CPTnet
22 February 2006

KENORA REFLECTION: "That is what the statistics are in this store."

by Char Smith

About 5:00 p.m. on a Saturday, Gina Lepp and I were approaching the Extra
Foods grocery store in Kenora when a young man handed Gina a purse he had
found in a grocery cart. He asked us to take it in to the grocery store,
which we did.

In the store Gina handed the purse to a male employee. He asked us to stay
while he opened the purse for identification. We found credit cards but no
money. He said, "I'm not surprised. I saw a bunch of natives hanging around
my truck."

We were turning around to leave when the meaning of his words hit me. I
turned and replied, "It could have been whites or natives!" I was stunned
that he would say such a thing to a complete stranger. Was he assuming I
would agree with him?

I was upset while shopping and thinking what else I might do. At the
checkout counter I asked the cashier if I could speak with the man again.
She paged him and he came to the counter. I took out a Christian Peacemaker
Teams card and wrote on the back, "we do anti-racism workshops."

"We are upset by what you said earlier," I said as I handed him the card,
turning it so he could see both sides. He handed it back saying, "They are a
bunch of drunken Indians, and that is what the statistics are in this
store."

An older white female and a young aboriginal female, both cashiers, turned
away as we were leaving the store. I felt weak and wanted to weep. I
wondered what the aboriginal cashier might feel.

After I left the store I asked myself if I did the right thing. Was I too
blunt? Did I make him feel defensive, when what I wanted to do was make him
think of what we said? It's so difficult to know what to say. Confronting
racism is a process of learning.