Last evening while we were leaving one of those chain sit-down type restaurants (Applebee’s, Chili’s, Olive Garden, etc.) located in our lily-white suburban community, we noticed two very tall and burly, young-looking African American males entering the establishment. (I personally did not perceive their appearance as potentially dangerous in any way, but then again, what do I really really about that?–just an observation.)
Next, the two African American men were immediately seated in the worst seats in the house: a two seat booth within five feet of the door and the greeter station and far away from all of the white customers. It was also obvious that many, many much better seats were available then. The African American customers did not raise a fuss at all.
Given that no scientific conclusion can ever be drawn from a single data point, do you perceive what we saw as racial discrimination? If so, can you please offer any points on how this racial discrimination could be justified.
Some years ago Denny’s was accused in a class action lawsuit of egregious racial discrimination at their restaurants in their poor seating and extremely slow service of their African American customers, so the scenario above is not without precedent.
Sounds like pretty damn good seats to me, as far away from the noise and screaming kids and drunk frat boys as possible, and right where I can get extra napkins the second I need them.
So I think your first challenge is going to be determining what are “good seats”.
Might have been racism, might not have been. My first thought was that they were ordering take-out food and were waiting in the booth till it was ready.
My thoughts exactly. Given that the customers had no objections to the seats, I would say mind your own business. They may very well have said to hostess, “Seat us as far away from the families as possible. We would like to eat in peace and quiet.”
If they don’t like the seats it’s up to them to say something. I often dine solo it’s standard to seat solo people at the bar. Unless the restaurant is busy I insist on a table, I don’t like sitting at the bar. I never had a problem.
No, I did not observe them asking to sit anywhere in particular. They made no gesture towards these particular seats. It seems like they just walked in and were immediately seated there.
Like other posters, I think you have too little data to work with to make the assumption of discrimination. But I also wanted to offer another explanation you might not have thought of. Waiters are assigned to “sections” of a restaurant. It is possible that the men were assigned to the section of a waiter who just came on shift – the men were seated as the first occupants of the section.
It seems that I always get a table like that when I go in a restaurant unless I say something, so my guess is that it’s not racial. I always figured it was because I was a woman, and sometimes it was just what I wanted anyway. Lively children can interfere with my digestion.
Yes. It is racial discrimination. You obviously have problems with the European-American community, in that you are troubled with them being ‘lily-white’, or having a culture that isn’t to your liking. Have you considered that they may have had a reason, or a thousand reasons, other than some ingrained bigotry?
Were I a Denny employee bent on racial discrimination, my primary concern would not be whether or not these people would be a disruption to our other paying customers, but that they might bail without paying their check. In that case, I would clearly not seat them so close to the door.
Ha!
I thought that exact same thing when I first read the OP. Also that if the (presumed) bigoted reason for keeping black men away from the rest of the patrons, wouldn’t it make more sense to put them way in the back, and not at the front door where they’re RIGHT THERE when people walk in?
Truly I don’t see that there’s any way to determine whether the restaurant employee had either conscious or unconscious discriminatory motives for seating those guys near the door. (Which is not necessarily a bad place to sit; I’m white and it wouldn’t bother me. And if it did and if there were other options, I’d make sure I was seated where I wanted to be.) Not without interrogating the employee, anyway.