Ask Lemmy

26275 readers

1620 users here now

A Fediverse community for open-ended, thought provoking questions

Rules: (interactive)

1) Be nice and; have fun

Doxxing, trolling, sealioning, racism, and toxicity are not welcomed in AskLemmy. Remember what your mother said: if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. In addition, the site-wide Lemmy.world terms of service also apply here. Please familiarize yourself with them

2) All posts must end with a '?'

This is sort of like Jeopardy. Please phrase all post titles in the form of a proper question ending with ?

3) No spam

Please do not flood the community with nonsense. Actual suspected spammers will be banned on site. No astroturfing.

4) NSFW is okay, within reason

Just remember to tag posts with either a content warning or a [NSFW] tag. Overtly sexual posts are not allowed, please direct them to either [email protected] or [email protected]. NSFW comments should be restricted to posts tagged [NSFW].

5) This is not a support community.

It is not a place for 'how do I?', type questions. If you have any questions regarding the site itself or would like to report a community, please direct them to Lemmy.world Support or email [email protected]. For other questions check our partnered communities list, or use the search function.

Reminder: The terms of service apply here too.

Partnered Communities:

Logo design credit goes to: tubbadu

founded 1 year ago

MODERATORS

[email protected]

107

What would you have done? White guy observing anti-black racism. (lemmy.world)

submitted 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

58 comments fedilink hide all child comments

I'm a white guy from a fairly non-diverse city. I was at a grocery store today where a cashier opened up their line to serve me and, I thought, the person behind me. As they were serving me, though, they put up their lane closed sign right in front of the black man behind me. The buy was just trying to purchase some tuna, bread, and peanut butter.

The cashier basically decided to serve me, a middle class white man, but refused to serve the black man behind me. I was so shocked that I didn't say anything. It is possible that I misunderstood the situation but it seemed so blatant.

What should I have done in this situation? Should I have spoken up? Would that have just been more embarrassing for the man who was being discriminated against?

Honestly, I'm still just in shock to see someone treated so poorly when they were simply trying to buy food for themselves. I recognize that means that I'm sheltered but I also feel like I should be able to use my unearned privilege to help others who are being discriminated against.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] [email protected] 37 points 1 month ago (2 children)

I'd tell him to add his items to mine and buy them for him. If the cashier refused I would make them explain why to me.

[–] [email protected] 26 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I like this. This is the mentality I plan to take with me in case of future situations. I feel terrible that I wasn't present enough to act appropriately in the moment.

[–] [email protected] 26 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I’ve been there man. You never know when it’s coming and you can’t get mad at yourself for the past. This got you to think about it and you’ll step in when it’s right next time. You could make all the excuses and pretend you didn’t see it but you recognized an every day injustice and learned something.

You’re a good person.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 month ago

Thank you, I appreciate it. It's honestly weighing on me that I didn't say something. I guess the best that I can do is to do better next time something similar happens.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 1 month ago

That was my first thought too.