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Leave ... and take your attitude with you
Friday, March 19, 2010 at 12:44AM 
Just leaving. Photo Erica Weber 2010A Wal-Mart store in Washington Township, New Jersey, earlier this week was the scene of an outrage.
For it was there that an unidentified male availed himself -- without, one must assume, the permission of management -- of an open microphone and said, storewide:
"Attention, Wal-Mart customers. All black people leave the store now."
Judging by the reactions of shoppers of color, you'd have thought the disembodied directive had been significantly more pejorative in nature. Like, "All black people go immediately to the fields and begin picking cotton."
Despite the lameness of the "incident," high dudgeon ruled the day.
And I have no doubt that their "anger" motivated them to lawyer up.
"I want to know why such statements are being made, because it flies in the face of what we teach our children about tolerance for all," said Wal-Mart shopper Sheila E. "If this was meant to be a prank, there's only one person laughing, and it's not either one of us."
Uhm … I hate to burst your bubble, dear, but the last time I checked, most black folks weren't heavily into the concept of "tolerance" for anyone who isn't black.
And it wouldn't hurt you to laugh at a harmless prank … even if you did perceive it to be at your expense. Are you so precious you cannot be mentioned indirectly, in the abstract, by skin color, in a rogue ten-word "order" as outlandish as it is inane?
Sheila and her friend, Patricia, plan to boycott Wal-Mart until they have the retailer's "assurance" that the issue has been addressed so it "doesn't happen again."
Again I am loathe to disillusion you, but if it happened once, it could conceivably happen again. And it wouldn't harm you a second time any more than it did the first.
But the women seem determined to make a mountain of what would struggle to attain the status of miniature molehill.
They claim they were "stunned" when they heard the announcement, and thought they had misheard. But once the words "sank in," they became angry.
And I have no doubt that their "anger" motivated them to lawyer up before they cooked up another mess of collards or mixed up another pan of cornbread.
I wouldn't think a thing of it if I were shopping at Wal-Mart and someone demanded over the PA that all females leave the store. Or all Baptists, for that matter … or all white people, or all brown-eyed people, or all left-handed people, or all Republicans, or all people wearing polka-dots, or all goldfish owners, or all Johnny Depp fans.
Or all those who believe Lee Harvey Oswald, wearing a sparkly tutu and a Superman code ring, acting alone except for a pet ferret in his back pocket, shot from the grassy knoll while sipping Ovaltine and trading baseball cards with Abraham Zapruder.
Stop thinking in terms of wounded entitlement.
Sticks and stones, luv. If I heard an announcement like that, I'd laugh out loud and keep on doing what I was doing.
I'd think to myself, just try and make me leave before I'm ready.
"Minorities" need to get over themselves. In this situation, I'll bet you a truckload of watermelons they wouldn't be so mad if the reason they were being urged to leave the building was for a sidewalk giveaway of cash, merchandise, or hairweaves.
People everywhere are starving, suffering, dying for a little bit of love. No matter the color of your skin, or how badly you think you or your ancestors have been misunderstood or mistreated, discover the freedom of forgetting yourself.
Move on, on purpose.
Put that energy to better use. Reach out to someone in need of your encouragement, your understanding, or your material largesse.
Or, here's a really radical idea: practice some tolerance toward the person who was thoughtless enough to mash your hair-trigger buttons in the first place.
Stop thinking in terms of wounded entitlement. Stop walking around like a spoiled two-year-old with a chip on your shoulder the size of Michelle Obama's … er, biceps.
Then you won't have either the time or the inclination to pay heed to public-address-system pranksters or anyone else who tries to get your goat … and both you and everyone else in America will be better off.
Reader Comments (14)
It must be really, really, really exhausting to go through life LOOKING for reasons to be offended.
LOL! This is hysterical...and thank you for READING my mind. I had a black person beat me at arcade basketball at work yesterday and she just HAD to say "hey, it's in my genes, what can I say?" after the game was over. Yeah, well...silky smooth hair is in my genes, weavehead. Whatcha gonna do about it, huh?
I followed your link over from IOTW. Great post, and well said.
JWM
Same here. I followed from iOTW. It seem as if the American negro, many who consider themselves African Americans, a subset of Actual Americans have developed a genetic quality that no longer gives them a direct relationship to actual Africans. In fact, this evolution that has taken place amoung the African Americans and differentiates them from their African cousins would make the Americanized version of negro defective if they are compared directly to their distant kinfolk.
The character of change is a loss to explain, especially if we consider the standard of living the black generations have experienced in each of their respective continents. In general, the African American, by comparison has had the best of everything, food, shelter, welfare, transportation, convenience of running water, bathing, flushing toilets, medical care, the latest technology and a host of other amenities to numerous to mention, especially when seen from the perspective of the native African.
This genetic evolutionary defect, would put the Americanized African at a substantial disadvantage if having to face the same adversity that African Negroes face now on a daily basis. The explanation or cure is uncertain, scientists know that in virtually all aspects of pigmentation, layers, cell structure, many things remain the same except, the Americanized Negro suffers now from dermatoltoxitythinthilalteskinitis In laymens terms the condition, is commonly referred to as "thin skinned" or TS.
Although efforts and advances have been made in the treatment of TS, such as affirmative action, food stamps, public housing, welfare, admission to elite educational facilities and advanced job placements without proper qualifications, TS remains rampant in the American Negro Community. It is hoped that Nationalized Healthcare and standardized level incomes for all Americans will help researchers find a cure for TS, but experts warn that it could take at least another 50 years before todays remedies will be tomorrows cure.
Oh Jennifer you are funny. I, like some others, followed your link from iOTW... and glad I did. Who said "laugh & the world laughs with you"? Well some people have never learned to laugh at themselves.... I don't believe it is taught any longer. And, Sheila E., shopper of the Walmart in question, that was so brutally attacked, says she teaches her children tolerance? Yet she admits she wasn't laughing? Well part of tolerance IS laughing. Laughing at ourselves. Laughing at the silly, HARMLESS prank someone pulled. Laughing at some stuffy old flea bag that becomes offended at something so trivial. Being Scotch Irish & American Indian, I have lots of things I guess I could become offended over. I've just never thought of it.... and why would I? Who cares? While our half black, half white president is is trying to destroy our precious America, who has the time to worry about the trivial stuff? Thanks Jennifer, for the great blog. I will be checking in for more great thoughts. Oh, and I LOVE the pix of the rear of the peacock!
Came over from iOTW - you are right on the money. Thanks.
@ Kev ... I know; right? So much sweet life to be lived, and they spend it getting offended if someone looks at them cross-eyed. Pathetic and childish.
@Audrey ... She may have beat you at basketball but she could never have hair prettier than yours!
@JWM ... Thank you, and thanks for stopping by!
@Reverend ... Many astute observations there, delivered with levity! Appreciate it.
@Judie ... I'm Scotch Irish too! No American Indian that I know of, but I am a Johnny Depp fan so that should count for something! Glad you got a chuckle and I hope you stop by to see me again!
@Tim ... Thanks and please stop by again!
I thought it was funny...was the lady in the article talking about ME??
@matt ... Were YOU the one laughing while Sheila E. and Patricia were busy being so stunned and angry? I might've known.
I followed you over from iOTW too. Very glad I did! Thanks for providing the link. I've now got your site in our Favorites file. Great piece - as I may have said on iOTW
@simply amazed ... I'm honored that you took the time to hop over and read! Hope you return again and again.
For what limited sanity I can retain, I need to read of others who think as my wife and I do. I'll be visiting daily. Thank you again!
Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, Jeremiah Wright, that idiot professor from Cambridge, Mass, et al, have too much invested in race-baiting, to allow a good thing -- minority rage -- to go to waste. They have taught a generation to be dependent, angry, and walk around with a chip on their shoulder. "The content of their character" is exactly NOT what this bunch wants considered. That depowers and defunds them.
So you'll have racial "mountains out of molehills" at every opportunity, given vent by an opportunisitic media, because it fits the libtard template.
I know a number of minorities, personally, who are outraged. But not at this incident: they're outraged at how they, as minorities, are treated and portrayed by race-baiters like Jackson, Sharpton, and in the media. They're not professional victims; they're hard-working, tax-paying Americans, busting their asses to live the dream and make a better life for them and their kids. They believe in self-accountability, self-reliance, and self-responsibility, things treated as heresy by libtards and race-baiters.
Good column, Jennifer!
@simply amazed ... I hear you. We sane Americans need to stick together now more than ever. There's strength in numbers!
@SF ... that's so sad about the friends and acquaintances you referenced because truly, minorities who do NOT buy into the victim mentality are the ones who suffer in our hyper-sensitive society. It is the most bitter fallout of this new type of slavery, and I too know wonderful people of color -- and ethnic Americans -- who fit into this category. I have a lot of respect for them.