Racist Louisville shopper hurls insults at two other women in bellicose tirade, gets banned from mall for life
The video, shared publicly on Facebook and YouTube Tuesday evening, shows a white woman berating two Hispanic women in JCPenney after one cut in line to put some items in her friend’s cart, telling one of them to “go back to wherever the (expletive) you come from.
“If they come here to live, then act like everybody else,” the woman said. “Get in the back of the line like everybody else does and be somebody. That’s the way I look at it. Just because you come from another country, it don’t make you nobody.”
Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer – hopes the video prompts family discussions about “basic human values, dignity and respect”
The reaction has com back, sharp and swift, from the residents of Jefferson County.
In a statement, Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer said he was he was “sad and disappointed to see conduct like this.”
He is hoping the video prompts family discussions about “basic human values, dignity and respect” during the holidays this week.
And Jefferson County Attorney Mike O’Connell said, “I personally denounce the intolerant actions of one woman at Jefferson Mall, and also feel that this incident could rise to the level of criminal conduct.” He added – if the women targeted by the tirade want to pursue legal action, they should contact his office.
According to Louisville resident Renee Buckner, who posted the video, the white woman was upset after one of the Hispanic women cut the line to add items to her friend’s cart. The video has gone viral.
“It don’t bother me if I say it and I hope everybody hears me,” the woman said. “I think everybody here probably feels the same (expletive) way I do.”
Jefferson Mall posted a response on Facebook, saying that they intend to ban the woman from the mall, once she’s been identified:
“We are aware of the video posted online today from inside JCPenney. Jefferson Mall strives to create a comfortable and convenient experience for all of our guests and we absolutely do not condone this type of behavior. We will work with JCPenney to identify this woman and, once identified, she will be permanently banned from Jefferson Mall, per our Behavioral Code of Conduct.”
The store caught in the controversy, JCPenney’s public relations team released the following statement, apologizing to the victims of the tirade and offering to reimburse them for their purchases.
“We are deeply disturbed by the incident that took place at our Jefferson Mall store, in which one customer made extremely inappropriate remarks to two other customers while standing in the checkout line. We regret that innocent bystanders – both other customers and a JCPenney associate – were subjected to such discriminatory remarks. We absolutely do not tolerate this behavior in our stores, and are working with our associates to ensure any future incidents of this nature will be addressed quickly and appropriately. In the meantime, JCPenney is asking for the community’s help in identifying the two women who were targeted for such remarks, as we would like to reimburse them for their entire purchase and offer a sincere apology for their experience.”
according to the person who recorded the event, people told the woman she was out of order, but “she wasn’t hearing that.”
In fact, the woman responded to a JCPenney employee asking her to watch her language, saying “Hey, tell them to go back to where they belong.” When the Hispanic woman responded “I said sorry,” in English, the woman told her to “Speak English. You’re in America. If you don’t know it, learn it.”
“And I’m sorry that I’m that way, but you all need to realize that you’re not the only ones around here,” she added.
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