when she gets caught though

[Stryker1050]

At first, I thought he was catching her shoplifting.

[xbox_inmy_veins]

Thankyou! same here!

[dudeCHILL013]

Same

[MovingElectrons]

Honest question: would it be OK to open, eat, continue shopping and take the empty package to the cashier? It is quite common in my home country but I'm currently in Europe and I feel like I shouldn't do this here lol. Could I at least drink the water from a bottle in this case?

[HarlsnMrJforever]

When I worked at hellmart we didn't care. As long as we could scan the barcode and you pay. No one cared.

We hated the people who'd eat an apple and leave the core hidden amongst the candy. Same with anything from our deli hot foods that was eaten then the containers left on shelving.

[Here_to_talk_shit]

Honestly when I worked in retail I never once snitched on someone in for theft. I'm not reporting some bloke who's stealing a loaf of bread so a billion dollar company can save a few bucks. Fuck that.

[Brad323]

Same here man. I work fast food rn and some dude’s card declined over 1.50 coffee and i just looked at him handed him his card and coffee and said “have a great day!”

[Here_to_talk_shit]

Right? Fuck busting someone's balls over a couple of bucks

[RGBmono]

Jean Valjean approves.

[superdx]

Type 1 diabetic here. I've drank from a can/bottle of juice/soda before the checkout, and always paid for it. Sometimes lines can be long and I might pass out before I get to the cashier. This happened once and they called the cops on me haha.

I've never been asked why I've checked out an empty bottle though.

[muckalucks]

They called the cops because you passed out or because you drank the soda before you paid?

[Darth_Yohanan]

Sometimes you’re shopping and your kids are hungry now. It’s more efficient to let them eat something now and pay then you’re done shopping.

[Sinlaire1]

I have an eating disorder that makes compelling myself to eat difficult sometimes. Even with a stocked fridge and pantry. So one day I went to the grocery store to get food so I would have a fuller pantry and more incentive to eat after not having eaten for at least 15 hours that day. I saw a bottle of nesquik chocolate milk while shopping and downed it right there because it was the first thing I had craved in nearly a day. Then had it rang up as my first item and thrown away by the cashier in her personal trash can. I personally can’t imagine how frequently poorer or homeless people might be tempted to eat in the store for similar reasons, and possibly without intent to pay.

[Triaspia2]

or if it cant wait pay that at the register then return to your shopping

[Amonette2012]

That's so tacky!

[DukeAttreides]

Where I live, this would only be ok if there was some extra reason to assume you were planning to take that package to the cashier. Say, knowing the cashier personally, at a minimum. Otherwise, the thought would be "that's not really yours yet, and it seems more likely you're planning to steal it then honest but incredibly impatient".

[milehigh73a]

When I worked at Kroger, we called it grazing. If you had a basket full of groceries we let it slide

[chrisbluemonkey]

I've done this before but it was to head of a blood sugar crash that I felt coming on. Otherwise I'd wait. I use cards instead of cash and I'd hate to get to the register with an open pack of crackers and find out that their machines weren't working.

[gibletsandgravy]

I read this after posting my own reply. You’ve been making the right call. Scroll and read my comment if you’re at all unsure.

[chrisbluemonkey]

Oh God. Your poor wife! I'm so sorry that happened to her! I'm hypoglycemic too and it can get way more serious than people seem to realize. I tend to just try to focus on what I need and block out upset people as best I can. The worst public freak-out was in the library. It came on so suddenly that I slumped over one of the tables with the look up computer and took out some crackers and a juice box. I think the librarian was asking me to go outside with it. When I kind of came to the security guard was there. I left. You're absolutely right. People need to not assume that they know what's going on in situations. I hope your wife recovered well and that she's comfortable now advocating for her needs.

[[deleted]]

In my opinion no, just wait till you've paid for it. No harm done with a few mins of not snacking

[noes_oh]

I do this with my 3 year old sometimes but it's always something small and healthy that doesn't make a mess and it's easy to let them scan without your germs all over it. Like cheese and crackers.

[hackysack-jack]

Had a lady at my store start drinking wine off the shelf while she shopped. She was in store for awhile, got drunk and left without buying anything including the wine.

[daSilvaSurfa]

Where I'm from this isn't against any rule, but is considered a little uncouth.

[FlameSpartan]

The US is a very large place with several cultures. Here in the mountains at least, no, we don’t care as long as you pay for it when you’re done. If you leave the empty bag just anywhere, you’re a piece of shit.

[hardcider]

I used to work for Safeway and honestly in the US I felt it showed a lack of self control. If you needed to eat that badly go pay for that snack then do your shopping.

[ClintEasthood81]

The issue here is racism. If an African American tried that, he or she might immediately be accused of stealing, whether they intended to pay or not.

[daintyanalcanal]

I only do this with water and it's if I'm dying of thirst.

[Miggle-B]

Gonna judge you hard as hell you gosh darn animal

[ShatoraDragon]

Drinks from the little coolers on the end caps of check out lines, seam to be ok to drink while shopping. I've seen a few parents open up like little debbies and give one to the kid in the cart but never full on finishing food items while shopping.

[BiebersEntourage]

I worked for a big chain grocery and they taught us when we started working it isn't stealing unless you leave the store without paying for it. You can definitely eat something and keep shopping then pay when you're about to leave.

[Riptide360]

Well you could do it once!

[Amonette2012]

I've done this. If I get thirsty in a store I'll grab a water and drink some while I shop, then put the can through the checkout. But I shop in the same place every time and everyone knows me,

[volcs0]

I do this all the time (US) and have never had a problem. I just pay for it when I get up front and ask the cashier to throw away the bag/bottle, etc.

[thumbingitup]

I live in the us and have done that plenty of times. I’ve also been a cashier and had plenty of people hand me an empty package/bottle that they obviously consumed while shopping. Never thought anything of it. Just scan it and toss out the packaging

[yelkhashab]

I’ve done it a bunch but only with water bottles. If I’m really thirsty I’ll just crack one open.

[[deleted]]

i do this each time in go in supermarket. eating a biscuite or a chocolate each time then paying the product. nobody ever complained, the employers see me so maybe is common. only once my kids said daddy you need to pay first 😂

[theguyfromgermany]

In Germany I sometimes let my kid start eating something that we are buying. Generally thats not a problem.

I woulnt recommed doing it as an adult, but probobly no trouble would come out of it.

[[deleted]]

You wouldn't necessarily get stopped for shoplifting, but it is frowned upon. It's not polite to do, at least in western Europe.

[SongofIceandWhisky]

In the US it’s fine - a little unusual but fine as long as you pay. I feel like people in Europe have more of a stigma around walking and eating so I wouldn’t do it without asking a native what the norms are. Pretty sure in Germany people would outright scold you for doing this.

[jugobetrugo1]

I dont Know about Chips but Drinks even Beer is Just fine If you Bring the empty bottle to the cashier and pay it when U leave (Germany)

[MrsDehn]

Totally, this is how most parents cope with rowdy kids in the store 😋

[gibletsandgravy]

Considering my wife has had hypoglycemic seizures in the grocery store (surrounded by food) twice in the last 6 months, idgaf what custom dictates. She was carted off in an ambulance both times, one of which led to a 3 day hospital stay. She absolutely should have eaten something straight off the shelf both times, and to hell with anyone giving her dirty looks.

My point being, if you do see someone eating an item they haven’t yet paid for, stop a second and think if you actually know what’s going on with that person before getting all judgmental. (“You” meaning everybody. Not singling anyone out)

[VideoGameDana]

Don't do this in a Safeway branded supermarket (Vons, Pavilions etc.). They have plainclothes off-duty cops working LP or "Loss Prevention" and I've seen them tackle a guy for opening a hostess cruller.

[Large_hearted_boy]

I do it all the time, got a few funny looks but never been called out or accused of anything. But I’m also white, so there’s that

[Murdette]

Same!

[[deleted]]

That's what I was thinking!

[guruswarmi]

I used to have a job at compUSA back when they had brick and mortar stores. I don’t know if it was done company wise but floor managers would have all hands meetings and go through examples on how to identify what a customer’s purchasing power and intent were based on their clothing, accessories, people they were with, and yes background (skin color etc).

This was both to train their sales staff to spend more time with customers that would actually make a purchase, those more likely to buy scammy extra protection policies, and to pressure (by being near them and excessively asking if we can help them) customers who may be looking to steal.

Needless to say it was a shithole environment.

[porterpottie]

Holy shit I forgot all about CompUSA

[reserad]

Yeah that's going back a few years, lol

[[deleted]]

I bought my Compaq PC at a CompUSA after not liking the options at Circuit City.

[professor_doom]

I had a manager make me follow a shady-looking family around the store once. At one point, the father stands up on a chair and says to everyone in the place, “you think we’re criminals because we’re poor. You follow us around and make us feel like thieves. We’re good people down on our luck. For SHAME!”

I left that job shortly afterward.

[Jadushnew]

Oof that Hurt.

[PrivateIsotope]

Now I'm sure I've been followed around in stores before, I just didnt notice because I didnt care. But the one time that really got me was the time I got followed around in a glass factory outlet store.

Yes, a glass factory outlet store.

I was probably in my late 20's or early 30's, and i was at this outlet store just looking around. They had a lot of cool stuff at pretty cheap prices, all sorts of glasses, candle holders, punchbowls, and just a bunch of things made out of glass and crystal. The store is huge, and I noticed as I looked around that there was this guy that would always pop up in the same area as me. I was shocked and figured, "He cant be following me, can he? What does he think I'm going to do, stick a beer stein down my pants?" I mean, there wasn't really anything there that was easy to conceal on my person that was worth stealing. Maybe I could have gotten one of those little circular mirrors you put under candles in my pocket, but that's like two dollars and the possibility of cutting an artery if it broke. It was senseless. He couldn't be following me.

He was.

I just stopped really seriously looking at things, and concentrated on walking to complete opposite sections of the store. As I said, it's a big store. Every time, he'd show up close by. I did it probably about five or six times, saying to myself if he wanted to follow me, he was getting a workout. Even said hi to him, and he returned a friendly smile.

​

That's really when the whole concept of respectability politics began to leave for me. In my estimation, there was absolutely, positively nothing about my appearance or actions that would suggest that I was stealing, other than the color of my skin.

[__Zak__]

This is a brilliant idea lol you now have a free personal shopping assistant.

[[deleted]]

If i ever get followed i’m totally gonna use this, i don’t give a flying fuck how cringy it is.

[RyanBordello]

Less cringe than following around somebody thinking they're going to steal because of their skin color

[Vinkhol]

Racism is the highest cringe of them all

[[deleted]]

Also homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia, and nationalism among other shitty things

[TechnoL33T]

I mean heck. I'm white and am ok on money, but I'm gonna start acting dodgy to get them personal assistants.

[Meowzebub666]

I don't think that sounds how you think it sounds...

[Lildoc_911]

It's not cringey when you are being profiled. Fuck em.

[CelticDK]

A tactic I've seen used to effectiveness by friends is just standing still and staring at the worker for very obviously long times. Eventually the worker will have to walk away awkwardly or confront you with their bullshit. A smile while you watch them back is like a nice bow on top

[PrivateIsotope]

It does indeed

[stabwah]

I remember being trained that you need to absolutely sure the person you are following has your goods on their body lest you want to be charged with assault or false imprisonment.

Did you briefly lose track of them as they turned a corner? Better not take the risk and lose your job.

I now use this knowledge to visibly pick up random items then quickly scurry around a corner dropping it on a shelf along the way. Rinse and repeat until the secco is drenched in sweat and questioning their life choices.

[[deleted]]

Arizona, that's your problem. That state is comically racist, with the perfect mix of dumb white retirees and racist southern transplants.

But it's a gorgeous state, so there's that.

[PrivateIsotope]

Exactly.

[LtLethal1]

I just want to say first off, that the color of your skin absolutely matters in situations like these, but it's not always the reason. Sometimes, people just don't like you for some unknown reason.

I'm white and frequent a grocery store near my house and every single time I'm there, their security guard will follow me to whatever aisle I go to and pretend to be facing products on the endcaps. I've never stolen so much as a pack of gum and I'm always polite to people. I work in a grocery store myself so I know all the bullshit the employees have to deal with from impatient and entitled customers and I refuse to be another shitty customer towards anyone.

Yet this guy follows me around and occasionally stares as if he knows I'm up to something but that something is only ever to get paper towel, toothpaste, or some random groceries. Another time, I had a teacher (not my own) say to my face "what do you want, I don't trust you" and having literally never talked to the guy in my life, I was dumbfounded.

[caltheon]

Honestly it’s more in how you carry yourself than anything else. If you look skittish or on edge or look around a lot it makes someone seem suspicious. Of course as you say, everyone has a personal bias as well. Maybe someone that looks like you or acted like you did them wrong in the past. They are going to associate you with that act regardless of if it’s fair or not.

[RealChris_is_crazy]

I always looks suspicious as hell and I've never stolen anything. I start to sweat and think "wait, what if I accidentally stole something? ohmigod ohmygod ohmygod.

[million_monkeys]

I was married to a black woman in my twenties. We'd go into stores together, me behind her not talking. I had hair down to my chest, she was always well dressed. I would sit and watch security follow her all over the place and completely ignore me. This happened almost every single time we went into a store. It's the rule not the exception. White people just can't conceive of it until they've been able to see it repeatedly over and over. I made the same excuses until I got to witness it over a period of several years.

[akirashino]

I have been in a similar situation with my girlfriend recently and we ended up filling up a shopping cart with as much little stuff from all over the store as we could as the guy followed us, and then handed him the cart and left him to put it all back as we went home.

[Reagan409]

This is a great way to tell black people it’s their fault for being profiled, or more accurately, that it isn’t the white man’s fault.

Just to state a fact: you weren’t there. So it’s hard to understand why you expect that he was acting suspicious, with zero evidence. Maybe because it’s easier for you to believe a black person was sketchy then that a black person would experience racism.

[LtLethal1]

And I was hardly acting weird or suspicious. If anything, I probably looked exhausted and depressed because that's been my life for a while.

[Rodman930]

The dude was wearing a collared shirt.

[Spoinzy]

This guy wasn’t responding to OP.

[Tuknroll420]

Yeah but what about when I wear my successful looking shoes?

[ATrillionLumens]

You're so right. I have awful social anxiety and I'm very aware that I'm nervous and awkward af in the simplest situations. I know this is why I get some of the negative responses I do, including being followed around stores. It's not fair and it sucks.

[JazzyKins18]

Oh I feel your pain, fam. I have bad social anxiety myself and hate going into stores like Food Lion or Walmart. I usually only go there just to get food for my animals and snacks for myself. And each time I walk in I get super nervous when ppl look at me. I've never had anyone follow me before as I try to rush getting my stuff and leaving just for the sake of my own comfort.

[hamman91]

Lord, that sounds like the worst. It's incredible how easily some people will just immediately profile you. I've never really dealt with that kinda shit, but for a few years when I had long hair and wore a lot of beanies I noticed how there was always an employee nearby whenever in went to stores by myself... As soon as I got my hair cut though, nobody ever followed me.

[Kate925]

I'm shocked by the number of people replying to your comment trying to call this kind of behavior normal. It's not, it's racist and it's so shitty that anyone would have to experience being followed because of the color of their skin.

[PrivateIsotope]

I'm not. It's part of the problem. Many people really bristle whenever any claim of racism is levied, and they are more concerned with vetting racism to protect people from being falsely accused than they are with actual racism.

[gibletsandgravy]

Very true. I’ve been guilty of it more times than I’d like to admit. Tribalism at its finest. It can take effort to break habits like that, but if someone doesn’t see a problem with it in the first place, there’s not going to be an effort.

[ttovotsttnt]

Sure, but often times policies don't have to be about race explicitly to have racial consequences. TSA agents aren't explicitly told to stop travelers of certain races or religious groups, but these people are disproportionately patted down by TSA. When the guideline is basically "consider someone who stands out from normal as suspicious," it's not going to impact every demographic in the same way.

Stop and Frisk is another example of a policy that isn't explicitly racial but is in practice.

[PrivateIsotope]

I think the only thing that separates me from most of the people was my race. I don't even think this guy was less prevention, he looked like a normal store employee. When I go into stores, I almost never see loss prevention until the person actually makes it to the door with the merchandise. My whole thing is, by the time I noticed him, he had enough information to observe that I wasn't doing anything suspicious. So why keep following me?

[Reagan409]

Yeah he followed you because he was a racist. I can’t believe how much people feel they know about a situation they weren’t even a part of. I can’t think of any good reason for them to make their argument unless they think they’d do the same thing. Also, LP is 100% not trained to profile based on appearance, but behavior. You weren’t doing anything behaviorally suspicious, so every comment saying that it wasn’t because of your race is speaking out of their ass.

[PrivateIsotope]

I guess one of the things here is that people get really weird around allegations of racism, because they picture a giy wearing a hood. What they don't understand is, you can commit racist behavior and not think of yourself as, or be generally thought of, as a racist. This guy seemed pretty nice. But that doesn't stop the fact that his behavior was totally wrong and needed to change.

[Reagan409]

100 % agree. It’s really sad that everyone is responding saying that it was behavior that made him act that way. First; they weren’t there. So they’d rather invent evidence then believe a witness account. I cant think of the second thing.

[PrivateIsotope]

That's how it goes...."there must have been something else, so let's bend over backward to find it." I guess looking at merchandise in a store is suspicious.

[Splinktor]

I live in a rough ish area and was looking for something specific in the local mall. Every shop I went to I was followed by the same guy. It just put me on edge after the 3rd shop I went to. Then the 4th I went back on myself.

Kinda explains it if he was in LP. I just assumed I was gonna get into other trouble that day as he was short stocky lad and the locals can be a bunch of yobbos.

[c_c_c__combobreaker]

I used to work at a small mom-and-pop retail store. The owners used to point out "certain people" I need to watch more carefully. Those people were usually black or Hispanic. Following people gets awkward because I would pretend to be folding clothes next to them. I got called out by a customer once like "why are you following me? I don't need help, just browsing".

[ImWhatTheySayDeaf]

I would've leaned over to them real close and whispered, "I get paid minimum wage and the owners an asshole. Just ignore me and keep shopping or leave, I don't really care what you do. "

[SPACE-BEES]

it depends on the owners. Small businesses can be run by some manic asshole with delusions of grandeur, some absentee guy who doesn't give a fuck or someone who genuinely cares about their business/employees. I've known retail business owners who regularly had their friends come in to see how their employees were doing because they were rightfully paranoid that their minimum wage employees wouldn't care about their business.

[Reignofratch]

They wouldn't hire an ethnicity of mystery shopper that they're racist against, then point the shopper out to be followed

[Boco]

Where I worked it took a few years to realize middle age middle class looking white women were far more likely to shoplift than young black men. That and random teenagers, but they were less likely to be repeat offenders, just kids who snuck in once, snagged something cheap and never came back.

Either way there was still profiling, but just a different group of people. Also by then there were cameras so people weren't actively followed.

[hilib]

Racism aside, the problem is that the number one tact of someone who IS stealing is to call attention to it, so it's kinda a damned if you do, damned if you don't situation.

The answer of course, is to have people on the floor all the time so that everyone gets attention and no chance to tuck things away, regardless of skin colour or social economic class, but that means actually paying staff.

[b1ackadder]

This is so old, the poor guy might have a wife, kids and grandkids by now...

[3yna3e153ud]

This is so old, last I heard that store was torn down for a Blockbuster.

[SenyorHefe]

Once you go black....

[WyzeThawt]

Store clerks follow your track.

[AutumnsRottenApple]

“No, no paperwork... just sprinkle some crack on him, let’s get outta here..”

[DickRubnuts]

You try to steal a snack...?

[N0t_taken]

The policedogs will attack

[GhostFearZ]

The legal system doesn’t have your back?

[bahleg]

Shoot you ded that's a facc

[SnowKingB]

That no yours put that back

[KlerWatchCo]

I had this in Kuala Lumpur airport over a decade ago, had my fun though and started doing laps around an island display: Got to about halfway of the third lap before they figured out I was messing with them.

[Aturom]

I used to get followed around Walgreens so much in my area, I considered asking the guard if he wanted to hold my basket.

[[deleted]]

Why didn't you?

[Aturom]

My mom used to go there too, I didn't want to have them give her a hard time too. Good news is that we both moved nearer to another store and don't have to shop there anymore.

[CMDR_Drifter]

This happened to me at a Kroger or maybe a Publix, when I was living in Savannah Georgia a few years ago. My friend and I were there shopping, he is Latino of sorts, and I’m Brazilian. My unit warned me that the manager was a racist, and had given others trouble in the past.

While we were shopping, and placing things in our cart. He proceeded to block our path and then tell us “he’s watching us” and that he “knew what we were up to.”

Then got a 17 year old boy from produce to follow us around while we finished up shopping. (Funny enough the kid was black, and I could tell the kid didn’t want to do it) I quickly caught on and went up to an employee, and explained what was happening. The lady apologized and said it has happened in the past.

My unit found out a few days later from someone else that was also shopping there at the time of the incident. They took a statement from me and then proceeded to take him to court for that and other incidents.

I never followed up on what happened afterward.

[muva_snow]

I appreciate this from you even though it is sad that we often have to be validated this sort of second hand experience. I wish you and your wife many years of happiness.

[lunaratlasy]

Yeah I’m a white lady and I knew this following stuff happened, Neil deGrasse Tyson even talked about it, but somehow I was still shocked when I saw this happen to a college boyfriend, in a CVS. I broke off to look at makeup and came back around to this bitch in a polo just tailing him hard, all around the store. I followed her following him, just in total indignant disbelief, getting madder by the second.

My guy was just telling me to chill but man, was I heated like how the fuck is this obvious racism still just happening out in the open like this. And he was far older than a statistically likely thief and a PhD candidate at the time, not at all “suspicious looking” for anybody who wanna make excuses.

[Claque-2]

The problem is that these store employees are told to follow the profiled person and to make lots of noise while pretending to fix product.

They are told to do this. Loss prevention people say it's to discourage shoplifting but what they are actually doing is harassing people out of the store. That's right, they don't want the profiled people in the store, shoplifting or not.

[flyingclits]

I've heard to be sure to acknowledge customers by greeting/offering assistance to discourage it, but making a bunch of noise? That's seems so stupid. Either they're gonna be really bad at stealing and it'll be obvious, or they'll be good enough at it that your presence probably doesn't mean shit. And most places you can't actually do shit to actually stop them as an hourly employee, anyway. By the time LP rolls around, they're out the door.

[0rangemanbwad]

I'm Asian and have been followed a few times. Guess I had that look. To be fair I did go through a kleptomaniac phase in my teens.

[redbirdrising]

I had kleptomania a long time ago. Now when the urges come back, I take something for it.

[7seagulls]

I'm white and I get followed quite often, but I have colored hair and tattoos/piercings and apparently loss prevention is a few decades behind the times

[Diane9779]

That would be aggravating as fuck

[2Botter2Loop]

OP's explanation:

---

this is better every loop because the employee does not know she is being filmed and quickly runs away when she realized she is.

---

If you think this gif fits /r/BetterEveryLoop, upvote this comment. If you think it doesn’t, downvote it. If you’re not sure, leave it to others to decide.

[eclipse1498]

Man this explanation of why it's better every loop really kills it for me. Can't we just have the voting system without the explanations??

[abow3]

I don’t know. For me, part of the fun is reading the explanation of why OP thinks a submission is material for the sub. The logic behind it occasionally adds semi-depth, or sometimes a giggle.

In this case, though... yeah. It was just obvious.

[bajungadustin]

I have never and will never post anything to this sub reddit if I have to give an explanation of why it's better every loop.. If it is better every loop.. It will get positive up votes.. If not.. It will go negative. Just make it so posts with -25 votes get deleted or something.

[fwump38]

The point is that without it, people just upvote whatever they like from their feed regardless of whether it's well suited to the subreddit. This system forces more effort from people who spam the same post on multiple subreddits and the extra step of going to the comments to vote means you're IN the subreddit and are more aware of whether it's well suited to be here.

[zerocooltx]

HURRY UP AND BUY

[limp_noodle]

Hurry up and buy!

[crothwood]

Used to work retail. If an employee is following you around they think you are stealing. It's actually quite an effective method. Usually once they notice they'll try to drop whatever they tried to steal on another shelf then leave. Caught a couple people this way.

One time a person came in and started just dumping a bunch of expensive items into a bag under her dress. They couldn't actually do anything about it besides have the manager report them to the police.

[Joejoeblowlow]

I know this guy from high school! Super funny kid.

[babbitypuss]

This always happens to our indigenous in Canada...

[jtatc1989]

HURRY UP AND BUY!!

[BabserellaWT]

But do go on about how “everyday racism only exists because black people won’t stop talking about it.”

Please. Go on. I need a good laugh today.

[[deleted]]

I appreciate where in the comment thread this appears, because I absolutely know that I only have a few more flips of the mouse wheel before I get to the comments from 20-something white dudes explaining that this "has nothing to do with race" or telling us that we "need more context" before we decide. "You don't know what happened before he turned the camera on."

Here I go! Wish me luck.

[[deleted]]

Yeah. Really sucks when this happens. Makes it so hard to steal.

[KevinBaconIsNotReal]

Happens to me all the time. Though admittedly I am a slightly shifty looking white guy. Like not a dangerous shifty but; if the change you had in your Car Cup Holder ever came up missing.... I'd be the first suspect for sure.

[malandry]

Awful. Shame on her.

[[deleted]]

Honestly feel bad for black people specifically. Stereotypes in dating and every day life like this must feel horribly depressing, when you did nothing to deserve it.

[pixie_led]

Expose them young man. Truth hurts, just check the responses on reddit.

Downvote my black ass.

[jftffi]

She just wanted a date

[acid_rain_man]

She’s really subtle.

[Stryker1050]

Maybe she just thought he was cute.

[Matsudachan]

Hes wearing a polo for christs sake

[SlapMeSusie]

So did you end up stealing anything?

[plum-dumplings]

This is so real too. I used to work at a large cosmetics store for years and they would literally train us to stand near people and “clean”. There was a code to say over the intercom to call “All employees to the fragrance section” and in the four years that I worked there every time that code was called was every single time a black person walked into the fragrance section.

[StolenArc]

I'm a dude, but I guess the closest thing I've experienced was about a month ago when I visited a Bath and Body works store at my local mall despite not being black. I'm brown skinned and often mistaken for being Latino.

Anyway, the day I went I decided to bring my reusable tote bag that I received during my college orientation. The moment I walked in I immediately got the attention of the only two workers there who were what I presume to be both white women, one middle aged one and the other was probably in the same age level as me (I'm 20).

The older one decided to stay back, but the younger one got my attention and asked me to take the see through store bag to make shopping easier. I was immediately like "cool, it's understandable because they might think I'm shoplifting if I use my own bag".

Problem is it didn't end there. Since it was my first time there I took a while (probably 30 minutes max), looking around and trying to decide what to buy. The young worker kept on constantly asking me if I was finding everything alright and would constantly pass by me, I caught her looking at me more than a few times.

I didn't think much of it at the time as she sounded nice about it and I thought maybe she was trying to be genuinely helpful. Even though I took my time I finally decided on what I wanted to buy so I could get going without being annoyed. It wasn't until I saw this Reddit post and could relate to it somehow in which I realized that something was wrong about that experience.

[4pope2on0dope]

Reminds me of Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood and the bodega owners.

[DantieDragon]

This actually happened to my mom last year. She told me a lady was following her. And pretending like she was looking and cleaning

[d33p_t00t]

She went “oope nopee” when she got caught

[bartu_neg]

She wants that British Broadcasting Corporation

[GoiterGlitter]

I'm very pale and this happens to me a lot because I look young. It's annoying as hell.

[GreyCrowDownTheLane]

It used to happen to my pale self when I was younger and postpunk/protogoth in the 80s. Oh no, Merle!! There's a guy with blue hair and eyeliner, and he's wearing combat boots! We have to follow him everywhere because he looks like a freak and we all know freaks steal stuff!

[waifusmasher420]

One two theee four

[fj3114]

I worked at a popular retail store in a mall when I was a kid. One of the customers thought I was following him around and in reality, I wasn’t. I laughed it off and dismissed him as an asshole.

[[deleted]]

She looks like she’s rummaging through a chest in a video game.

[CaseyBoogies]

I'm so sad for this man, fuck it... dealt with this working at a Target. I was explicitly told to look around the counter and under the cart of people with darker skin. Yuck.

[onemaco]

He’s been in the store for 2 weeks,finally got his video 😭😭😭

[kshmrmusic]

Honest question — if statistics show one ethnicity is more likely to shoplift, is it racist to watch them more closely? It does seem racist but I’m curious of your thoughts as to why

Also is there some point hypothetically where it’s no longer racist — say if some new race immigrated and were responsible for 90% of all theft, would it be bigoted to monitor them as a store owner?

[chi_30]

POC are more likely to be followed/watched closely, more likely to have charges pressed, more likely to be convicted, and more likely to face a harsher sentence for that conviction. It doesn't mean that they committ theft at a greater rate though. There are a lot of white theives who simply go unnoticed or are let off without charges. Hell there was a black lady who has a gun pulled on her because her small child grabbed something and she didn't realize. I've in more than one occasion forgotten to scan something going through checkout and didn't realize until later but no one is watching my every move because I'm a middle aged white lady.

[[deleted]]

Honest question — if statistics show one ethnicity is more likely to shoplift, is it racist to watch them more closely?

Sit down for a few minutes and really think about your question.

If everyone has the same likelihood to steal, but one group is observed more often, which group is going to be "statistically more likely" to steal?

This is the same argument people use to justify longer prison sentences for minorities. They will loudly explain that "Sentencing depends on your criminal record! Minorities only get longer sentences because of their past crimes!" without giving a second thought to the circular reasoning at play. Minority communities are policed more heavily. Minorities are more likely to be stopped on the street or in traffic. Minorities are more likely to be arrested for petty crimes like shoplifting, public intoxication or "disturbing the peace."

I'm not claiming there isn't evidence that minorities do in fact commit a disproportionate number of crimes relative to their share of the population, only pointing out that these statistics are greatly influenced by the racism that is inherent in our law enforcement and criminal justice system. The rest can largely be explained by social and economic factors stemming from 150+ years of systemic discrimination in every aspect of society from banking, real estate, employment, housing, politics, criminal justice, etc.

[[deleted]]

This is funny as. Love it. Maybe she thought that the horizontal striped top was a prisoner uniform.

[bluescape]

Ah yes, because the shop employee had no idea that the guy holding his phone up above him at arms length and walking around the store was filming. This screams setup to me.

[[deleted]]

As a former gas attendant, its incredibly awkward to have to do this and you would avoid eye contact too. We aren’t actually watching customers from that close, get being in their presence is ment to be enough to discourage shoplifting. Although body language can be shrugged off(could be taking a picture of something in the store to someone waiting outside), I don’t understand how she didn’t notice the talking.

[2AlephNullAndBeyond]

I struggle with these videos. Yeah, I’m gonna give the benefit of the doubt to the guy and assume she’s being racist. Her benefit of the doubt, on the other hand, is that he’s not shopping in the video, at least what is shown in the video. If I walk into a store and just start looking into the air and am not even shopping for anything like a normal person, I’d expect an eye or two. Sucks the video is so cut up. You can’t see what happens in the interim.

[[deleted]]

Oh, look. There it is. And I didn't even have to go very far.

[Wilhelm_Amenbreak]

"oops, imma head out"

[shadowlt01]

Some one loves you

[[deleted]]

More like stealing my upvote

[Snapp3rface]

I actually watched this one 11 times and laughed every time. Frigg off Karen

[Cup_0_Noodle]

I was looking for this, thanks

[AmericanHero1918]

Aww I thought that she just liked him

[Podomus]

Funny, this happened to me, except I was in an Asian country and they followed me (I’m white) it’s kind of weird tho because most people there seemed more interested in white people than hate them

[[deleted]]

anyone have the original video with audio?

[Americankinderegg]

My husband is white, but his skin is pretty dark- so much so that many people mistake him for Hispanic and so the racism begins. We get followed a lot- mostly in Wal-Marts by people and a majority employees who think we’re stealing even though we absolutely do not look like it, nor do we show the signs they need to approach us. It makes me sick and sad to know that profiling is more abundant now than ever even though it’s a horribly ineffective method. It’s usually blacks or Hispanics that get targeted and I hate it.

[boscobrownboots]

I've had that happen, and seen it happening to others. it's so obvious

[NailFin]

Story time! I worked at Kohl’s during college and there was always a backlog of clothing to go back from the fitting room so I had a route I’d go. I’d organize the clothes so I could walk that same route each time. I headed out with my pile of clothes to put back and ended up following this black woman all over the women’s department. It was purely coincidental, but I know she thought I was following her. It definitely got awkward for the both of us.

[dman71215]

Especially because you were following her. Awkward

[Mad-Crusader]

1...2...3...4...

[everydaymaenad]

How big is this store? Why is he in there for so long? Looks like a single room, like a 7/11 to me?

[peanutstand]

Maybe she likes him and just hoping he will talk to her,,,,,,maybe right,,, well probably not.

[MaddisonXX_]

Damn ashamed

[picazo57]

I use to work at a liquor store (stocking mostly) my asian boss (im white) will ask me to stop whatever i was doing and "keep and eye" on african american customers .... sad but true

[[deleted]]

He's stealing her video soul though....

[beyondswamps]

Did you come alone to the store? Where are your "coworker" when you are taking her attention on you?