A 7-Eleven worker who filmed a racist encounter between a white man and Black woman at the cash register is facing backlash for not intervening.
“Why is the man at the register even servicing him, let alone allowing him to STILL be in the store,” one user commented.
The 7-Eleven worker, @paskwali on TikTok, said he posted the video with the intent of exposing the “blatant racism that still goes on even in a diverse city like L.A.” The video garnered almost 100,000 views.
The worker films the two as they argue at the cash register, which seems to have started because the man told the woman to “shut the fuck up” for having a loud personal conversation.
“You were speaking loudly about shit you don’t know,” the man says. The woman asks him why he has to be disrespectful, even while expressing his opinion.
The man eventually asks what her name is, calling her “Lateisha” and “Shaniqua” repeatedly. Ethnic names are often used as derogatory racial slurs.
The man says he is beneath the woman because he is white, to which the woman replies, “Why? We’re supposed to be equal. You are still a human. You bleed just like I do, so what’s the problem?”
When the woman asks the man if he is racist, he says his grandson is half Black.
Viewers pointed out that having Black relatives does not excuse racist behavior.
“It should be a motivating behavior driving towards higher understanding/empathy,” one user commented. Another commented it was the equivalent of saying, “I’m not racist. My best friend is Black.”
But people were even more outraged that the worker said nothing besides telling the man the price of his ice cream.
“The man recording. Why didn’t you intervene?” one user commented. The worker replied that he wanted to record in case the man turned violent. “In hindsight the man was out of line and I should’ve kick him out,” the worker said. “I was wrong.”
In response, viewers said recording is the bare minimum and that actively intervening is true anti-racist behavior.
“You have to be purposeful about stopping racism,” one user commented. “You had the opportunity to stand up for her and chose not to.”
On the other hand, people praised the woman for handling the situation so calmly.
“Kept her cool,” one user commented. “I’m not above nobody. I’m equal.”
@paskwali did not immediately respond to the Daily Dot’s request for comment.
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