Korean Job Discussion Forums

[madoka]

I'm kind of surprised how much attention and effort was put on tracking down this idiot.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100320/ap_on_bi_ge/us_wal_mart_racial_comment

A 16-year-old boy who police said made an announcement at Walmart ordering all black people in the southern New Jersey store to leave was charged with harassment and bias intimidation, authorities said Saturday.

The boy, whose name is not being released because he is a juvenile, grabbed one of the courtesy phones at Walmart's Washington Township store Sunday evening and calmly announced: "Attention, Walmart customers: All black people, leave the store now," police said.

The teen was arrested Friday and released to the custody of his parents; police did not know whether he had a lawyer.

"This was an extremely disturbing event on many levels," Gloucester County Prosecutor Sean Dalton said at a news conference. "Any statements like these that can cause harm or grave concern must be addressed as quickly we possibly can."

Dalton said the case would be handled in juvenile court in neighboring Atlantic County, where the boy lives. He would not say whether the boy has a criminal record, citing the teen's age, and would not disclose the teen's race, saying that did not factor into the investigation.

The 16-year-old has been charged with harassment and bias intimidation.

Authorities would not say whether the announcement was planned or made impulsively. Police said they were also investigating a teenage boy who accompanied the suspect to the store, but the other boy has not been charged.

Officials for Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said the announcement was "unacceptable," and Dalton praised the company for its strong cooperation in the investigation.

"We're pleased this matter is resolved," Walmart spokesman David Tovar said in a statement issued after the news conference. "We have updated our intercom system at this store to prevent this from happening again. We again apologize to all of our customers and associates who had to listen to something so offensive."

Although a manager quickly went on the intercom system and apologized for the remark, many customers expressed their anger to store management. Some community members said Saturday that they've heard reports of similar incidents happening at the store in recent months that were not reported to police.

"We are concerned about that, and we're looking into these incidents. We want to work with the community to make sure these types of incidents don't happen," said Loretta Winters, president of the Gloucester County chapter of the NAACP.

Winters said she hopes the boy will get counseling and be educated about sensitivity so he can understand the consequences of his actions.

"I'm assuming this person didn't realize how hurtful his comments were," she said.

[madoka]

Beat you guys to it:

http://www.peopleofwalmart.com/

[geldedgoat]

[Street Magic]

[conrad2]

well....
Did all the black people in the store at that time leave or not?

[pkang0202]

[Street Magic]

[Fox]

[djsmnc]

What bothered me was how the store managers and employees were immediately blamed and threatened for it. Everyone in America knows how easy it is to pick up one of those intercom phones in supermarkets undetected and speak all manners of sillyness.

[Moldy Rutabaga]

I shiver a little when I think of the vulgar jokes I pulled when I was a teenager working in a camera department, back when people weren't offended by every last thing. I took signs from the supermarket section and put one out saying "kosher bacon." Har har. Now I'd be taken away by helicopter for waterboarding / sensitivity counseling.

A prompt apology to shoppers, a banning from the store and a call home to the parents, and better monitoring of the intercom would have put all this to rest in days before. Now everything's on the internet in ten minutes and there's a lobby group to take advantage of it to grind their axe.

[Ya-ta Boy]

It looks to me like the cops rushed in to save the reputation of one of the bigger employers in the area. I doubt even WalMart is big enough to survive a reputation for tolerating racism.

[Street Magic]

[bacasper]

[pkang0202]

[candyteacher]

This 'kid' was sixteen and therefore should have been old enough to know the difference. This was no harmless prank as i see it, putting some fake spiders or rats or whatever on the shelves, would have been a harmless prank. It was a racist comment that he made, so of course he should be punished. Perhaps the charge was a bit much but he needed to realise that you cant do things like this and get away with it.

If this happened in Homeplus or E-Mart you know posters on here would be outraged!