so i’ve seen a lot of people reblogging the episode of that’s so raven about racism in retail but I think Smart Guy handled this better.
The first picture is of the scene where Yvette and her friend Nina are hired by the store manager. The manager is racist and encourages employees to follow black customers around as a ‘loss prevention strategy’. Despite her actions clearly being racist the store manager later tells Yvette “I can’t be racist I hired you didn’t I?”. Yvette tries to prove to the manager that she is indeed racist. In the second picture she sets up a camera and in the last she shows the manager the video of her white friend clearly shoplifting very obviously who wasn’t noticed because the manager was busy following around her other friend a black male. This was the conversation that resulted
Store Manager: what are you trying to show me that your friend is a good theif
Yvette: you’re missing the point, you were so busy following the black customer you didn’t see what was really going on
Store Manager: which proves what
Yvette: all races shoplift but if you only follow black customers that’s all you’re ever going to catch
Yvette: I have 50 hrs of tape here
Store Manager: do you have 19 years of tapes, because that’s how long i’ve been in retail and that’s where I get my information
Yvette: but wait a minute the retail industry itself says that the average shoplifter is a white middle aged woman not unlike yourself. you are stripping people of their dignity because of their skin colour and it’s wrong
Store Manager: Yvette i’m sorry you feel this way and i’d understand if you chose not to work here anymore
I liked this episode because it showed just how no matter how much evidence you show someone with a racist mindset will mostly just continue to defend their actions because in their minds they aren’t racist they’re right.
This show did something by showing just how racists can act like their behaviour is the most reasonable thing in the world and that’s what hit me hardest and something I think needs to be exposed. People need to understand that consciously hating all black people isn’t the only way to be racist.
in the raven episode the big reveal is that the manager admits that she doesn’t hire black people but in reality thats not something they admit. But you’ll still see it in their actions and they’ll forever justify themselves and argue until their last breath that they aren’t racist.