“Hey Boy, Show Me Your Papers”. Anyone who has worked in the restaurant…
By: Joshua Gane
Tags: Civil Rights, Restaurant Business, Antirasism, Race

“Hey Boy, Show Me Your Papers”

Crazy woman attacks teen

Anyone who has worked in the restaurant industry, as I do, has seen the following scenario play out at least once. A woman (or man) comes into a restaurant to eat and leaves behind a personal item. Before the item is found, or before she finds the item in her own pocket, pocketbook or car, she rushes back into the building in a panic. This person assumes that because she has a problem, everyone now has a problem. The world must stop and everyone has to look for the item.

Now, there is some responsibility of care on the part of the employees to make an effort to find this item, from a customer service perspective, though not a legal one. But usually the person wants to dictate exactly how and when this search is going to take place, ignoring any protocol or decorum of the establishment. They want to be the one in control.

Think about the logistical problems that this can pose in a busy restaurant. The table where the person was sitting has been bussed and reseated. There is a line of people at the host stand, waiting patiently for a table. The staff are busy doing their jobs to serve the other patrons. But somehow, the person with the lost item elevates her own importance above all of the previously mentioned people.

She rushes in, pushes past the people waiting at the host stand. Next, she either frantically confronts the host, or worse, goes directly to the previous table. Take into consideration that a frantic person is usually also an irrational one. The people at the newly seated table are interrupted by a frantic person, and asked to look around at their feet, stand up and pull out their chairs and so on.

If the item is not on the floor, the person now wants to talk to the busser, especially if the busser is black or Hispanic, which they often tend to be. This is where it can get dicey. You can see in this person’s eyes that they want to go through the busser’s pockets, which they have no right to do. After cornering the bussers and asking them at least 5 times if they are sure that they did not find anything, they often turn their attention to the server, a person who they assume makes less money than they do and could benefit from pawning their iphone or sunglasses, or might use their debit card illegally.

This is usually about the time that this person’s husband or wife runs into the restaurant and says, “Honey! I found it on the floor of the car!” Now the person is a little embarrassed, though more so relieved to have his or her property back where they can see it. The person may apologize, but then disappears quickly back out of the restaurant, leaving a trail of disturbance in their wake. The staff then goes around and apologizes to any of the patrons who were forced to have their own experience interrupted in order to cater to the needs of someone they do not know.

This situation is at its worst if it is a debit or credit card. But what is the establishment supposed to do? Are they to lock the doors to the restaurant and have everyone empty their pockets? Where does the duty end? It is quite a slippery slope.

If this situation happens on the street, then it is obvious that nobody owes this person any consideration. Someone might go out of their way to help the person look, but in no way does anyone owe a frantic person their time, or worse, their dignity. That is right, I said dignity. Dignity is what someone is asking for if they want to look through your pockets or see your phone to make sure that it is not theirs. A person is then establishing a false authority over you and expecting you to submit to their demands.

This unfortunate incident played out last night in the lobby of New York’s Arlo SoHo hotel in lower Manhattan. A white woman lost her Iphone and turned her attention to a 14- year-old black youth who was staying in the hotel with his father. Unbeknownst to the woman, the kid was the son of Keyon Harrold, a famous jazz musician who has worked with many of the biggest names in the music industry, including Jay Z. This is important to the story because it shows, for one, that status and prestige mean little when you are black and accused of a crime. Second, the woman will now be famous worldwide for manifesting the worst of white priviledge, on TV so that everyone can see.

Harrold turned on the camera and filmed the erratic woman as she attempted to grab the phone. She eventually assaulted him, scratching and clawing and wrestling on the floor. Meanwhile, the manager of the restaurant was trying to force Harrold to show him the phone. This is where many white people like to chime in and say, “Why not just show the phone, and prove your innocence?” and it all comes back to the preciously mentioned word, dignity.

For over 2 centuries, white people have been exerting their priviledge over black people in order to dominate and control their actions. This was obviously the case during slavery but later played out daily on the streets when freed slaves were forced to prove themselves by showing their papers. This is the modern form of suppression being forced on black people on a daily basis. Black people are assumed guilty until proven innocent, in the year 2020.

It sucks to misplace your property, doesn’t it? Nobody likes to lose things. But unfortunately, you do not get everything you want in this world. Things are going to happen to you that you do not like. When these things happen, please try and remember that your problem is not automatically other people’s problem. Nobody owes you anything, no matter how important you think that you are. And white people, just because you are white, minorities do not owe you any special duty. I cannot believe I have to say that, but obviously people have not learned this lesson. Do better, white people. It is just embarrassing to watch viral video after viral video of this disgusting behavior.

In the end, the crazy white woman’s phone was returned by the Uber driver. Charges of attempted robbery and assault, against the woman, are under investigation. Full security camera video will most likely be released later this week, at which time I will update this article.