Dancehall entertainer Spice in an Instagram live on Saturday (December 5) said that she believed that she was the victim of racial profiling.
Spice made the claim as she detailed a recent encounter inside popular retail store Walmart.
According to the dancehall artiste, her shopping experience had been a pleasant one, prior to arriving at the cashier with her three trolleys.
She said that upon checking out, and giving her cash to the attendant, another store representative noted that the money needed to be double checked.
Though admitting that ‘double checking' was a standard practice at more than one retail store, citing that she encountered the same thing while shopping in Louis Vuitton, she said that it was annoying.
Not only was it annoying Spice said she became offended after a store clerk insinuated that her money may be fake, commenting that two fifty dollar notes looked differently.
“She count the money, see her yah, see her yah a look pon the money, a look pon the money 40, 50 [expletive deleted]time ” said Spice who dramatized to her viewers the intense, investigational way in which the clerk analysed the notes.
“She just a look pon the money, she just a look pon the money, a skip the money and a look, hear her nuh,'How these two fifties look different' cause me give her some whole heap a fifty dollars… me just take out the rest of money out of my bag and seh ‘ You want a next one', ” Spice said, as she recounted the incident to her Instagram live viewers.
“Mi just take out the rest of fifties them out of my bag and seh what happen lady you want a next one, mek she see seh there is more where that come from. But I tell you what she deh now and a gwan, a gawan; memba now a nuh she a check me, a nuh she a spot check, a three woman come now enuh,… hear the next one who a check if the money fake, ” no mam, don't feel a way ,”explained Spice as she detailed her ordeal.
Spice noted that she was more than offended adding that she believes the incident was an example of racial profiling, noting that there is a belief that because she was a black woman she could/ should not have so much money.
“You see if me did white, me sad to say she would a expect seh mi could a have so much money but she don't know me, she don't know seh a Spice, she just see a likkle black girl come with the three trolley a cash out, and she see cash so she turn idiot, and she black enuh, true society done embed it inna a our mind already seh we nuh fi have so much money and nuh fi push out three trolley out a Walmart,” said Spice.
“Walmart I feel a way,” added Spice.
Racial or ethnic profiling is the act of suspecting or targeting a person on the basis of assumed characteristics or behaviour of a racial or ethnic group, rather than on individual suspicion
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