Taking a Stance

Growing up, I have always lived around a safe, predominantly white, sheltered community. When I landed my first job at retail, my managers would always tell all of the employees to keep an eye out for those customers that come in and seem suspicious even if they were not doing anything out of the ordinary. The customers that my managers normally single out are Mexicans and African-Americans. As a newly hired employee, I listened to everything that my managers told me, even if I felt a little uncomfortable about the racist comments they would talk about each of the purchasers. Eventually, I tried to make it clear that it was not making me feel comfortable. Eventually one day, I pulled one of my managers aside and told her that some customers are here to shop and all the times that we were asked to spy on the customers who were not of white descent, nothing terrible happens. I also told her that just because a person is white, it does not mean that he or she would not steal anything from the store. In all honesty, it took me a while to build up that confidence to talk to my manager in fear of losing my job. However I am glad I took a stance and she listened to what I had to say. Though they still do it at times, and I understand that they are just doing their job, they toned down the unnecessary comments. I have learned that sometimes it just takes a little leap of confidence to stand behind what you believe is right. This is key to success and happiness.