Tag: viral videos
Woman who used racial slur in confrontation with black diners says she’d do it again
A white North Carolina woman was caught in a now-viral video using the N-word while confronting a group of black women at a restaurant — and then doubled down on her serving of hate, saying she’d use the slur again, according to a report.
A 66-second clip posted to Facebook on Tuesday by Chanda Stewart, who is black, shows a woman identified as Nancy Goodman speaking to an employee at Bonefish Grill in Raleigh, complaining that the three nearby women were being disruptive and too loud.
“So am I shocked because this person had the audacity right here to come to our table and tell us that we are the rudest people that she has ever met,” Stewart says, alluding to the smiling white woman. “Look at her … We’re paying for our food just like everybody else and she told us that we are the rudest people ever.”
Goodman then pulls out her phone and walks around her table to confront the women, video shows, telling them that she has “really good” friends who are black.
“And I love them,” Goodman says.
“We never said anything about color,” Stewart replies.
Goodman then tells the group she thought they were being “too loud,” prompting another woman at Stewart’s table to say that their money was “just as green” as hers.
“Oh, you’re so stupid, n—-r,” Goodman replies before walking away from the women’s table, video shows.
Goodman later told WRAL that she wasn’t sorry for using the slur, saying she would “say it again” to the group of women.
“I’m not going to say I’m sorry to them because they kept pushing at it,” Goodman told the station. “I would say it again to them. They are the rudest individuals I have ever seen.”
Goodman, who insisted she wasn’t racist, apologized to her family, friends and other customers at the restaurant in a since-deleted post on her Facebook page, saying she had “extreme anxiety” but admitted that did not excuse her behavior.
“I am ashamed of my actions,” she wrote in the post.
A spokeswoman for the restaurant’s parent company, meanwhile, told WRAL that the incident was being reviewed so such confrontations can be de-escalated in the future.
“We do not tolerate hate speech or disrespect in our restaurants,” a spokeswoman for Bloomin’ Brands told the station.
Photo Credit: nypost.com
Video shows Alabama high school students using n-word, anti-Semitic slurs
White Alabama high school students were caught using racist and anti-Semitic slurs in a disturbing video that has sparked an investigation by school officials.
“Without the Holocaust, what would the world be like?” says one boy in the video, which included students from both Hoover and Spain Park high schools, located in a suburb south of Birmingham, AL.com reported.
“We would have white people still,” a girl responds. “All the n—-rs would not be here,” another teen chimes in.
“F–k n—ers, f–k Jews,” another teen says.
“Jews are fine because they’re white,” the girl adds. “We just need the n—-rs gone.”
The teens also referred to racially mixed people as “mixed Oreos” and talked about putting minorities in concentration camps or waiting until they “die off.”
The father of one of the students in the video posted an apology for his daughter’s actions on his business social media page. None of the other students in the video were publicly identified.
“Earlier today a video was circulated on social media that depicted high school kids hanging out and saying some really horrible things. One of the kids you can hear talking is my daughter. We believe, that in the moment she acted completely outside her character and certainly outside the morals and principles that we worked hard to instill in her throughout her lifetime,” Gordon Stewart wrote on the Hoover Toyota Facebook page.
“Our family, Mackenzie included, blatantly reject all forms of racism or bigotry and the sentiments from the video do not accurately reflect her or her true feelings. This experience has proven to be a crucial lesson in her maturity and she directly expresses her heartfelt apologies for her insensitivities,” he wrote.
School officials said they were investigating the incident, despite it occurring off school property.
Hoover Superintendent Kathy Murphy said she spoke with both schools’ principals, confirming the students are enrolled in the school system, AL.com reported.
“We have been made aware of a recently posted video that features Hoover School System students who appear to be engaged in disturbing conduct,” Hoover City Schools said in a statement.
“The activity apparently took place this past weekend at a private residence. Although it was not part of any school function, the conduct in question is in direct conflict with our school system’s values and its mission. Our school administrators are carefully investigating the situation in order to assess our options under the Code of Student Conduct. In the meantime, the Hoover school community may be assured that the Board, together with its administrative and instructional staff, remains steadfastly committed to maintaining and strengthening a school culture that encourages and embraces diversity, inclusiveness, and tolerance,” the statement continued.
Unique Simpson, a black student at Spain Park High School, suggested racist behavior is a problem at the school.
“Honestly, I am so sick and tired of going through this same routine at Spain Park High School,“ Simpson said.
“I’ve been through so many personal experiences,” she said. “This needs to stop.”
How Restaurants Respond When an Employee’s Bad Behavior Goes Viral
Last month, beleaguered burrito chain Chipotle found itself at the center of a public-relations nightmare that had nothing to do with E. coli. A video that went viral on Twitter captured a manager at a St. Paul, Minnesota, store asking a group of black men to pay for their meal in advance, while a white female customer was not asked for “proof of income” before she ordered. In follow-up tweets, the customer wrote that he had been racially profiled: “So when a WHITE woman walks in you change your policy of ‘show us income before you get served’????? So @Chipotle gonna sit here and tell me I can’t eat because they think I look like someone that stole from them before??” The chain almost immediately announced it was firing the manager, announcing the “restaurant [staff] is being retrained to ensure something like this doesn’t happen again.”
It’s a sequence of events that’s become all too familiar in recent memory: Chain restaurant employee does something inappropriate or offensive; said act goes viral, thanks to a tweet, Facebook post, or Instagram that often includes video footage; social-media users take the company to task in droves, often pledging a boycott; restaurant responds by firing the offending staffer. Lather, rinse, repeat.
But just days later, Chipotle issued a public mea culpa, saying that it was offering the St. Paul manager her job back in light of new information: The complainant, who claimed the manager had misidentified him as a former dine-and-dasher, had in fact specifically mentioned dine-and-dashing at Chipotle in prior social media posts. Although Chipotle told the Pioneer Press that it was aware of those previous tweets when it first fired the manager, it reviewed the incident further and noted, “Our policy is to treat our customers and employees fairly and with respect at all times and under any circumstances.”
Not surprisingly, the backtracking led to another cycle of social media controversy, keeping the incident in the news for another several days as outlets reported on Chipotle’s second thoughts, the rescinding of its decision, and the manager speaking out publicly.
Chipotle’s attempt to swiftly resolve a potential public-relations disaster ended up extending the story’s life cycle. But the initial outcry helped force its hand: Crisis PR expert Eden Gillott says that since she started in the field a decade ago, “people’s expectations have gotten a lot higher” in terms of the speed they expect companies to respond to public incidents.
“Social media and the ability of anyone to be a journalist and post anything in real time and make it accessible to the entire world has changed everything when it comes to customer service and crisis management,” says Erik Deutsch, a media strategist at LA-based ExcelPR Group. “If someone was mistreated in a store 15 years ago they might make a scene in the store and tell their friends about it and that would be it. Now they pull out a phone and video it and post it online, and it can become a sensation.”
Chipotle’s Viral Snafu by the Numbers
33,958: number of times Masud Ali’s video accusing a Chipotle manager of being racist was retweeted
10,000: current Twitter responses to Ali’s first tweet
4: minutes it took for @ChipotleTweets to initially respond to Ali’s tweet
19: hours after Ali’s complaint it took for @ChipotleTweets to announce the manager had been fired
131: number of search results Google returns for “Chipotle racist” from the past month
So what’s the best way for high-profile brands like Chipotle to assuage the public’s anger, fulfill its obligation to treat its employees fairly, and stave off more negative online attention until it can thoroughly investigate incidents? It’s a question that’s arisen numerous times in recent months: Last month at a McDonald’s near Minneapolis, a white man allegedly flashed a gun at a group of Muslim teens after he made a racist remark, spurring a verbal altercation. (He was later arrested under probable cause for second-degree assault.) A video posted to Twitter by one of the teens has been viewed nearly 2.2 million times — and the fast-food giant faced harsh online criticism for the action of its employees, one of whom was captured on camera yelling at the teens to leave the restaurant despite having just been threatened with a firearm.
Shortly after the incident went viral, McDonald’s corporate spokesperson provided a statement from the franchisee stating, “Nothing is more important than the safety and security of our customers and employees. We take this matter seriously and are working with local law enforcement while we investigate the situation.” Meanwhile, Twitter users, including some prominent Muslim activists, continued to demand answers from the company on how it intended to address the actions of its staff. Reached for comment on December 5, McDonald’s confirmed that the employee featured in the video was no longer employed by the company — though a spokesperson didn’t reply when asked whether that was the sole decision of the franchisee, or if that decision was handed down or influenced by corporate.
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Not surprisingly, brands are reluctant to reveal what protocols, if any, they might have in place when it comes to investigating these viral incidents. Neither McDonald’s nor Chipotle responded to a request for information about internal processes for handling such crises.
In the Chipotle instance, acting too hastily put the brand in an embarrassing situation. But according to Gillott, the mistake that most brands tend to make when a viral crisis erupts is waiting too long to properly address it. “The really, really big companies are much more responsive and understand that it is important to bring [a crisis PR expert] in sooner rather than later,” Gillott says. (While she can’t disclose the names of her previous clients due to confidentiality agreements, Gillott says she’s worked with “brands so iconic you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who hasn’t enjoyed eating their food, drinking their beverages, or watching their commercials.”)
“In the vacuum of saying nothing, rumors are going to fill the void,” Gillott says. “So you don’t want to say nothing, but there are things that you can say that don’t necessarily give people more facts, but at least convey that you’re working on it — ‘We’re looking into this’ or ‘The investigation is ongoing.’ So it’s letting the audience know that you care and that you are taking steps in the right direction.”
Once her firm receives an initial call from a company in crisis mode, they immediately set forth to gather all the facts, figure out what kind of resolution the company hopes to achieve, and compose an appropriate statement for the media and/or public. According to Gillott, when brands issue a public statement in the midst of or following a crisis, they should look to address three things: “apologizing or showing remorse or empathy, talking about the things that they’re going to be doing to fix it, and then focusing on the future.”
As an example of a viral brand crisis that was handled well, Gillott points to a high-profile April incident in which two black men were arrested in a Philadelphia Starbucks after a manager called the police because they hadn’t purchased anything. While Starbucks was quick to respond, issuing a public apology within about 48 hours, the company took its time to thoroughly investigate the matter, reviewing store policies and speaking with staff, management, Philadelphia police, and the men who were unfairly arrested before taking any significant action. It wasn’t until nearly a week later that then-executive chairman Howard Schultz confirmed on a CBS This Morning appearance that the manager who called police was no longer with the company.
A subsequent statement from CEO Kevin Johnson denounced the arrests as “reprehensible” and detailed measures Starbucks would take to ensure a similar situation wouldn’t occur in the future, including working with community leaders to refine its policies and ultimately conducting implicit bias training for thousands of employees across the U.S.
“Starbucks did a fairly good job handling that because they were fast to respond and it was a very polished message,” says Gillott. “A lot of companies don’t have the resources to do what Starbucks did, and a lot of people commended Starbucks for going above and beyond. But at the end of the day, it is a business decision. They realize that if they do good now, it will pay off later in the future.”
Put plainly, while Starbucks’ executives may very well want to “do the right thing” because they believe in equality and fairness, brands’ actions ultimately come down to what will most benefit the company and its shareholders (see also: Nike’s controversial selection of Colin Kaepernick for an ad campaign, which spurred boycotts from conservatives but ultimately gave it a significant sales boost).
And the new social-media age makes figuring that strategy out — and quickly — even more crucial. “In an age where everyone has a TV studio in their pocket, everyone who works in customer service is a spokesperson for the company,” says Deutsch. “There are no secrets, just things that haven’t been found out yet… every customer is a potential journalist and can capture them on camera, and there are ways to handle those kinds of situations that are better than others.”
Mom goes after ‘fight club’ day care
A Missouri mom claims her 4-year-old son was a victim of a “fight club” held at a St. Louis day care center — and that little has been done over the past two years to hold the teachers accountable.
Nicole Merseal shared shocking footage of brawls that she said involved her young son and claimed that teachers Mickala Guliford and Tena Dailey egged on the fights at Adventure Learning Center. She sued the facility in December 2016.
Guliford admitted to allowing the fighting, but said she merely meant it to be a “stress release exercise.”
Merseal said her 10-year-old son, who was with his older classmates in another room, filmed the incident through a window on his iPad after he saw his brother crying. He then texted his mother the video. Teachers were accused of forcing the younger boy to participate in three fights, Q13 Fox reported.
The newly released footage shows a teacher giving each child “hulk hands” before watching them wrestle one another to the floor. Merseal’s younger son wipes his tears away on the sidelines.
“My son was very afraid,” Merseal told ABC News.
“He didn’t understand why his best friends beat him up. These are children that he’s been around for a couple years. He described them as his best friends. He just doesn’t understand why they punched him in the face … I don’t know any parent that could watch their children go through this and not be upset.”
The fight occurred two years ago, but Merseal doesn’t think the teachers were held accountable enough for their actions. The teachers were fired but neither of them faced charges.
“I want them to be held accountable and I don’t want this to happen to any other child,” Merseal said.
Merseal also is seeking $25,000 in damages from the pre-school.
Inspectors visited the pre-school eight times since the incident and accounted for 26 violations.
One of those occurred in March 2018, when an inspector noticed a caregiver drag a 3-year-old by the arm. The pre-school director reportedly was in the room and did not respond.
via: https://nypost.com/2018/10/31/mom-goes-after-fight-club-day-care/
Video captures mom whipping son with belt for stealing her BMW
A Texas high school freshman went on a joyride in his mom’s spanking-new BMW, but his badass mom chased him down — and whupped him with a belt, in a caught-on-video scene that has since gone viral.
Aaron Campero, 14, of El Paso, disconnected the WiFi in his home to disable security cameras before he took off in the BMW on Friday, his sister Liza Campero wrote on Twitter.
“I shouldn’t be laughing but damn,” she said.
Their mother, also named Liza, was at work when Aaron called to tell her their WiFi was down at home, KFOX-TV reported.
As soon as he said that, literally, I got a message instantly that my WiFi was down,” she told the station.
The Beemer bandit first drove the car to pick up his best friend, whose mother informed Aaron’s mom about his whereabouts, according to the Houston Chronicle.
Aaron’s sister also called their mother to tell her the BMW 3 Series was gone.
“That’s when she told me to grab the belt and I really just ran into the closet and grabbed the first belt I saw,” she said. “She wanted to find him before he wrecked the car and before the police did.”
The boy eventually aborted his ill-fated plan to visit his girlfriend, who was at home with her mom when Campero arrived.
According to his sister’s video, their mother pulled up next to Aaron and screamed, “Pull over now!”
She then stepped out of her car, flung open the BMW’s driver’s door and unleashed on the boy.
“My mom said once she opened the door, he had a smirk on his face until she started spanking him,” Liza said.
The mother said she didn’t know her daughter was recording the beatdown.
“It’s my son’s well-being, his livelihood, his best friend’s well-being, not to mention all of the people on the roadways,” the mom told KFOX-TV.
The video, which was posted on Twitter, had gained more than 41,000 retweets and about 144,000 likes by Thursday morning.
“I feel that I have a debt to society and my debt to society is to make sure my children are productive, law-abiding citizens,” Martinez said.
In addition to the public flogging, Aaron has been grounded “until 2019 or further notice,” his sis said.
via: https://nypost.com/2018/10/18/video-captures-mom-whipping-son-with-belt-for-stealing-her-bmw/
Viral Louisiana supermarket employee who let autistic customer stock shelves gets $100G for college
Article via: Viral Louisiana supermarket employee who let autistic customer stock shelves gets $100G for college
A supermarket employee in Louisiana who went viral for letting a young customer with autism help him stock the store shelves has now been gifted $100,000 for college tuition.
When Jordan Taylor, who works at Rouses Market in Baton Rouge, noticed Jack Ryan watching him refill the coolers, he offered to show him what do.
In a video taken by Jack Ryan’s dad and shared on Facebook by his sister, Delaney Edwards Alwosaibi, Jack Ryan and Taylor can be seen working together to put milk and juice on the shelves.
“Talk about a stand-up young man!!!!” Alwosaibi wrote about Taylor. “We all know autism makes going out difficult, and sometimes grocery stores can be a challenge. This young man took the time to slow down and allow Jack Ryan to help for over 30 minutes, guiding him as he finished his task.”
Alwosaibi and everyone who saw the video were so impressed by what Taylor did, they decided to start a GoFundMe page Wednesday to help raise money to send him to college. Taylor told Alwosaibi he loves math and might want to be a teacher someday.
The campaign originally had a goal of $10,000, but after receiving an overwhelming amount of donations, the goal was increased to $100,000, which it had reached as of Friday afternoon.
“He could have ignored him. He could have made an excuse and said he couldn’t allow him to help. Instead, he let him have his moment and in turn gave my family a moment we will never forget,” Alwosaibi wrote.
“It might seem like nothing to others, but as you can hear my dad say in the video, [‘I’m watching a miracle in action’].”
GoFundMe spokesperson Bobby Whithorne told Fox News the fundraiser for Taylor is currently the top campaign on their site and global support has been pouring in. “Donors from Baton Rouge to Bangkok have been inspired by Jordan and Jack Ryan’s story. Nearly 3,000 people have donated $100,000 from all across the US and all around the world. Donors from Japan to Germany, from Ireland to Italy, have stepped up and taken action to show their support,” Whithorne said.