I'm
not sure why the humanity in people still surprises me, but it does. I mean I
posted a few blogs about people who had racist things posted on their bills
from the wait staff. So, I guess this should come as no surprise. It turns out;
19-year-old Toni Christina Jenkins, a Red Lobster waitress, recently said that
two customers failed to leave her even a penny as a tip on a $45 meal, but they
did manage to leave their two cents about her skin color. Jenkins says when she
returned to the table after dropping off the receipt, the customers had already
gone, but the receipt read, "Tip...None. Total...N--ger!"
Unbelievable! That is so bad that I couldn't even type out the whole N-word
because I felt so uncomfortable. I can say the word chink with no problem, but
that word is just nasty!
Anyway,
Red Lobster says they are extremely distraught by the situation and are doing a
complete investigation. Jenkins, a nursing student, snapped a photo of the
racist message and shared it on Facebook with a caption that read: "This
is what I got as a tip last night...so happy to live in the proud southern
states. God Bless America, land of the free and home of the low class racists
of Tennessee." Jenkins father, Toney Bernard Jenkins, also shared the
image on his Facebook page and a friend asked why he would share such a
controversial image. He answered, "Bringing awareness to the simple fact
that we still have much ignorance to overcome. So much more love to give and
much hope to inspire change." I wonder if he had a dream, as well. I mean
that was a little Dr. King-ish. He could've stopped at bringing awareness that
there is still ignorance all over this country.
Jenkins
said she started to get harassed over the validity of the slur. Red Lobster
even suspended her with pay while the incident is under investigation, which
according to their spokespeople is standard practice. Red Lobster released a
statement saying, "This kind of language is completely disgusting and has
no place in our restaurant or anywhere else, and we are committed to getting to
the bottom of what happened as quickly as possible."
I
have to admit that as racist of a country we are, I'm surprised we don't see
this more often. Then again, part of me feels that we've overcome this type of
racism. I mean what are these idiots going to gain out of writing something
like that on their receipt except for the fact that this girl just made him and
his friends laugh because their bill just made the 5 o'clock news. It's not
just the racism, it's also something called maturity and class and most parts
of this country still have to catch up when it comes to that regard. Wake the
hell up, America! We're a melting pot! We all have to live together racist
comments or not! Being a racist will not scare people away, it just makes them
more powerful! Just take a look around...
