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Last month the actor Forest Whitaker was stopped in a Manhattan delicatessen by an employee. Whitaker is one of the pre-eminent actors of his generation, with a diverse and celebrated catalog ranging from “The Great Debaters” to “The Crying Game” to “Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai.” By now it is likely that he has adjusted to random strangers who can’t get his turn as Idi Amin out of their heads. But the man who approached the Oscar winner at the deli last month was in no mood for autographs. The employee stopped Whitaker, accused him of shoplifting and then promptly frisked him.

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I am trying to imagine a white president forced to show his papers at a national news conference, and coming up blank. I am trying to a imagine a prominent white Harvard professor arrested for breaking into his own home, and coming up with nothing. I am trying to see Sean Penn or Nicolas Cage being frisked at an upscale deli, and I find myself laughing in the dark. It is worth considering the messaging here. It says to black kids: “Don’t leave home. They don’t want you around.” It is messaging propagated by moral people.

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ORIGINAL: JeffBC

If some shopkeep decided to frisk me they would be hauled into court on charges of assault (?and battery?). Then again, I'm white and would almost certainly win that case. Racism is rampant in our society -- most horrifyingly in the criminal justice system. I'm way less concerned about some deli in NY than I am the institutionalized racism that results in slavery even today.

I approve of not going to that Deli. If I lived there I wouldn't go there either and I'm white. I don't go to Fetlife anymore for similar reasons. I prefer to think of myself as a man of honor and that means I need to actually ACT in accordance with my own moral beliefs.

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ORIGINAL: Kirata

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ORIGINAL: SadistDave

There was an incident.

There was an apology

The author of the article believes the the deli owner when he says was an honest mistake and the author also believes his apology was sincere.

The authors conclusion is that it is racism because he just really, really wants it to be racism!

Jeeez yes. Holy fuck, does every unfortunate incident involving a black person have to be ginned up as an exemplar of racism?

K.

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ORIGINAL: SadistDave

There was an incident.

There was an apology

The author of the article believes the the deli owner when he says was an honest mistake and the author also believes his apology was sincere.

The authors conclusion is that it is racism because he just really, really wants it to be racism!

I guess someone has to keep the lefties all worked up...

-SD-

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ORIGINAL: Politesub53

quote:

ORIGINAL: SadistDave

There was an incident.

There was an apology

The author of the article believes the the deli owner when he says was an honest mistake and the author also believes his apology was sincere.

The authors conclusion is that it is racism because he just really, really wants it to be racism!

I guess someone has to keep the lefties all worked up...

-SD-

Ive changed my mind about you........ youre fucking right.

Why should a very famous black guy ever think constanly being asked for ID by not so famous white guys is racism.

quote:

ORIGINAL: SadistDave

There was an incident.

There was an apology

The author of the article believes the the deli owner when he says was an honest mistake and the author also believes his apology was sincere.

The authors conclusion is that it is racism because he just really, really wants it to be racism!

I guess someone has to keep the lefties all worked up...

-SD-

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Instead he chose as his example du jour an incident that betrays not a whiff of racism - if any was present, the article doesn't disclose it

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ORIGINAL: thishereboi

Well of course, after all if someone famous is asked for id, it must be racist.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/14/bob-dylan-stopped-by-cops_n_260192.html

well unless he is white.

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I find it fascinating how so many people use "It's race hustling!" and "Not everything is about racism!" as coping mechanisms when faced with something they probably know in their hearts to be bigotry.

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Racism, let us remind ourselves, is treating someone according to a special standard on the grounds of their race. That Whittaker was singled out for special treatment on the grounds of race seems self evident in this case.

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ORIGINAL: Kirata

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ORIGINAL: VioletGray

I think that you missed the point of the article. He was saying that racism isn't just the domain of sheet-wearing cross burners, people who are intentionally cruel. Racism can also come from those who try to be good, sincere people.

I agree that's true, and very much worth saying. But it would have made a perfectly good column on it's own. Instead he chose as his example du jour an incident that betrays not a whiff of racism - if any was present, the article doesn't disclose it - and relates how it affected him so extraordinarly deeply that he can't even set foot in the place anymore. I mean, seriously. That doesn't make his point, it makes a mockery of it.

K.

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On Friday, Oscar-winning actor Forest Whitaker was accused of being a shoplifter, and subsequently frisked in public, by an employee at a deli near Columbia University. Whitaker, who is in town filming Black Nativity, had stopped by Milano Market to buy a yogurt before filming that day when the incident happened. A store employee told the News that the overzealous employee had made an innocent mistake: "It was around lunchtime and the store was packed," the anonymous employee said. "We were like 50 people deep. The person walked in and out really quickly so our person just made a mistake. The employee apologized immediately. It was an honest mistake. I've been here 14 years and nothing like this has ever happened."

Witness Nicole B., who was at the store when the incident happened, told us she saw an employee patting him up and down very aggressively. "He was quiet at first, I think in shock," she said. "When they didn't find anything, they told him to leave at which point he said, "No, I want to speak with someone. You can't just touch me like this." Everyone in the store was quiet and in shock."

Whitaker's rep told TMZ, "This was an upsetting incident given the fact that Forest did nothing more than walk into the deli. What is most unfortunate about this situation is the inappropriate way store employees are treating patrons of their establishment. Frisking individuals without proof/evidence is a violation of rights."

The rep added, "Forest did not call the authorities at the request of the worker who was in fear of losing his employment. Forest asked that, in the future, the store change their behavior and treat the public in a fair and just manner.”

Whitaker's driver, Reggie Crupe, told the Post he was parked outside when the incident occurred. After Whitaker exited the store, “an employee came outside to speak with him and to apologize,” Crupe said. “He told Mr. Whitaker that the cameras in the store were at a bad angle and that he could not see if Forest had stolen anything.” He added that the employee also offered free food to make up for the mistake.

Not everyone thinks the frisking was an honest make though. Nicole, a regular at the deli, told us she has "seen the guys there do this to a black customer before. I have also heard them say some racist crap about the Obamas too." Another former customer, Terrell Williams, told the Post, “They didn’t want to serve me coffee. They claimed they didn’t have any. Then I saw a white man come out with a big cup of coffee.” And tons of people have taken to Milano's Yelp page in the past day to complain as well.