martin by the racist thug-etter in the check-out bay next to me. But this is America. I get to say whatever I want. And I should be able to say it without having murder threatened against me in a retail store, to the laughs of its racist employees. This isn’t the Soviet Union or Cuba or Hezbollah-controlled South Lebanon or Saudi Arabia (although in at least some of those places people stand in line obediently).
There is a reason that some friends of mine refer to this particular store as “Ghetto Meijer.” Friends ask me why I shop at that store, as they avoid it whenever possible. (My view is that I shouldn’t inconvenience myself and go out of my way because of their racism. That’s rewarding them.) White people are made to feel unwelcome there. And, apparently, threatening their lives as they try to shop is simply “hilarious” to the Black employees.
That’s America now. Alleged White racism against Black people from years ago–such as Paula Deen telling the truth about using the N-word decades ago, while she employs many Blacks–ruins your career, and you lose everything. But Black racism against Whites is not only tolerated and acceptable. It’s the fashion of the day.
I suppose I’m lucky I got away without being harmed physically. Thanks, Meijer!
Exit Question: if Barack Obama had a Black sister, would she look like the woman who threatened to kill me in the name of Trayvon Martin?
Tags: Black racism, black-on-white racism, Julius Valdez, Meijer, Racism
The way the treated you in that supermarket totall atrocious. If Meijer were a serious company, they’d have fired those unprofessional jerks. I hope you sue those racist morons, things like that cannot go unpunished.
Rodrigo Veleda on August 23, 2013 at 2:25 pm