Projected Racism

[PortisheadBiscuit]

Shadow1980 said:
I can't say "projection," because I'm not a mind-reader and don't know if they are themselves racist, but I was once accused of being a racist by a customer. Our return policy stipulates that if a customer returns any merchandise that does not have a receipt, then they can only get store credit. Well, last year I had one customer (an African-American lady that looked to be in her 30s or 40s) that brought in a massive pile of returns that were split across four receipts. Well, out of this massive pile of merchandise, maybe 3 or 4 items were not on any of the receipts. We double- and triple-checked. When I told her that those items weren't on the receipts and that she could either A) see if she can find another receipt that they may be on, or B) she could still get store credit, she quickly became absolutely irate. She wasn't having any of it. I guess she felt the return policy didn't apply to her or that we were out to screw her or something. I switched spots with my assistant manage, who finished the transaction and sent her on her way.

Well, she called the next day and accused me of being racist toward her. Now, everyone at work knew that was total bullshit, because they know I'm always professional at work, and besides, my assistant manager was up at the front end with me when she brought in those returns (because returns require manager approval, and because he had to open another register to contend with other customers in line). Nothing ever came of it, of course, because we all knew she was full of shit. I've worked retail for well over a decade, and I've had my fair share of complete assholes as customers before, but until she came along I've never had anyone call me a racist.

But in general, I can see how most minorities might feel that any real or perceived mistreatment they receive at the hands of whites is because of racism. There is indisputable history of racism in this country, and it didn't go away when the Civil Rights Act was passed 50 years ago. That shit gets passed down generation to generation, and there are still legitimately racist white people out there that think non-whites are their inferiors. And I'm not just talking about the alt-right assholes on the internet and the white nationalists on parade. Racist attitudes towards black people was the norm here in the South, and those in my parents' and grandparents' generations grew up during Jim Crow. And now many people in my own generation, 30-something Gen X-ers and older Millennials spewing the same racist garbage (I've frequently heard Black History Month referred to as "National N***er Month," as well as the standard disapproval towards interracial relationships). So, considering that many white people still look at them as criminals, parasites, and biological inferiors, maybe minorities are properly paranoid and just assume any white person giving them guff or even not respecting their personal space is a racist prick. Now, some of them are undoubtedly racist themselves, and play the "race card" just to turn the tables on anyone they can. But I doubt most accusations of "racism" are projection.

Very well said.