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I'm glad your friend had enough sense to not make a fuss when you don't know if you were singled out. Email the store to ask about their policy. You don't even have to say what happened, point out the article posted by redplum and ask if their store does the same. If not, then tell them your story, with facts, not emotions. If she was in the wrong, maybe they'll write her up or fire her. I'd give her the benefit of the doubt since you said she was the only one helping people and she can't possibly watch everyone.
I'm glad your friend had enough sense to not make a fuss when you don't know if you were singled out. Email the store to ask about their policy. You don't even have to say what happened, point out the article posted by redplum and ask if their store does the same. If not, then tell them your story, with facts, not emotions. If she was in the wrong, maybe they'll write her up or fire her. I'd give her the benefit of the doubt since you said she was the only one helping people and she can't possibly watch everyone.
I think this is a good idea. It's impossible to know with any certainty whether your friend was racially profiled or not. Racial profiling is real, but so are situations where one's perception is different than reality. Intent is sometimes hard to discern. While I myself have never been only given on shoe to try, the explanation of why some stores do it makes sense. For me personally I'd probably laugh if they only gave me one shoe to try. You need to walk around in the shoes to see if they're comfortable before buying them. I've walked around in shoes for 10 minutes before deciding to buy.
I was with an AA guy friend at a shoe store a few days ago and when he asked to try a few pairs of shoes, the lady clerk came back with just 1 side of each pair. My friend asked for the other, as he has 2 feet, and she refused to let him try the others together. She said he can try the one shoe first to determine size.
The implication was that he may walk out with them, so she didn't feel comfortable to give him all the shoes to try, it was her way to curb theft. There were a few customers around and at that time it appeared she was the only clerk. It was suspicious treatment, so I suggested to my friend he should begin filming the encounter with the clerk on his phone, to question why he was refused the other shoes to try, but he is not one to make a scene and we left.
It wasn't until we got back to his place that I thought we should have observed if the other customers were also only given 1 shoe first to try, to determine if it was just the AA customers being "racially profiled". My friend just said he was not surprised and that he will just order online.
Also the clerk herself is Hispanic so she should have been mindful of racial profiling/ discrimination herself.
And I should point out my friend did not dress in a manner that could deem him suspicious.
Other thing, is we are gay, you would not be able to tell with him based on his looks/ voice/ mannerisms but me, yes. So I wonder if that was an element as well even though this is a fairly progressive area, micro-aggression still rears its ugly head...but I think in this case, was it more about racial profiling than anything else?
Sadly if there were not so many thieves in society these days there wouldn't be so many anti theft/shoplifting policies in place. I doubt it was a color thing. My guess is they have been ripped off by people who try on the shoes and run. They won't hand me an ice cream cone through the window at DQ until i pay first, and i am whiter than white bread.
If you look for anything hard enough, it is easy to find it. I bet the only color they care about is green, like in money.
Sadly if there were not so many thieves in society these days there wouldn't be so many anti theft/shoplifting policies in place. I doubt it was a color thing. My guess is they have been ripped off by people who try on the shoes and run. .
Somehow, I doubt that. It's hard to steal several pairs of shoes and leave a store without getting noticed, and there are cameras everywhere nowadays. And store clerks aren't expected to chase down shoplifters anyway. Perhaps it's happened once or twice at that store but I really doubt it's an every day occurrence.
OP. The next time you, or the friend you are with, receive such treatment, why don't you just ask about it?
"Is it a written store policy to only give one shoe at a time to try on?"
"Do you think I am going to run out of the store if you let me try both shoes on at the same time?"
"Am I being discriminated against?"
I am a white American and I have had this happen to me in the U.S. Based on my experience, I am inclined to feel that you are seeing a problem where there was none.
Too many thieves apparently. That's really unfortunate. But you would need more data point to even talk about discrimination, as this seems to be policy.
However, since the policy can be ignored for some customers according to managers, well maybe that's where profiling gets into play.
I think this is a good idea. It's impossible to know with any certainty whether your friend was racially profiled or not. Racial profiling is real, but so are situations where one's perception is different than reality. Intent is sometimes hard to discern. While I myself have never been only given on shoe to try, the explanation of why some stores do it makes sense. For me personally I'd probably laugh if they only gave me one shoe to try. You need to walk around in the shoes to see if they're comfortable before buying them. I've walked around in shoes for 10 minutes before deciding to buy.
It’s easy to laugh when it hasn’t been a repeated experience through your life time, but for Black people it very often is. I’m more famous example is with Oprah Winfrey years ago where they would not buzz her into a store (they didn’t know who she was, only saw a black face).
mindful of racial profiling/ discrimination herself.
And I should point out my friend did not dress in a manner that could deem him suspicious.
May I point out that you are busy with some profiling yourself.
Thieves come in all colors, all ages and sexes, all income brackets, and they can look like bums or wall street brokers.
People who think they should be above all suspicion because of the color of their skin or the way they dress or how much money they have, have their own bias.
I am a white American and I have had this happen to me in the U.S. Based on my experience, I am inclined to feel that you are seeing a problem where there was none.
Very common to have one shoe only in and around cities. Just common practice. The OP is looking for something that wasn't there I suspect, but that is to be expected. Everyone wants to be a victim of some sort it seems even if there isn't a victim.
There is an old saying. If you are searching for something you will find it even if it isn't there.
OP, you should just relax and enjoy the day. If you see real racism, you will know it and it certainly goes in both ways. I deal with racism, sexism and even ageism on a weekly basis. The age on is very prevalent and I am only in my 50's. Wonder what it will be like when I am in my 60's and 70's. The younger generation seems to hate old people. Kind of sad.
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