I’m a security guard who works many places. One of those places is a certain drugstore. I work the late night/early morning shift, and every single night there’s at least one unusual occurrence or incident. Some are just funny, like the guy who went to the back, fell on the floor, and went to sleep. Some are more serious, like the woman in an abusive relationship who had everything taken from her, and came in just to get out of the cold for a few moments.
I do the best I can, especially considering the relatively small amount of shoplifters that come through. I watch people who act shifty and blitz in and out of certain aisles. Said aisles usually contain small, yet valuable items, making them excellent targets for theft. Hurrying through them is a red flag. Picking things up and putting them down very rapidly is also a red flag, since many shoplifters do so to make it more difficult for watchers to keep track of what exactly they’ve put back and what they’ve kept to themselves. Also a red flag: people saying “I forgot my money” and leaving without the items they brought up front to “buy.” It’s just an excuse to appear like they’re shopping and leave the store without anyone questioning them. Though, shoplifters? We know what you’re doing. Every time.
But I’m getting off-topic. Recently, a woman came into the store, went through the beauty aisles, and browsed. While I did watch her, she didn’t set off too many red flags, so I instead turned my attention to another customer.
And then she came up front, and the night manager snatched a bag she was holding, claiming it was the store brand, and that she was trying to steal it by holding it under her arm. Indeed, it was the store brand. The lady said she came in with it, and turned to me for confirmation. Unfortunately, even watching her, I had no idea whether or not she’d had it or not. (I couldn’t just believe her offhand, no matter how angry she was. Shoplifters act “outraged” at being accused of stealing because it makes them seem more innocent, so her being outraged didn’t mean much.) But thankfully, there was a way to know for sure.
“I will check the cameras.” There’s one facing the front entrance that catches plenty of details. It’d be impossible for the camera not to see it if she had it.
“You saw me come in with it!”
I saw her come in. I try to keep track of people, what they’re holding, their appearances, etcetera. Unfortunately, I don’t remember every single detail about everyone who comes in, especially if they’re not setting off red flags.
“I don’t remember all the details about everyone who comes in.” I shrugged helplessly.
She didn’t even wait a moment. “You’re racist!”
This isn’t my first time dealing with this accusation. I get it, okay? I’m a security guard. I got a uniform and a badge. This is near the time that George Floyd was murdered. Her skin was on the darker side, I think? It’s not impossible to confuse my attempt to make an informed decision for racism. You know, because the night manager has light skin, and so do I, so clearly “check the cameras” was code for “lie so we ‘white people’ can ‘lawfully’ steal your items.”
And in order to not be racist, I had to immediately capitulate and let this lady I don’t know possibly steal something. Immediately support her over the white guy, and compromise my self-identity as a person who gathers information before acting. I wonder if she even knew what she was inherently asking me to do.
Or… maybe she was just angry and lashing out, throwing the race card at me because it was one of the tools available to her. I never got to find out, though. The manager decided that the confrontation wasn’t worth dealing with and just gave her the bag (she left right after that, of course). In retrospect I find myself more angry with the night manager for starting a pointless argument. If he was just going to give it to her anyways, why take it to begin with? If the confrontation wasn’t worth dealing with, why start one? I can’t tell whether or not he’s an idiot or an asshat.
For curiosity’s sake, I checked the camera footage afterwards. The bag truly was hers, and she had brought it in with her… under her arm, facing away from me, so it would’ve been hard to notice even had I been looking for it when she walked in. From the time I accessed the cameras to the time I figured it out… was around five minutes. Not a huge amount of time. And she was in the store around 3 AM. I doubt she was in a hurry. If she’d said “yes, check the cameras,” I’d have been back in five minutes, forced the night manager to apologize and give her stuff back, apologized myself for wasting her time and upsetting her, and bid her a good night.
If I had the chance to do it over again, I‘m not sure I’d change much (though I will be chewing out the night manager when I see him next, and reporting him if he does this again). I mean, what should I have done? Automatically let strangers do or have whatever they want just because they have brown skin? That’s not “supporting black people,” that’s just giving differential treatment to people based on skin color… in a different way than is usual. I won’t stop being the person I am just because you’re brown. I won’t not do my job for that, either.
So please, if you can play the race card, just… wait. Five minutes, without assumptions. Five minutes, with the benefit of the doubt. Wait five minutes before calling me racist. That’s all I ask.