A Rhode Island customer has drawn criticism online after a video appeared to show him confronting a cashier before telling the employee to “go back to India” while he was on the phone. The heated exchange, which was captured on camera, has since begun circulating on social media, with viewers reacting to both the customer’s behavior and the situation that led up to it.
The footage was shared by a Rhode Island resident who said she witnessed the confrontation while waiting in line at the store. Her TikTok profile — @unforgettable.eve — primarily features updates about her event planning business and life in Rhode Island. However, her latest video is very different, because it centers on a heated altercation between a customer and a cashier.
In the video, the argument is already under way, and sees a man wearing yellow pants and a red T-shirt bickering with the cashier behind the counter. He’s heard hurling expletives and insults at the worker, while the employee fires back by telling him to “[expletive] off.” The customer says, “Go back to [expletive] India. A person comes to the counter. You take their order. And you serve them. Instead, you’re talking on the [expletive] phone. Yeah, there you go. You’re talking on the phone.”
The customer then turns to the woman filming the confrontation, and points to the cashier. “This is the problem with this [expletive] country. You got these [expletive] foreigners in here. They’re ignorant.” Seemingly, expecting the woman to agree with him, she actually admits, “I’m a foreigner. Born in Jamaica.”
The irate customer shakes his head and replies, “You know what I’m talking about,” before turning back to the cashier. “Just serve the people. That’s all I’m saying. I just wanted a pack of cigarettes. You wouldn’t serve me ’cause you’re talking on your [expletive] earbud.” He then appears to mock the cashier by imitating someone speaking rapidly on the phone, before storming out of the store.
Social Media Reactions
As the video continues to circulate online, viewers have already begun weighing in on the confrontation. One commenter wrote, “The worker was rude for talking on the phone, but the man was even ruder for getting racist smh,” while another simply disagreed, writing, “he right.”
The video has only recently begun circulating online, so it remains to be seen how widely it will spread. Regardless, the confrontation has already sparked discussion about how quickly everyday disagreements can escalate. While people may disagree over whether the cashier should have been on the phone, many viewers felt there was no justification for the customer’s racist remarks during the exchange.
