Obviously, nobody has a right to physically assault you for being stupid and a racist. Had I been a manager and present to hear you, I would have given you the exchange, then asked you not to darken my store’s door again.
He’s in Manhattan, too. If you can’t deal with other cultures, I’d recommend moving to Minnesota or something.
So, maybe it’s a put-on.
Although, maybe he’s an old crazy New Yorker who is just getting a little Charles Bronson or Bernie Goetz or something. Starting to flip out at his perceived downfall of society.
We have diversity in Minnesota, pal. Just this morning I had to stand in line at the post office with folks from ELCA and Missouri Synod.
He said he’s visiting Manhattan.
I suspect that if he’s not a troll, he’s just a very naive and sheltered individual who’s never before met a non-white.
Very generous of you. I vote Asshole, whatever the truth behind the OP, and whatever his motives.
You might ask for someone who could speak Spanish. That’s not the same as a Hispanic person, though there is some overlap between the categories.
Definitely asshole, and racist, if not a troll. But his comment “For all I know they were speaking Ebonics to me” suggests massive amounts of naivette.
Masterful. Truly masterful.
Oh, no. I think that particular comment was merely continuing assholery.
After all, a minor verb-tense disagreement hardly constitutes incomprehensibility. Hell, I myself an am white person with a doctoral degree and I will occasionally use sentances like “This don’t work!” in conversation - primarily because my father is from the South and that particular speech pattern is a common one there (regardless of race). I also note that the OP’s posts (including, actually, the OP itself) aren’t the error-free King’s English he or she purports to require in all interaction with other people.
The answer to the OP is “Yes, you most definitely are.”
Denis Leary is posting here? How cool is that?
Possible interpretation 1: copperwindow truly did not understand what employee #2 was saying. This strikes me as unlikely, but I suppose it’s possible. If that’s the case, he was a monumental asshole for bringing race into the issue. Here’s a hint, man: grammar isn’t directly linked to race. It may usually be, but it’s cultural, not racial. By asking to speak to a white employee, rather than just another employee, copperwindow showed himself to be a judgmental prick.
Possible interpretation 2: copperwindow is a judgmental prick and was offended that he had to deal with someone outside his race. And he resented this in New York, which makes him an idiot as well. Another hint: If you want to stay surrounded solely by white people, stay in whatever bland, white-bread patch of flyover country you’re from.
Possible interpretation 3: copperwindow is a troll, which makes him not just a judgmental prick but an attention whore as well.
Oh, and to answer your question, OP: You are, without a doubt, a monumental asshole.
Not that cool. It turns out he’s an asshole. 
This thread by copperwindow may be indicative of his level of racial sensitivity. His OP in that thread:
Yes, copperwindow, it does. Next time you go to Circuit City, I suggest you arrive in blackface. This will help the black employees better identify with you, insuring better custumer service.
Come on, people, who cares if he’s a racist, those are dime a dozen. The important thing, as indicated here,
is that he’s a Prescriptivist!
They’re like, just scared, cuz he’s like dead and rotten and stuff. And he like, smells funny.
I’d consider “This mouse don’t work?” to be a pretty common grammatical error which hasn’t been limited to any one race or class in my experience. I’ve used that construction myself when I’ve been joking around. Actually, when I went back and re-read the OP, it struck me as typical of New Yorkers, if anything. If the OP had come to my city and been asked “It needs replaced?” I wonder if he would have considered that poor grammar due to race rather than poor grammar which is part of a regional variation.
I’ve been known to be Conan the Grammarian myself a few times (don’t get me started on the e-mails I used to get from an ex-coworker!), but a mistake as innocuous as, “It don’t work” wouldn’t offend me, especially if I were asking someone to do me a favour, which the OP clearly was. As for one coworker not knowing what another coworker offered, I’d expect that. Retail stores tend to be busy this time of year and you can’t compare notes on every transaction. If an employee told me something was against company policy but he was willing to make an exception for me, I’d make sure I went back to him, rather than going to someone else who wouldn’t be as willing.
I don’t know whether the OP is a troll. A few months ago, I was shocked to encounter racist attitudes from some intelligent, pleasant people who had been casual friends (please note the tense). I do know the OP is someone I wouldn’t care to associate with and whose business I would not want.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to sacrifice a cock to Gaudere!
Hi, it looks like we either have a very subtle troll that has taken its time or a poster with some actual issues. Check it out, 372 posts but 137 threads started with such gems as:
What’s wrong with having sex with family members?
What’s the easiest way too kill myself?
I can see, in some countries, in some circumstances, requesting someone to help me who is familiar with my customs and ideas. I also think it’s worth considering a person’s background before being offended. For example, I HATE IT when some cabdrivers won’t speak directly to me, but ask my husband everything, even if I’m the one answering. But I know they probably come from places where addressing a woman in her husband’s presence is rude, so I don’t get offended, just annoyed. There would be no need for cultural sensitivity training if we all thought alike and had the same habits. I just don’t think Black Americans and White Americans are so disparate as to make this necessary.
The closest I could come is realizing that if I were to want a perm and went to a salon staffed by black women, I would say, “I’d like a perm - curl perm, not straightening perm,” because the default definition of “perm” in black culture is to straighten the hair, and in white, it’s curling the hair. But I would expect that my clarification was mostly unnecessary and I was just doing that thing I do of saying more words than I need to in an effort to be clear.
And perhaps, if I was a black woman, I wouldn’t choose a white stylist, because there is a great deal of difference between our hair. As a white woman, I wouldn’t trust a black stylist in a black neighborhood to have a lot of experience with white hair. And, in my considerable experience, stylists of all nationalities and colors lie about their strengths and weaknesses to get you into the chair! But if a black stylist was recommended to me by several women with hair similar to mine, then sure I’d go see her.
But this is all beside the point, as returning a defective item is most definitely NOT on the list of job duties requiring great racial sensitivity!
Asshole Troll, indeed. The two are not mutually exclusive, by any means.
Question-what was their reaction when you said you wanted a white employee?