Un-Beaver-lievable Bigotry

I’m from India. My close friend’s cousin lives in Texas, and my friend wanted to attend college there, so he thought he would go there and spend some time and get to know the place. Mind you, this was just before the lockdowns in 2020.

[Friend] flew to Texas and they imposed the lockdown. He decided that he would stay there and return once the situation got better. This is where the brown mindset comes into play. If someone you know is going to a foreign country, then they have to bring you back something as a souvenir, even if you could get the exact same thing in your local supermarket, because it is “foreign”.

[Friend] went to a very well-known store with a beaver for its mascot while on a video call with me, and we were happily shopping when this woman came up to him and asked where something was. He was not wearing anything similar to the uniform.

Friend: *Politely* “I don’t work here, ma’am.”

Woman: “You’re Black; you must work here.”

At that point, I started recording the call.

Woman: “You are helping a customer do her online shopping via video conference, so you are obviously an employee.”

(Is that even a thing?)

[Friend] didn’t know what to say and just stood there without saying anything. Then, the manager arrived.

Manager: “What is the problem here?”

Woman: “Your employee is not helping me and is prioritizing an online customer over me.”

Manager: “I’m sorry, ma’am, but he does not work here.”

Woman: “But—”

Manager: “You should have realized that when HE DIDN’T HAVE A GIANT BEAVER UP HIS BACK!”

The look on the woman’s face — oh, my God. I laughed so hard that people from India, Texas, and everywhere in between could’ve heard it.