Picture this: you're standing in the children's section of a bookstore. You've got money. You've got books to buy. And then an employee tells you that you have to leave. The reason? The other customers are freaked out that you're a man.
It's a story a grandfather from Arizona is screaming from the rooftops this week. Omar Amin says he went to Barnes and Noble to buy books for his grandkids, and he got kicked out because he was a man. And a store spokesperson is defending the action.
So who's right?
In this case, based on information as presented, I side with Amin. We have no sign this grandfather was doing anything besides shopping for books for his grandkids or that his "crime" was anything other than being a male. If everything he says is true, it's a clear case of discrimination. I am sick and tired of the tired old "man around kids must be a pedophile" reaction. It's unfair to the millions of males in this world who wouldn't dream of such base and disgusting actions. And when you consider there are female pedophiles out there, it's far too simplistic.
And yet, if customers are approaching a store manager complaining about a person in the store who is giving them the willies, what's a store manager to do? It's a basic rule of business that the customer is always right ... right?
Well, nope, not at all. A manager could have 10 customers pitch a fit, claiming a breastfeeding mom is freaking them out because OMG, boobies. But the law (not to mention common sense) protects Mom and child from getting the boot. Or there could be a small but vocal contingent of skinheads in the store on any given day, moaning to management that they shouldn't allow a (insert slur for ethnic minority here) into their establishment. Again, the law and common sense trump "customer is always right."
The customer is always right is a nice motto, but it doesn't hold up when ethics are on the line. People, real people, have to come before old mantras.
What do you think of this store's actions?
Image via loranger/Flickr
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Comments 39
Curious1145, you ask, "what's next?" How about public parks banning 'all adults not accompanied by a child'? Because that's happening all over the country. People pay their taxes to support PUBLIC parks, and yet they cannot go and sit there during their lunch hour (or any other time) if they are not 'accompanied' by a child. Because they *might* be "looking" at the children, and they *might* be dangerous. We have become such an ugly, paranoid society, it makes me sad for our chilren. Every older man is now considered a pedophile. Every person on the street is considered "Stranger Danger". Boys have all but quit trying to get a job as a babysitter - even though they might be the best person for the job - because they're male, and they *must* have an ulterior motive.
Sad. Just sad. As much as I like B&N, this guy should sue their pages off.
I call BS on B&N. If all he was doing there was shopping for some books for his grandkids then wtf? My dad buys stuff for my boyos all the time and has never been told to leave because he is a man.
Nonmember lisa7, why do you think ponychaser would make something like that up? Just because you've never seen a park that has banned unaccompanied adults doesn't mean it hasn't happened. I have never seen that myself but I wouldn't call ponychaser a liar over that.
I hope Barnes and Nobles ready to get their asses handed to them in court!
@Lisa7 http://www.nycgovparks.org/rules/section-1-05
Here's the excerpt:
Exclusive Areas
Areas within the parks designated by the Commissioner for exclusive use shall include:
Exclusive Childrens Playgrounds: Adults allowed in playground areas only when accompanied by a child under the age of twelve (12)
__________________________________________
So yeah a lot of parks are becoming children's only areas.