Shopping while black: a social experience, white crowd walk out in defense of a black shopper

at the end of the video. Love it! The walk out begins at 6:50 on the video.

ABC staged the frisking and general humiliation of a black woman in an upscale store. They get various reactions from an ass-hole guy asking if the black woman "played the black card" to a woman breaking down in tears over the racial profiling. At the end, the majority of the customers walk out in solidarity for the black woman. :applause: :applause:

http://www.sojones.com/news/1534-shopping-while-black-a-social-experiment/


Shopping While Black: a social experiment

Article written by: Andre Sanchez
Posted on: October 16, 2009

I came across this interesting experiment that TV news network ABC hosted. A black actress and two brave store workers agreed to stage a scene at an upscale clothing store in SoHo New York, one of the busiest and trendiest shopping areas in the world.

When random shoppers came in, the shop workers would begin harassing the black actress posing as a customer. Verbally abusing her, telling her she “can’t afford the merchandise” and “we know why you are here”, they would ask her to leave and even go as far as frisking her in full view of the other shoppers.

It made for some interesting observations as to who responded and who didn’t. Peep the video:

Woman in tears over racist statements made by the clerk regarding a black customer

Maybe 12 years ago? Anyway, the commercial was simply a picture of a black man, with text rolling over it saying "James So-and-so*, convicted of 3 counts aggravated assault, etc, etc.." then ended with "Apprehended by Detective Mark Doe*, pictured here"... completely gave me a "holy shit" moment..


*sorry..been too long and I only saw it once, so no idea what names were actually used..

Just because the police don't turn fire hoses on black people on the streets anymore doesn't mean racism is dead. It's alive and kicking.

We've got so very, very far yet to go...

:mad:

I like his "uh oh" when he realizes he was filmed. lol.

His lying, racist face is now making the rounds of the internet.

Who showed about 1 second of being even remotely troubled by the situation. And even that look read more as "uh oh, is this black woman going to get violent?"

Honestly, you could see on the guy's face that he was affected. He appeared to be torn. But he chose to do nothing about the situation and later chose to diffuse his involvement in the conflict by agreeing with the salesclerk.

That reaction is clearly not acceptable.

like uncovering the blinders and seeing people for who they truly are....

didn't care to be part of it, and walked out for that reason.

a look of being a bit uncomfortable watching that..but no...I believe that no one in that store believed it to be staged...I have no doubt such has been witnessed by some of them before..

guy was for real.

I hope his life is quite miserable for a while and I'm pretty certain it will

just walking out when you're convinced it's the real thing is not so much solidarity as cowardice, feeling dirty in the presence of nastiness and just wanting to flee it without doing something about it. Solidarity would involve intervening verbally.

actually stuck up for her...so many people just do not want to be involved these days...as nice as it was to see the few that did and walk out of the store...the truth is...everyone should have walked out...reminds me of the scene in pretty woman

My own experience working in a store was that the manager informed me not to keep an eye on certain people of race but to keep an eye out on elderly people...I was told in a few different jobs that dealt in retail that usually it was elderly people that stole..

Nice stereotyping either way...such is wrong..because the bottom line is you just never know...

But the way the actress portrayed her part was in my mind a very good reason to step in....she was an excellent actress as were they all but she just played the victim so well in how she felt so humilated..it wasn't until I heard her say that she actually had dealt with being followed before in stores that I realized her humiliation was real...since she herself said she understood how that felt...

I just could not imagine doing that to anyone...so disrespectful and so openly was the sales clerk displaying that her reasoning was primarily because of race...

this video just made me sad..

this is how racism works: most people just go along with it.

are enlightened enough to realize what's going on AND OBJECT TO IT. They remain silent.

up-to-date on the law - you can't do what they did. You can't take action to communicate with a suspect about what you suspect they did until they are past the doorway to the street/mall and if there is a reason to 'know' there was a theft - seen by a witness-employee. I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong.

But, the exercise proved what we already know - only a few will speak out.

Some years ago I probably would have been the aware-of-what's-going-on-but-silent person. I would have probably walked out, silently. Maybe waited for the targeted person to hug or hold their hand or say something. Not today. I would start trying to concentrate on who was saying what as a witness so I could speak out there or later.

If there were weapons, I don't know what I would do.

I think that store owner should be applauded for taking on the risk of reputation and hosting the experiment.

But that was the point...one does not always follow the letter of the law especially when it comes to you know...certain people and nine times out of ten they are never called on it so it continues..

as far as the owner being applauded..well...I may be jaded but I have no doubt he was compensated as well as receiving free publicity...he didn't lose anything...nor was he in danger of losing anything..

that seem to be unable to figure out this was a staged situation and he doesn't really employ racists clerks.

The person doing the frisking was in on it as was the actress. It was the shopper's reactions that they were looking to gauge.

What exactly in my post suggested I didn't understand this was staged to get shoppers' reaction?

Interesting that one of the shoppers who really stood up and left was black yet, he was not harassed.

this wasn't "real" harassment. it was staged to make a point, which it did make quite successfully. If you understand the premise, you'll understand why he wasn't harassed.

reactions from people.

Last year, they had an episode where they put 3 young white males near a car in a public park's parking lot that they provided. The guys vandalized the crap out of the car. Many people were walking and running by, and very few stepped in. They would usually just watch for a little bit before moving on.

Then they repeated it with 3 young black males. Within a few minutes there were lots of calls to the police and such. In fact, an interesting "side incident" occurred as well. While the 3 young black males were sitting in their own car waiting for their turn, someone had called the police saying that 3 'suspicious' black males were sitting in a car watching the parking lot and people. The guys were actually napping in the car as they waited.

Another experiment involved a couple out on a date at a bar. The woman, who was dressed very provocatively, showing cleavage, wearing a tight short skirt, and high heels, got up to use the restroom. The guy with her would pour something into her drink. The experiment was to see if people would interrupt what appeared to be a guy spiking a woman's drink. Very few people did so. They then repeated the experiment, with the young woman dressed more conservatively, the girl next door look. When that happened, quite a few people told her what he did. It was the same female actor each time. The inference from the experiment was that the woman who dressed 'slutty' was seen as being deserving of having her drink spiked. The old "she deserved it because of how she was dressed" thinking.

That "What Would You Do?" show on ABC is always enlightening on society mores and behavior.

Lesson: No one will come to the aid of man getting beat by a woman, even a cop.

They also switched races. Very few came to the aid of the black woman getting beat.

:(

walk into a bar and quietly lift a woman's purse off the back of her chair. People in the bar would see the theft happen but most
wouldn't react unless someone else reacted... The episode demonstrated that most people need confirmation from others to react.

When they did react it was funny. One group of guys stormed out of the restaurant after the thief, fully prepared to kick ass (one took a swing!) until the producers put a stop to it.

But that's just me.

These people are basically being punked/tricked, and they didn't agree or give their consent to this.
What if someone really takes offense, and some sort of altercation/injury ensures? Like if someone tried to run after the "thief" and got hit by a car? Who will be at fault then?

when someone is being harassed and they stand by and do nothing.

manipulated for the show.

So they can't play victim there.

So you're still complaining about the cruelty of people being outed as cowards?

Surely there are more pressing issues to worry about.

for pathetic cowards who would stand by while someone is treated so poorly and do nothing. It is exactly that kind of cowardice that allows racists to get away with their bullshit. It's the mentality that turns making the accusation of racism worse than actually being racist. And frankly without this "exploitative television" a good number of people would continue on their merry way pretending that everything is just fine when it comes to race relations in this country so in the grand scheme of things I'm glad that some people were outed as cowards. And to piss and moan about their exploitation is to deliberately deflect attention on the point which is when it comes down to it for all the flowery language people like to use they will still stand by and do nothing when blatant, obvious, racist actions take place right in front of their face!

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

We know racism exists. We know cowardice exists. We know profiling exists.

It is really, really, really fucking easy to sit that at your keyboard and howl - howl! at what horrible cowards to racism those crowds are in a staged and controlled TV bit.

ABC or whomever the fuck it was who made this video has presented the emotional equivalent of the Roman Gladiator games. And you're lapping it right up.

people who stand by while people of color are mistreated because I've seen it in person. So it's real fucking easy for you to howl and cry about the emotional abuse suffered by these poor, pitiful disgusting cowards who stood by while someone was humiliated and mistreated and did not a fucking thing but continue with their shopping. Meanwhile you deliberately miss the fucking point of the experiment in the first place. Why? I can only guess that for all your claims of knowing racism exists, that cowardice exists and that profiling exists you don't want to actually have it SEEN by anyone so that something may actually do something about it. It's so much easier for it to continue to be hidden so you can either dismiss the person telling the story and pretend it's not there because God forbid having evidence on tape may force you to actually DO something about it.

Can't have that can we. No it's so much better not to "exploit" these assholes.

Unfuckingbeliveable.

It. Was. A. Staged. Incident.

You still haven't figured out the lesson learned in NY by the Tawana Brawley incident - or maybe you just weren't around. New Englanders almost never, ever have to confront the idea they might be "like that." If you're going to put it in their face, better fracking make sure it's not a hoax.

not the actors. Are you telling me that their reactions would have been different if they knew it was staged?

That defeats the purpose. You can't test people's honest reactions if they know they're part of the experiment.

If New Englanders don't get that then I'd say there's something wrong with the school system up there.

But seriously, when researchers do human experiments, they would need to get all the protocols approved before any experiments are done, and obtain consent from the participants. Which I sincerely doubt was done by this TV show.

since you find it cruel and manipulative to expose racists for who they are.

And then went home to call corporate head-quarters.

Why not air people's real stories, instead? This is Jerry Springer crap masquerading as social consciousness. The episode I saw did not even have very good actors and smacked of an eighth grade "social consciousness" lecture.

with people who are supposed to be liberal?

Good luck with that!

Huh?

I am just curious about all these threads that sank like stones. There is no need to be nasty; I was not nasty to you. I just would be curious to see them all.

but frankly, I don't think most people are interested in them. And when they are told there's usually someone ready to tell you that what you saw you didn't see. It's insulting. Not to mention if stories are so easily dismissed out of hand when it's someone who one has had some interaction with (albeit online) I can only imagine how easily the story of some person one doesn't know at all would be.

I think most people here are very sensitive to and concerned about racial issues. In fact, in my experience it is one of the few places you can come where that is fairly consistently the case.

You have a point about the fact that there will always be doubters and minimizers. However, I think you open yourself up to those kinds of responses even more when you STAGE a situation outright. Anyone who already has difficulty believing this stuff goes on is going to ask why you couldn't focus your show on a real event, instead of making one up.

and even racists. i loved this show. people will lie and pretend they are one way, but shows like this reveal their true colors, so to speak. see how fast the "black card" guy changed his tune when the host told him it was staged? i doubt that guy is a racist, but he was sure willing to play along with that racist situation...until he was busted. he was embarrassed by his comment, AFTER he found out it was a staged event. i think it was a lesson he needed to learn, and i hope he learned it.

I'll give it to you on other subjects though.

They look at the woman in tears and go, "ah, see, she's upset by racism. She must be a nice person." And they don't give a crap that she got yanked around in order to feed *their* need for outrage and justice.

How many people writing about what an ass the 'black card' guy is would ever have the backbone to confront him on their own, without a TV crew for back-up?

Screw every piece of shit in this video that sat by and did NOTHING while that woman was humiliated. Hugs to everyone who stood up for her.

Welcome to the new improved, post-racial America, everyone! I'm so mad after watching that and knowing that this type of thing has happened to so many people that I know I'm about ready to cry myself.

besides that beautiful woman who cried, the people who were most vocal in their defense of the black shopper (besides the people of color) weren't americans :puke: this is how and why racism continues to work: most people won't say or do anything to stop it.

was the actress hugging the woman who reacted saying, "Thank you."

Damn hormones. :)

:hug:

most of the white shoppers did absolutely nothing. it was great that the two british (i think) women intervened, but the bottom line is: only 20 out of 100 people actually did or said anything. this is one of the reasons racism works: people just go along with it.

that's the thing that stuck me as interesting.

I can't imagine why that would be.

Locals would probably be more jaded since they may be used to that sort of thing as just another part of Life in the Big City. Foreign visitors who are not used to it, on the other hand, may be more inclined to intervene. I had a similar experience in Japan.

At least some of them.

The foreign visitors might not be aware of the possibility being unwittingly caught up in a modern-day "Candid Camera" event.

But New Yorkers can also be a jaded bunch. One of my most memorable experiences of the Big Apple was of two cars waiting at a traffic light. The light turned green, but the car in front just stayed there, and the light turned red again without anyone proceeding through the intersection. Again, the light turned green, and again the car in front did nothing. The guy in back was growing impatient, and started honking his horn, whereby the guy in front, rather than proceed through the intersection, got out of his car and walked to the other car, shouting obscenities the whole time. And the people around there were just going about their business, like nothing unusual was happening.

And I see no reason to stand about like some lookie-loo over someone getting out of their car to shout obscenities at some asshat who doesn't move when the light turns green. Who's going to stop what they're doing over some driving altercation?

I know exactly why it is.

and so do all the people who are making excuses for the locals. business as usual.

probably goes along with health care for all.

:)

Foreigners shopping at upscale boutiques in NYC. Probably a big part of their clientele, especially with the dollar the way it is.

Anyway, that one woman sounded central European to me, maybe one of the German-speaking countries. The two British ladies at the beginning did nothing.

most people do nothing at all whatever the situation is. This show is fucking idiotic and you really can't "read" society by it. Studies have already shown that few people will react to many things that are socially unacceptable out in public, not just racism.

A good number of us were well aware of this fact, but we're not listened to in this country.

whatever the situation is. This has been shown over and over again.

I prefer having the tape out there to remind people of their true colors than to not have it out there and pretend otherwise.

I have no idea why this outing makes you uncomfortable. Were you on the tape or something?

They did one on Muslim women too..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3jZjm8xMwg

I will walk in with my partner who is white and they watch her walk off but they seem to congregate around me, now yes they ask am I finding everything okay but it seems as though they rotate. So by the time I have left the store I have been approached by at least 4 different sales people.

It doesn't happen all of the time but when it does I definitily know.

For instance, I am white and a salesperson followed me around the furniture store, asking if I am finding everything o'key, and when I got on the second floor of it, she followed me there too.
Since it's a furniture store, what was she thinking? It's not like I can stuff a sofa into my purse. Sometimes they just follow you around for no apparent reason.

have thought that it was typical behavior, however; they didn't even approach her once.

If it happened only one time in one store over the many years I have been shopping it wouldn't be a second thought. The fact is that it does happen, I don't get rowdy or anything but those stores don't get any of my hard earned money. I will spend my money where they take care of their customers.

of inventory be stolen BY WHITE PREP-SCHOOL STUDENTS as part of an initiation ceremony while our ass(et) protection people were targeting black shoppers.

I warned our asset pro people that it was happening, this was over several weeks--but one day, several of the preps came in while asspro were watching a black woman with a teenage daughter--and the preps tried to take several pieces of Ralph Lauren goods. I followed the preps out after alerting asset protection and actually following the girls, rather loudly saying to them--"I'll be happy to wrap up your sale at this (the hosiery) register now." Other store personnel got what I was saying as did other customers, but those spoiled brats got out the door where another employee (not asset pro) stopped them.

I got a nice bonus of 10% of the recovery--$175. And the asset pro super got another job...

by the media (sadly) is that only dark skinned people commit these crimes. Meanwhile millions of dollars walk out the door....

And sometimes they follow you around because you have melanin. Is that something that you find uncomfortable accepting as truth?

I swear some people would rather believe in Big Foot and the Loch Ness Monster than accept the existence of rather obvious racism.

How old are you, by the way, if you have been around for the last 400 years?

Did you pay attention when they taught history in school and covered the last 400 years?

You're not anywhere near as amusing as you seem to think you are.

that makes making the accusation of being racist worse than actually BEING a racist.

:shrug:

that the person is racist -- NEVER. There is always another reason. Ugh...

and our asset pro people let thousands of dollars disappear while I witnessed and reported on numerous white people shoplifting while they insisted on following the richer in melanin crowd.

And it happened time and time again. :mad: Bad enough that it was in-your-face racism, I also missed out on a hefty bonus given for catching shoplifters. To this day, I can still see it happening in higher-end stores and it burns me up. If I see it, I leave.

FWIW, I'm as white as a lily.

Being treated differently (and better) than my fellow black customers.

Nothing ever so egregious as this video, thank God, but I have experienced it. Greetings and smiles for me, squinted and suspicious eyes for black shoppers. I almost wish that I had been a part of this experiment. This incident was so obvious that it might have given me the chance to unload some feelings about this that have been building up for a while. I doubt it would have been fit for TV, however.

I used to love the reaction we got when I'd cozy up to him as he was checking out.

Maybe "love" isn't the word, but I did get some satisfaction in the embarrassment so many felt.

65% of participants were willing to administer an electric shock they thought might be fatal, simply because someone in authority told them it was OK. Whether it's the US committing torture, the Holocaust, or racism, we see the same result: most people will tolerate injustice, and even collaborate, so long as "an authority" says it's OK.

As a black person I know all to well of "Shopping While Black"

Best believe that "Driving While Black" exists as well and is often worse than that.

About the woman that started crying...imagine what its like to be going through this...time and time and time again.

BTW, I used to live in NYC and used to shop in that area....a lot. That type of stuff is unheard of...certainly in that part of town. Maybe the Upper East and West Sides are different.

has been paid to start crying. Some people can't figure out that this was staged for the show, and not a real situation.

There is no evidence to support that claim?

Are you familiar with this show?

If you make this claim, then why not also make the claim that the black dude who got visibly upset and verbally chastised the clerk and the store in general for allowing that treatment as being an actor as well?

I'm sorry, but I don't see ANYTHING that even remotely supports that the crying woman was an actor.

That was how she, genuinely, reacted to witnessing that barbaric treatment.

Any evidence to your claim that she was paid to cry?

Nobody could possibly care enough to cry?

That would be my guess. Though I hope that is not what is driving LisaL's suspicion.

Personally, I think the woman was 100% genuine and, interestingly, when she started crying, the anger and rage I felt turned into sadness and I started crying too.

This thread should've come with a warning. :P

The lady who is shown humiliated in an upscale store, and starts crying, is an actress. The humiliation is staged to see what the other people would do.
I didn't notice anyone else crying when I watched the video.

She wasn't one of the ones involved in the setup.

First one, at the link, beginning at 4:00

the main character (the actress) and someone who wasn't an actress.

I am so glad to see some of the reactions from some of the other folks there.

Absolutely heartened by those who took a stand! Sadly we have a long way to go.

Julie

Thanks so much for posting this. I'm going to share the link!

I think.

Though it is interesting that when she was dressed up I felt more conflicted as if it would almost be improper for me to "come to her rescue" considering she might be "above" me. I feel that I probably would have, but my approach would have been less direct. I probably would have circled around the situation before jumping in.

This shit happens all the time! You have to blind not to see it.

Error: you can only recommend threads which were started in the past 24 hours

like a rat in a maze.

It is fake news.

Don't get me started on The ClusterFOX.

I don't recall many here praising the acorn videos.

We were camping and it was raining, and any of you who have camped in the rain know what we looked like. We all had raincoats on and our hair was wet and we must have looked like we were living in our car or something. Anyway, we went to an Ames store in New Hampshire to get some water shoes for the kids. We were followed around the store the entire time we were there. I was really confused why they were doing this to us, but we bought like $10 worth of stuff after they followed us to the registers. It took awhile for me to figure out why we were followed, as this had never happened to me before. And I have to tell you it was one of the most uncomfortable things that had ever happened to me. And then, when I figured out what happened, I got really pissed.

A very eye-opening experience -- I can't even imagine how humiliating it would be to go through that all the time.

Good news - Ames is out of business! Not that I was ever going to go into an Ames again.

Be a wheelchair user.

Eight years ago I transitioned from being ambulatory to using a wheelchair, and discovered the real magic of wheelchairs was their ability to make one invisible. If I want to ask questions, or see something from behind a counter, well... there's always online shopping. Or I can bring an aide -- store clerks will talk to my aides about items that I am interested in, while completely ignoring me. If I'm waiting in line, I'll be skipped over, and the person behind me will be served, unless I complain too loudly to be ignored.

All things considered I'll take being ignored over being profiled. Racism remains America's #1 original sin. But discrimination of every flavor sucks.

(Note: I am melanin impaired. Persons with more abundant melanin may find that wheelchairs do not impart invisibility, but merely make them look like even more inviting targets. That is, after all, how bullies think).

made me so angry I'm crying.

Bless those women and the other customers who walked out in defiance of that racist clerk.

It's so sad and infuriating that this could happen and does happen and more often than we probably believe.

I think that some people probably would have just watched to see how this would transpire before they would react or intervene, but it was so realistic that it's hard to imagine that someone could have just ignored what was going on and keep looking through the merchandise.

unfolding. In the clips I saw, the acting was very convincing if you could believe that some salesperson/manager could be such an offensive asshole. Fact is, some can be just that.

be convincing?

And it's shameful that EVERYONE who witnessed this didn't confront the situation directly. Absolutely shameful.