# I pit the soon-to-be-named racist lady from Danville, VA (Lowe's delivery story) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 10, 2015, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-soon-to-be-named-racist-lady-from-danville-va-lowes-delivery-story/727458 "2015-08-10T16:13:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2015, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-soon-to-be-named-racist-lady-from-danville-va-lowes-delivery-story/727458/101 "2015-08-11T19:29:15Z")
> [@D\_Odds](#): > > Isn’t that what the manager did by accommodating the woman’s request? No, that was giving in to racial harassment. Same thing if a customer came in and made the request to only be helped by a non-black employee. I wouldn’t be protecting my black employees by not having them help her. I would be protecting them by refusing to do business with that person. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2015, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-soon-to-be-named-racist-lady-from-danville-va-lowes-delivery-story/727458/102 "2015-08-11T19:31:51Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > She does look like a miserable biddy. How exhausting it must be, to have to go all day every day trying to avoid The Blacks. Does she ask for different servers when she goes to a restaurant? What about her mail delivery? What happens if she has to take a flight and _gasp_ the pilot is black? I’m wondering if someone shook her family tree and slaves fell out. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2015, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-soon-to-be-named-racist-lady-from-danville-va-lowes-delivery-story/727458/103 "2015-08-11T19:35:07Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > Naw, 668, so she could be “the neighbor of the beast” 🙂 1. Lover of the beast. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2015, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-soon-to-be-named-racist-lady-from-danville-va-lowes-delivery-story/727458/104 "2015-08-11T19:37:02Z")
> [@The\_Tooth](#): > > 1. Lover of the beast. I thought that was General Tso’ Chicken with extra egg roll (old 69 joke there). ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2015, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-soon-to-be-named-racist-lady-from-danville-va-lowes-delivery-story/727458/105 "2015-08-11T19:38:14Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > I’m wondering if someone shook her family tree and slaves fell out. If I found out Matt Damon’s ancestors had owned some of my ancestors I’d be pretty crabby too. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2015, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-soon-to-be-named-racist-lady-from-danville-va-lowes-delivery-story/727458/106 "2015-08-11T19:40:26Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > First, because he probably had a chance of being screwed no matter how he chose. > > Second, because he probably thought about this for 30 seconds, unlike all the other people jerking off to this who have had hours to think about it. How so? How would he be screwed by telling the customer “Sorry, we won’t accomdate your request. Here’s your refund”? There’s not a national retailer out there that wouldn’t stand behind the manager’s decision. And yes, it probably was a spur of the moment call. A very easy one to make. Delivery team calls “This lady won’t let Jerry deliver her TV cause he’s black. What should we do?” You reply “Okay, don’t attempt the delivery, bring it back to the store.” They ask “Should we reschedule her?” You reply “No way. She can come get her refund.” ---
**Author:** ![RobDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f07891/32.png) [@RobDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobDog)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2015, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-soon-to-be-named-racist-lady-from-danville-va-lowes-delivery-story/727458/107 "2015-08-11T19:40:49Z")
> [@The\_Tooth](#): > > 1. Lover of the beast. 667, fax number of the beast. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2015, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-soon-to-be-named-racist-lady-from-danville-va-lowes-delivery-story/727458/108 "2015-08-11T19:43:00Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > First, because he probably had a chance of being screwed no matter how he chose. He could have taken the high road. “No mam, we do not offer the race of your choice for delivery.” If she complained to his higher-ups and they hassled/fired him over it he can take his story to the press. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2015, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-soon-to-be-named-racist-lady-from-danville-va-lowes-delivery-story/727458/109 "2015-08-11T20:10:11Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > First, because he probably had a chance of being screwed no matter how he chose. One of the things a manager should know is that his boss has his back and will help him thru difficult situations like this, so he should have passed the buck. > [@billfish678](#): > > Second, because he probably thought about this for 30 seconds, unlike all the other people jerking off to this who have had hours to think about it. Then he didn’t think well, since what he did not only seems to have violated company policy, it violates the law. > [@billfish678](#): > > Third, I doubt THIS particular scenario was ever brought up in training explicitly. Maybe not, but then I doubt they brought up how to load plywood in a '73 Camaro, and I bet he’da figured that one out. > [@billfish678](#): > > Fourth. Nobody in this scenario was fucked over. Black driver delivered something else somewhere AND didn’t have to deal with a racists old bitch. Fuck, some black people probably consider that a positive thing. It’s really only your first sentence that is worth responding to, because it shows that your being a blinkered idiot about this: Lowe’s was fucked over. You know, his employer? The people who have a policy (and follow the law) about not discriminating in assignation of job assignments because of an employees race? They looked bad in national media coverage of this, prolly international media coverage with the internet and the focus on America’s continuing racial problems. Do you not understand that Lowe’s was fucked over by this guy’s decision? > [@billfish678](#): > > Fifth. People fuck up. Its what people do. EVEN IF you take the position he fucked up, unless this a pattern. Let. It. Fucking. Go. Don’t do that again Bob or else. It’s not like he showed up drunk on his ass and is a surgeon or airline pilot. No, he just catered to the whims of a bigot in such a way that he, acting in his employers name, broke the law and created an avalanche of bad press. It wasn’t like he forgot to put paper in the copier tray; he fucking broke the law while acting as his employer’s agent. > [@billfish678](#): > > Sixth. Firing somebody in this day and age is a big fucking deal (unless you are a minimum wage burger flipper and even then its not not a big deal). This could ruin his career, bankrupt him, and for that matter destroy his family. Aye, it could. Because it was a HUGE fuckup, not a little fuckup. YMMV but I have the law on my side. And ya know what? Most things that are illegal are illegal for good reasons. And there are many good reasons that we made it illegal to do what this manager did. > [@billfish678](#): > > Seventh. Who gets punished? The racist old bitch? No, the poor manager that was caught between corporate, the customer, and the black driver. Who get’s thrown under the bus by the Big Corporation and judged by the world wide web of sanctimonious assholes who have NEVER EVER done anything remotely sexists or ageist or racist or speciest and live perfect little lives that even Jesus would say “fuck you ARE good”. > > Poor guy. Are you the manager in question? Because your strident denial that he did anything _really_ wrong and that he doesn’t deserve to be treated this way continue to give the impression that you have something at stake here. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2015, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-soon-to-be-named-racist-lady-from-danville-va-lowes-delivery-story/727458/110 "2015-08-11T20:10:37Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > He could have taken the high road. “No mam, we do not offer the race of your choice for delivery.” > > If she complained to his higher-ups and they hassled/fired him over it he can take his story to the press. Exactly. “I got fired because I refused to subject my deliveryman to a racist” would be just as good. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2015, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-soon-to-be-named-racist-lady-from-danville-va-lowes-delivery-story/727458/111 "2015-08-11T20:10:39Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > He could have taken the high road. “No mam, we do not offer the race of your choice for delivery.” > > If she complained to his higher-ups and they hassled/fired him over it he can take his story to the press. You gonna bet your career on the fickle press? ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2015, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-soon-to-be-named-racist-lady-from-danville-va-lowes-delivery-story/727458/112 "2015-08-11T20:11:49Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Are you the manager in question? Because your strident denial that he did anything \*really[/i[ wrong and that he doesn’t deserve to be treated this way continue to give the impression that you have something at stake here. What the fuck does that even mean? Oh, I admit. It was me that got fired. Good grief. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2015, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-soon-to-be-named-racist-lady-from-danville-va-lowes-delivery-story/727458/113 "2015-08-11T20:12:58Z")
> [@RobDog](#): > > 667, fax number of the beast. Ooooo, that’s even better. Can I use it? I bet the damn thing is always busy though. ---
**Author:** ![ZPG\_Zealot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e47c2d/32.png) [@ZPG\_Zealot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZPG_Zealot)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2015, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-soon-to-be-named-racist-lady-from-danville-va-lowes-delivery-story/727458/114 "2015-08-11T20:13:15Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > How so? How would he be screwed by telling the customer “Sorry, we won’t accomdate your request. Here’s your refund”? > There’s not a national retailer out there that wouldn’t stand behind the manager’s decision. > And yes, it probably was a spur of the moment call. A very easy one to make. > Delivery team calls “This lady won’t let Jerry deliver her TV cause he’s black. What should we do?” > You reply “Okay, don’t attempt the delivery, bring it back to the store.” > They ask “Should we reschedule her?” > You reply “No way. She can come get her refund.” Upper management could quite easily fire him for not accommodating the woman. He’s turning down a paying customer (the holy god of retail). True he could go to the press with it and maybe something would happen, but he’s also out of work and possibly not likely to get another job in some locations until there is sufficient cultural outrage against what the company did for him. In a lot of jobsites the delivery driver would be considered an asshole for costing a manager in a no-win situation his job. ---
**Author:** ![ZPG\_Zealot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e47c2d/32.png) [@ZPG\_Zealot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZPG_Zealot)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2015, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-soon-to-be-named-racist-lady-from-danville-va-lowes-delivery-story/727458/115 "2015-08-11T20:15:36Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > One of the things a manager should know is that his boss has his back and will help him thru difficult situations like this, so he should have passed the buck. Unfortunately, in the wonder world of retail this isn’t frequently the case. A boss will stab employees in the back or screw them over for any number of corpulent reasons. There’s a good chance this guy knew passing the buck was only going to get him screwed. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2015, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-soon-to-be-named-racist-lady-from-danville-va-lowes-delivery-story/727458/116 "2015-08-11T20:17:51Z")
> [@ZPG\_Zealot](#): > > Unfortunately, in the wonder world of retail this isn’t frequently the case. A boss will stab employees in the back or screw them over for any number of corpulent reasons. If it frequently isn’t the case, then it also frequently IS the case. But thanks for popping in to let us all know that it isn’t a perfect world that we live in. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2015, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-soon-to-be-named-racist-lady-from-danville-va-lowes-delivery-story/727458/117 "2015-08-11T20:25:12Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > That’s the problem. > > Lowe’s got bad publicity and they threw him under the bus because somebody HAD to pay. > > Unless the black driver thought his boss was a racist dick I think he should be a bit ashamed about the whole thing for that matter. Why the hell should the driver be ashamed? He’s been dealing with Virginia racists all his life. The manager went with Community Culture–as a Virginian. Too bad Lowe’s has a Corporate Culture that is based in the 21st century. I haven’t watched the video but am guessing the old woman is lower class. The “better folk” of the Old Dominion have been used to having blacks do the heavy lifting for centuries. Even if they have to pay them nowadays… ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2015, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-soon-to-be-named-racist-lady-from-danville-va-lowes-delivery-story/727458/118 "2015-08-11T20:27:27Z")
> [@ZPG\_Zealot](#): > > Upper management could quite easily fire him for not accommodating the woman. He’s turning down a paying customer (the holy god of retail). Not gonna happen. Not accomodating a customers request for a non-black driver? You won’t find one retailer out there that would fire a manager for that. Upper management can make dumb decisions but they wouldn’t make that one. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2015, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-soon-to-be-named-racist-lady-from-danville-va-lowes-delivery-story/727458/119 "2015-08-11T20:28:46Z")
> [@ZPG\_Zealot](#): > > Upper management could quite easily fire him for not accommodating the woman. Bullshit. “Customer refused delivery” is all that needs to be said, and it’s a situation that Lowe’s Corporate put on their own website as an acceptable way for a customer to cancel an order. What is this old racist lady going to do, call corporate and complain that the manager didn’t send out a proper, white, delivery boy upon request? Riiiight. ---
**Author:** ![Honey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honey/32/5074_2.png) [@Honey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honey)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2015, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-soon-to-be-named-racist-lady-from-danville-va-lowes-delivery-story/727458/120 "2015-08-11T20:34:43Z")
> [@dasmoocher](#): > > Better yet, use some type of herbicide that will keep grass from growing for a few years. Put it in a spray can and you can write whatever you want. After the update **Kayaker** just posted, “racist old troll” has a nice ring to it. I _know_ people like that exist, but it still always horrifies me to hear about it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-soon-to-be-named-racist-lady-from-danville-va-lowes-delivery-story/727458.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-soon-to-be-named-racist-lady-from-danville-va-lowes-delivery-story/727458.md?page=7)