Erickson, who is 32, white and works in information technology, said he was eating breakfast when he saw a young black man dressed in "typical teen garb (baggy everything, Raiders jacket)" ordering breakfast. He came up three cents short. The rest is best told in Erickson's words, from his letter to the store management: He apologized for not having the correct amount, and left the counter. I watched the event. Since I was observing him, he noticed my eye contact. I guess he decided I had a friendly enough face. He approached me, and said, "Pardon me sir, I guess you overheard that." Yes, he did call me sir — I am not making that up. I nodded, commented on the situation, and started to reach into my pocket as he asked, "Do you think there's any way... " That's as far as he got. Because from behind the counter, the cashier yelled, "Oh no you don't. Uh, uh, no way." The entire place turned towards the scene she was making. "You'll have to leave now. You can't be asking customers for money." Money. Three pennies? She pointed to the door. I looked shocked. The kid looked shocked. The whole place continued to stare at her. Triumphant in her supposed handling of the situation, she gave one final "Leave now." And he left. Erickson says the cashier, who by the way was white, was too far away to have heard their conversation. He says he finished his meal, fighting the urge to "cause a scene myself," and went to find the kid, but couldn't. He asks: "Would she have done the same thing to a white businessman in the same situation?" He can't prove otherwise. But try to picture a white man in a suit being denied a meal for three pennies, publicly humiliated and ejected from the place after turning to someone nearby. In his letter to the store, Erickson said he would no longer eat there. This week, he got a response. Without indicating any direct knowledge of what happened, the writer assured him "that race has no bearing as to how any one situation is handled." Noting the store deals daily with panhandlers, she said, "If only we were able to know which customers were willing to help the less fortunate, it would make our jobs so much easier." Three cents short, black, a teenager. Less fortunate? The woman said the store had resolved "to take care of each customer to the best of their abilities," but offered no general statement condemning prejudice, no plans to investigate or address the cashier's actions, no hint that she got Erickson's point. Enclosed were four vouchers for free meals. It's hard to miss the irony. One customer comes up three cents short and is thrown out of the store. Another one witnesses it, threatens the loss of his business and is compensated with free meals. What makes the difference? All Erickson knows is how he feels. He won't be returning there, and he's sending back the coupons. http://tolerance.org/news/article_tol.jsp?id=701
