These days, places that are supposed to be safe for everyone have, unfortunately, become places where certain individuals are immediately targeted upon arrival. One such tragic event was a racist employee accusing a teenage boy in Alabama of stealing a cologne tester, which, upon going back to check, was sitting right where the boy left it.
Someone posted the exchange on X. The clip showed the employee addressing the family with the teenage boy he had accused. “Well, I didn’t take it,” the teenager said in response to something the employee had said before the video started. The man then appreciated the family for waiting to talk to him and wished them a good day.
A voice behind the camera was not having it at all. “So, you just caused all this trauma, accusing him of stealing cologne that he did not steal. We just went through all his clothes, all his belongings, all his bags, and he has nothing on him. And you say you have it on camera, but you won’t let us go see the camera,” she recounted, trying to make sense of the entire situation.
The boy then reiterated that he did not take the bottle. The man then said, “Alright, thank you very much.” Another family member demanded to know if the employee had checked to see if the bottle was still there, to which he had no direct answer. “So, you have not checked?” someone asked, surprised. “Let’s go, let it be there. You’re about to lose your job, cause this is embarrassing as hell,” she threatened as they walked towards the place where the supposed incident had happened.
Upon getting there, the teenager pointed to one of the bottles sitting on the shelves, saying, “The bottle is right here, sir.” Smugly, the employee just replied, “Okay.” When the family protested, he finally said, “That’s not the bottle, but okay.” Netizens wasted no time flooding the comments. Many other users encouraged the family to take legal action.
“I see Santa Claus brought the gift of a lawsuit big bag to this family for Christmas,” one joked and then added, “Sue the store and sue the racist guy too.” A second one wrote, “Sue. People only learn when there is money on the table. That employee has no legal protection. Another X user established that it was a broader pattern. “It’s never just a mistake when it’s a Black child. It’s a choice to criminalize a kid for existing in a mall. Belk needs to be sued until they change the entire training program.”
Someone else wrote, “Typical Neanderthal with a position of imagined power, didn’t even do his due diligence.” A second echoed the sentiment, “He knew it was still there.. For some reason, some small-brained people look at another person, and that evil voice in their head say that’s my next victim…And they know they’re wrong asf.”
A user said, They always got smug looking smirk after being proven wrong lol. [expeltive] outta here.” And the last one wrote, “After you wrongly accuse him of theft, you tell him to have a nice day. Boycott that establishment now. DO NOT SPEND YOUR MONEY THERE.”
Apparently, this was not a one-time happening. According to The Charlotte Observer, a Black woman sued the same store for $5 million, alleging that she was racially profiled, falsely accused of shoplifting, and unlawfully detained. After her shopping bags were emptied and no stolen merchandise was found, the only explanation the employee could give was “It has been a long day.”
The same scenario in the same store, targeting a specific race, has gone beyond a mistake and is turning into a pattern that needs to be checked.
