Desert_Donkey

Racism is dying like a leaky tire.

I think that it is in the best interest of several well-known lobbying groups to KEEP it "alive and well", so that they can continue to bilk people for money in the name of "equality".

The purity and purpose of the Civil Rights movement was set aside long ago in favor of the Almighty Dollar.

Artkansas 

I certainly hope you are right. Admittedly it is better, but dying like a leaky tire?

I really doubt it. Back in the '70s I used to work for an aerospace company. My boss thought that racism had pretty well died out since the '60s. He was a suburban white guy. My supervisor was black, and I had long hair. We amazed our boss with some of the tales of discrimination that we had.

Check out this site if you really believe it. https://www.stormfront.org/

So I suspect that that leaky tire has plenty of air left, whether we like it or not.

CrossChecker

Happened once. I was asked to leave my bag at the front. I proceeded to empty all of the contents into the cart and handed them an empty messenger bag. I haven't been bothered since.

cerewa

I tend to agree. I think that what's more prevalent is simply economic-class discrimination, where many of the best government services go to the people with the most money; private citizens and companies treat people slightly better if they are from a higher economic class (i.e. richer people are sometimes given more, for the same amount of money). Since the long history of race discrimination (and other factors) caused non-white people to be poor in much greater numbers than white people, there are more of them to be hurt by class discrimination.

acroy

good one - I tend to agree.
I have actually met a true racist or 2 but they were old - prolly dead by now. So i guess you could say

"racism is dying like some old guy"

HandsomeRyan

I looked up some other stores in your area. Since I don't know exactly where you live I only listed the grocery stores and supermarkets in "Little Rock" but if you can get me a Zip code or something I can probably narrow these down for you. Sorry about the crazy formatting (coppied and pasted from Excel).

Store Address ZipCode
HARVEST FOODS 6030 2510 CANTRELL 72202
HARVEST FOODS 6045 4101 KIEHL AVE. 72120
KROGER 025550 ROOSEVELT & CONFED 72206
KROGER 025615 315 N SHACKELFORD 72211
KROGER 025644 1900 N POLK 72207
KROGER 25632 6420 COLONEL GLENN 72204
KROGER 025582 10300 RODNEY PARHAM 72227
HARVEST FOODS 1684 20383 ARCH STREET 72206
HARVEST FOODS 1688 1212 SALEM ROAD 72015
KROGER 025616 14000 CANTRELL 72212
KROGER 025627 BASELINE & GEYER SP 72209
BONNERS THRIFTWAY 5219 W 65TH ST 72209
KROGER 25630 8415 W MARKHAM 72205
KROGER 25636 614 N BEECHWOOD ST 72205
HARVEST FOODS 6167 4110 WEST 12TH ST. 72204
HARVEST FOODS 6080 1701 MAIN STREET 72206
HARVEST FOODS 6223 10901 RODNEY PARHAM 72204
HARVEST FOODS 6243 6 COLONEL GLENN 72204
HARVEST FOODS 6168 7507 CANTRELL 72212
HARVEST FOODS 6249 4109 E. BROADWAY 72117
HARVEST FOODS 6261 800 MALVERN AVE. 71901
HARVEST FOODS 6282 403 N. MAIN STREET 72015
HARVEST FOODS 6269 201 S. HERVEY 71801
HARVEST FOODS 6320 10320 STAGECOACH ROAD 72209
HARVEST FOODS 1706 14106 CHICOT RD SUITE 1 72103
HARVEST FOODS 2030 HWY 270W 71832
HARVEST FOODS 6025 5914 HWY 5 NORTH 72022
KROGER 025608 16105 D CHENAL PKWY 72201
HARVEST FOODS 6370 1400 NORTH CENTER 72086
BUDGET SAVER 6117 JEFFERSON SQUARE 71603
SUPERMERCADO FRESCO 6107 8801 GEYER SPRINGS ROAD 72209
SAVE MART 5524 HWY 82 EAST 71860
CRANFORDS FOODS 25255 HWY. 5 72087
KROGER 25646 205 N. FREDRICK 71753
MALVERN FOOD 534 MAIN STREET 72104
KROGER 025540 101 COMMERCE ROAD 72118
MILLERS SUPER MARKET NO LUNEN STREET 72556
HOMETOWN MARKET HWY 69 MAIN STREET 72556
KROGER 025605 MORRILTON 72110
KROGER 25641 US 67 & RAY ST 72112
KROGER 25639 2509 MCCAIN BLVD 72116
KROGER 25638 44TH & CP ROBINSON 72118
KROGER 25642 6929 JFK BLVD 72116
KROGER 25633 900 W PERSHING 72114
HARPS 125 319 E BUCANAN 72753
CRANFORDS REDFIELD SUPER 1024 SHERIDAN ROAD 72132
HARPS 117 715 N SECOND ST 72756
KROGER 025617 2804 SO ARKANSAS AVE 72801
KROGER 624 1009 WEST MAIN ST 72801
SEXTON FOODS 9 600 E. RACE STREET 72143
FOOD KING OF SEARCY 2205 BEEBEE CAPS HWY 72143
KROGER 25640 1601 E. RACE 72143
SEXTON FOODS 805 N. CHURCH 72823
HARPS FOOD STORE 136 2525 BEEBE CAPPS EXPY 72143
PRICE CUTTER FOOD WAREHOU 103 NORTH DIXIELAND ROAD 72756
PRICE CUTTER FOOD WAREHOU 1600 HWY. 412 WEST 72761
HARPS FOOD STORE 3055 N. COLLEGE 72703
PRICE CUTTER FOOD WAREHOU 1617 S. ZERO STREET 72901
PRICE CUTTER FOOD WAREHOU 120 CLOVERLEAF PLAZA 72956
PRICE CUTTER FOOD WAREHOU 2004 ALBERT PIKE 71901
PRICE CUTTER FOOD WAREHOU 2823 E. MAIN STREET 72801

Shodan

He's probably resolved this since 2006.

charly17201

When they ask you to leave and you say no, you are then technically trespassing and they can have you arrested.

charly17201

Depending on the state and locality, they do have the right to refuse anyone. YOU have to prove that it was somehow discrimination.

Artkansas 

Ryan, Thanks for your work.

I cut out the Krogers and their wholly-owned subsidiary Harvest Foods. That left the list above. Two are in Little Rock but a distance from me and in one of the lesser neighborhoods. The rest are out of town.

I gave the most offending Kroger a roll of raffle tickets to use as claim checks, I get one, they put one on the backpack and no one gets the backpack without the matching number claim stub. But I haven't been back yet to see if they have figured out the system.

noriel

This happened to me at my Kroger's, too. As I was being asked about my bag, a woman with a child walked in with a bag as big as my messenger bag, and another woman walked by with a purse that was roughly the same size. I turned around and walked away. What I do now is put my bag in the shopping cart before I go into the store. I haven't had any problems since. If it were going to be a big deal and I had some time, I'd sit by the entrance and ask the security guard to stop every mother with a diaper bag.

kenmc

I have never seen this in Ireland - ever. The only places I remember seeing something like this is in Australia, where there's a gorilla at the exit who makes you open your bag and looks inside (doesn't do anything besides look - never seems to touch). I usually try to wait till he's busy looking in someone elses bag and then go around the side.
Also in Chile and maybe Peru/Bolivia they had people trying to force you to leave your backpack either just at a desk, or in a locker. I usually pretended not to hear them and walk quickly past. If that didn't work and they followed me I would not understand spanish. If they tried to mime the action I would simply say 'No, Camera' and that would usually do the trick. I had $2000+ of camera equipment, not to mention priceless photos in that backpack, and I was NEVER letting it out of my sight. EVER!
I reckon that if I was told to leave my bag behind, I would say "No, but you are very welcome to walk beside me to make sure I don't steal anything", and see what response that gets. Or, tell them that it's actually just a disguise for a hideously deformed growth on your back, which if you take it off will make all the other shopers run outside puking their ring up.

SSmith

Oh the irony....

HoustonB

I've had a National Express (in the UK) bus driver tell me "you can't take that bag on the bus, because the bus is really full". The driver's seem to think they are God - I kid you not. The first time wasn't a problem and I was ok with the bag going in the luggage space below. But when I started carrying an expensive laptop, I was not prepared to take chances with it being knocked around or miss-handled - so I purposely included a large relatively strong plastic bag in a pocket in the backpack.

On a trip many months later, I got the same line once again. So I opened my bag and said, "let's see, I am going to need my laptop" and lifted it out of the bag, "and the noise canceling headphones and MP3 player, and my sandwiches, and the bottle of water, and this jumper to stay warm", within a minute the bag was empty. Then I pulled out the plastic bag, loaded it up, and handed the empty backpack to the driver.

The expression on his face was priceless, I could see that he was mad as hell, but also that he knew he was at a loss to stop me taking everything on the bus. I wish I had a video of that episode. lol

bmclaughlin807

Nycycle

They have been on my BOYCOTT list for 14 years as they falsely accused my daughter of shop lifting.

Then THEY being one of my customers asked to copy the Drivers License of 2 of our employee's, before entering their bakery, one of Krogers Security Gaurds is now in jail for steeling the Identity of one of our people.

E-quality

I don't get why backpacks are so evil and not allowed in to certain places when when purses, briefcases, etc. are. I have my backpack with me most places I go and a few places have a problem with me taking it into their building. They say it's to prevent theft. I have a problem with that idea because backpacks are on peoples backs where it's impossible to put something into the bag without taking it off of your back and opening it up. Shoplifters, beside stupid little kids that don't know any better, would not waste that much time or draw that much attention to themselves. It's very quick and easy to stuff something into a jacket, waistline,purse, etc.. Why would someone take forever to stuff something into a backpack? I can understand if they don't allow kids into the store with a backpack but not allowing an adult into the store with a backpack is ridiculous.

Before giving them your backpack...Ask the employee how someone is supposed to stuff something into their backpack without it being very obvious. Then ask them how they think holding your backpack is truly supposed to prevent theft.

Regarding "terrorism", what? That is ridiculous. When has someone with a backpack full of explosives blown something up in the U.S.? That's somehow a valid threat though? Think about it. Turn off the news and go outside to reality. I'm not even going to start with how horribly over-used the words "terrorism" and "terrorists" are in this country or how silly that whole terrorism alert system (whatever it's called) is.

mci021

That sucks. I'm not sure what sucks more though, that the crime rate is high enough that they feel the need to do it or that they just assume everyone is a criminal. I've had this situation happen when I was in college, especially with the book store. At the time, I found that just telling them "no" worked about 90 % of the time. Of course, I was also being confronted by another student, not a uniformed security person. I can't speak for the law where you live, but here, there's nothing legally (that I'm aware of, anyway) that allows a store to hold your personal effects while you shop. For future reference, maybe look in to what the laws are in your area and point them out next time if they work in your favor.

Artkansas 

After decades of experience, I'm pretty convinced that it comes down to predjudice.

I've only gotten one honest answer about the backpack vs purse question. The security guard told me "Women get away with a lot of sh*t."

E-quality

I walked into my nearest post office today with my backpack on which was downtown next to my states capitol. There was a security guard that I didn't acknowledge when I walked in but nobody bothered me about my backpack...which amazes me due to the overwhelming amout of terrorism as of late...especially involving backpacks.

Cyclist0383

I've had an even stranger experience. Mrs Z and I were at a building supply store just looking for ideas and the guard forced us to take a basket, even though I told him I was just looking for ideas. It seems that they were afraid of anyone carrying an item for fear of theft. WTF? Needless to say they quickly went out of business.

Cyclist0383

Where has their been terrorism as of late in the States involving backpacks? The last I can remember is the Olympic bombings in Atlanta.

cyclezealot

In Europe, quite the opposite. They are too cheap to hand out plastic bags. Most stores allow a shopper to bring in backpacks. You put your purchases in them and remove them at check out for scanning.

wild animals

i think women can get away with carrying purses because purses are almost never as big as backpacks, and it'd be considered uncouth to ask a woman to give up her purse. women use their purses differently than men (or women) use backpacks. many or most women keep their (giant) wallet and checkbook and all that in their purse, so they wouldn't be able to pay for anything without it. half of modern women's pants don't even have pockets in them. where do you put your wallet if you dont have pockets? if you as a man wear pants without pockets in them, and you carry a purse into a store, and someone tries to confiscate that purse, THEN you can say it's discrimination. haha. seriously though. i can see why they don't try to take purses. it wouldn't fly. i don't think there are enough guys-with-bags around (there aren't in my little town, at least) to set a similar precedent. most women carry purses but a much smaller number of men carry bags it seems like. your average purse is still not the same potential risk for a business as an avg-sized backpack, though.

i always have to give up my bag at powell's, which i kind of understand, but still hate. the bags are in this open cubby bookcase in the wall, behind the counter. last time i had a couple of really expensive things in my bag and was concerned about whether or not they'd make it back to me. but it'd be so easy to steal a bagful of stuff from that store that i can see where they're coming from. i'd rather give up my bag than have to deal with jerk security guards all over. but they need to put in lockers or something so you won't have to worry. also, that store is HUGE, and if you buy books on one side of the store, but stow your bag in another part, you have to walk all the way back to get the bag, then all the way back again to the right exit. add another trip to that if you forgot your wallet in the bag (assuming it's still in there when you get back ).

E-quality

There hasn't been any. I was just being sarcastic towards the statements about how backpacks should be taken because they're some sort of threat due to terrorism. I wasn't serious.