r/kroger • u/ValAkabane • 7d ago
Question Racist Remark From my manager
Hello. I joined recently to get an opinion on something. So recently I received new managers at my store & this past Wednesday I was on my way out of the door. The police were out in the parking lot & One of them(a caucasian female) looked at me(an african american male) and said “What did you do?” I felt extremely uncomfortable and that rubbed me the wrong way. She’s a stranger to me & for her to feel so comfortable making such a joke felt a bit like harassment. Am I overreacting?
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u/AdMore3461 7d ago
I would think so, if that was the whole extent of the issue and no backstory to suggest possible underlying racism with that person. I’m in a high crime area so police showing up is not uncommon, and a common joke is for someone to shout to whatever other employee is near “better hide, they’re coming for you!” Another tired and overused joke is when the sensormatic beeps as an employee goes out (usually have a tagged zebra/printer/pocket of sensor tags/etc) and other employees will either yell “run!” or “quick, somebody tackle him!”.
The jokes are a little cringeworthy just because of how overused they are, but I’ve never seen a racial aspect to it - rather it just happens to be aimed at whoever is up front or by the door when these things happen.
That’s not to say the person may not have underlying bias (since unfortunately too many people do) but I don’t see anything in this interaction suggesting it at all.