Did I witness Racism? -

[FifthColumn]

Sorry if this should go in another forum topic, but I have a story to share:
Just today, I was at my town's YMCA. I was in the locker room, and there was this big tough looking black man talking on his cell phone.
A fat snide looking white man walked up to him, and told him that cell phones are NOT allowed in the YMCA, and he as a responsible member was informing him of that fact The black man basically told him to get lost, to which the white guy responded snidely " I guess we're having a hard time following directions" and said he was going to get him in trouble with the staff.

The fat white guy and staff member came in, and the black guy got really defensive and excited, the white guy sort of verbally picking at him. The staff member told both of them to be quiet, that there was no problem, and he was getting back to work. After I changed I went to the desk and talked to him, saying there was no problem at all, and the white guy looked like he just wanted to cause trouble.
The manager kinda chuckled and nodded his head saying " I've had to deal with stuff like this hundreds of times."
So was it racism? Maybe the white guy would have done it to any guy with a phone, but he really seemed to condescened to the guy with the cellphone. It could also be he just had kind of a malignant personality disorder, that just prompts him to cause grief and trouble for people. Any ideas?
Sorry, the whole thing upset me, and I didn't know where else to vent

 

[LM 697]

It was because the guy was fat.

 

[Some JERK]

Unless you ask the fat white guy why he did it, there's no way to know outside of assuming a bunch of shit.

 

[caffeinated_wench]

Unless you ask the fat white guy why he did it, there's no way to know outside of assuming a bunch of shit.

Pretty much this.
There are all sorts of reasons. The fat white guy could've just been one of those people who tries to enforce the rules themselves. You know the kind.

 

[Pikonic]

Back in my lifeguard days we had this guy taking pictures of people in the locker room discreetly, so we had to end up banning cell phones in the locker room as well. Which is probably why they're not allowed in any locker room, and for good reason.
Jerk and wench are right though. Maybe it was racist (though IMO unlikely) maybe he was having a bad day and needed to lash out somehow, or maybe he was a good guy trying to uphold the rules.
You can't know for sure so I'd let it go.

 

[Judge Holden]

Could be racism, could be classism, could be any number of things, but until you get some corroborative evidence (i.e. you see him do it again mutliple times and exclusively targeting blacks) you cant be sure.

 

[Grand Number of Pounds]

I don't think it was racially motivated. Like Pikonic said, most phones these days have cameras (heck, I have a cheap Tracphone and it has a camera) so I understand why the guy didn't want him using it.

That said, the white guy was being a dick, and it wouldn't have killed the other guy to wait until he got out of the locker room to make a call. I doubt what he was talking about was that important.

 

[Pikonic]

But since we're on the topic of racism and my old job I got a story.
We had this one regular, he was a super nice guy. Mid-30s and loved doing diving board tricks. He was also Hispanic, though my city was diverse so this wasn't rare at all.
One day it was windy and raining so nobody came down to swim, except this guy (he worked at a shit factory and the diving board was really his only vacation, nothing would stop him) We only needed one guard on deck so we all rolled dice to see who had to sit out in the cold rain to watch one guy. I got snake eyes.
So casual conversation starts between me and "Jośe" (which may have been his real name, I don't remember) I forget how it got to this point, the JEWS control the media industry; and that's why horror movies always come out before Christmas, to make children "afraid of Christmas time" (or as normal people would think "Halloween"). He also went on about how we need more "non-Jew" directors to bring back the holiday spirit. There's always that joke that only white people can be racists, but Jośe proved that wrong.
People surprise you sometimes. I saw Jose every summer day for 6 years, had no clue he didn't like Jews in the media.

 

[Batman VS Tony Danza]

The white guy seems like a dick who just gets off on any bit of authority he's convinced he has. Like those people who do the neighborhood watch and think they're like police officers. He could have handled it better. Saying something like "Hey, could you please put your phone away? It's against policy and people might get the wrong idea and think you're taking pics of the guys in the locker room". The idea of someone mistaking them as a gay tends to make guys comply.

 

[FifthColumn]

You guys are right. From what I saw though, Im almost certain the guy got a power rush from doing it.
Btw, IMO unless the guy is snapping pictures, petty rules like that are for the staff to enforce, not just regualr people. But that is just me

 

[Da Pickle Monsta]

As others have said, the fat white guy is just a dick. He's got an absolutely impotent life and the only thing that brings him a modicum of self-satisfaction is enforcing a set of arbitrary rules written by another organization that he does not represent in any form or fashion.

How sad it must be to be such a little person.

 

[c-no]

Pretty much this.
There are all sorts of reasons. The fat white guy could've just been one of those people who tries to enforce the rules themselves. You know the kind.

You mean one of those people who think they can be like security or something? Either way he really could be one of those sorts of people. One can't tell if the guy is racist unless he made racial remark.

Regardless, as some have said, this guy is nothing more than some smug jerk who thinks he can enforce the rules, never mind the fact that he isn't a part of the staff.

 

[Springblossom]

You're overthinking things, I think. It's just some dickhead with a supremacy complex

 

[BT 075]

Nah that ain't racism. He sounds like someone who has a hard-on for rules. Those are the worst of people you can ever encounter. Nobody gives a crap about rules like that, except extremely autistic people. Just, generally unpleasant folk.

Now it may have been racism if you felt the staff actually took fatties side and got all condescending too or some shit but meh. Just because two people in an argument are of a different ethnic background does not make something racism anywhere outside tumblr.

 

[Trickie]

I imagine the fat white guy must be the world's oldest hall monitor.

 

[Holdek]

The fat white guy and staff member came in, and the black guy got really defensive and excited....

Sounds like this excitable black man won't be YMCA Member of the Month.

 

[Chikinballs]

Not racism. The guy was probably snapping dick pics on the lolo.

 

[Hollywood Hulk Hogan]

Brother, at the Hulkster's gym, cell phones are banned in the locker rooms due to the recording capabilities. It is possible it was the same thing. However, the fat guy was certainly not being a true Hulkamaniac. He needs to learn to respect others, man.