Racism, xenophobia, or any other type of prejudice are ugly to witness. A recent incident in Naperville, Illinois, has brought this kind of bigotry to the forefront — and it was all captured on video.
Racism, xenophobia, or any other type of prejudice are ugly to witness. A recent incident in Naperville, Illinois, has brought this kind of bigotry to the forefront — and it was all captured on video.
Mafer Hmurphy shared video of a recent visit to this Mobil convenience store on Facebook. The store clerk apparently took offense to the fact that a couple of his customers were speaking Spanish.
While Spanish isn't an official language of the United States, millions of Americans speak the language. In fact, the only country in the world with more Spanish speakers is...Spain.
There's nothing wrong with patriotism, but when nationalistic pride crosses the line into bigotry, nobody wins. The clerk proudly tells the two Spanish-speaking women that he's an American, while he questions where they came from.
The clerk continues his rant, asking one of the customers about her family members, who were visiting from Mexico. The clerk called them "illegals" before asking them to leave because they spoke Spanish.
After the incident played out, the clerk threatened the women, saying, "You'll be sorry. ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) will come." He calms down a bit before telling the women that they're "in the wrong country."
In a delicious bit of irony, it wasn't the customers who got into trouble, but the racist clerk himself. He's since been fired from his post at the gas station.
The man's words sound pretty similar to President Donald Trump's racist antics regarding a group of Democratic lawmakers known as the Squad. Trump appeared to revel in a crowd of his supporters chanting "Send her back", directed at Rep. Ilhan Omar.
By some measures, political polarization in the United States is at its highest level since the Civil War. This means, in effect, that people with differing political beliefs are farther apart than ever.
While it's always unsettling to see overt racism like this, the fact that it was all captured on video certainly helps bring it into focus. Naperville Mayor Steve Chirico condemned the clerk in a Facebook post.
Check out the video, then let us know your thoughts. Have you ever witnessed something like this? If so, how did you react? Let us know in the comments! h/t: Facebook | Mafer Hmurphy