Scenario

Elizabetharess

An ee and the security cop for the company see a white man go to a bin of cashews and fill a bag full. The man continues to walk around the store and eats the entire bag of cashews which are not cheap. The ee and the cop follow the man around. Then the cop goes up to the man and tells him that he must not eat the food until it is paid for. The man says oh, sorry and they all walk away. The day before a young african american boy takes a small candy bar and is ticketed by the same cop for stealing. The ee expresses his concern about the disparity in treatment. They go to the store manager and the ee states that he believes the cop was discriminating. The manager doesn't do a thing and the issue is dropped making the ee feel threatened for his job.
What thinkest thou????

ray a

When we whites comment that minorities are involved in a higher percentage of crime, the minorities often claim disparate treatment by the law authorities. Your example lends credence to their claims. If leniency was to be shown to one of these two people, it should have been to the boy. The man, being older and presumably more mature, should have known better and more would be expected of him.

ritaanz

The manager should be terminated for stupidity.

joannie

E,
Does the security cop work directly for the store? If not, I would report the incident to his company. If he does, and if the store is a chain store, I would report both the security cop and the manager to either the regional manager or directly to corporate. Good Luck!

allsteaks

These are the situations that keep race an issue. How stupid of the guard and then the manager. Based on what you've said, how can anyone discern any logical explanation other than discrimination? Can't blame the ee who brought it up for worrying about their job either, because of the manager handled this so poorly, he/she will likely continue to make judgmental/prejudicial decisions.
Oh well, HR job security....

Elizabetharess

I got to wondering if the ee was fired could he claim retaliation?
Yes, the "good ole boy" system is alive and well.

lrobb

Assuming the Security Cop is employed by your company I would call him and the manager in and explain 2 things. 1. As a security cop you do not possess "officers discretion" and you are expected to enforce all our policies equally. If you are unable to do that for any reason, you are fired. 2. You followed the man around and watched him eat the entire bag. Why did you not act prior to the last cashew being eaten. Again if you cannot act promptly to stop theft your fired.

Paul in Cannon Beach

Has anyone asked the security cop to explain his decision making? I would start there. If there is no valid explanation, then explain how a reasonable person would view the two outcomes as discriminatory and how that will not be tolerated.

Nothing should be assumed until the full story has been reported.

Some grocery stores have very liberal "grazing" policies that allow customers to nibble on items or taste test. The reasoning is that the small amount of food consumed is outweighed by the benefits of happy customers making large purchases.

This nut was clearly abusing the policy if the situation was as described.

Elizabetharess

Makes sense. The little boy would have been better off getting a bag of chocolate covered nuts from the bins and eating them. That grazing issue must have tested in court - another White caller crime at work.

Paul in Cannon Beach

It would be interesting to know why the security guard noticed the little boy in the first place.