WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THIS ISSUE IF YOU CAN RELATE?I spent most of my Wednesday in the hood. Southpark to be exact. I left feeling angry for those who live in that community. Not because of the condition of the area but how they're treated by store owners and shopkeepers. What am I rambling on about? Respect.
I've always been told if someone doesn't respect you then you walk away without giving them your power. That's not happening in Southpark and many hoods around the country. Those who call these areas home are in some cases not being respected by those who move in and set up shop. Specifically, I'm referring to 'some' Asian and Arab store owners.
I went to a restaurant owned by an Asian family on MLK today. I noticed there is so little respect for their customers that they don't even offer them a restroom. I decided do a quick survey of the stores in the area. I went to one restaurant and two stores. All of them had blocked off their restrooms from the public. All had signs posted no public restroom. All the stores were owned and or operated by Asians. It's a trend I have seen around Houston and other cities I've visited.
I also noticed there were no people from the community hired to work in these stores. That means the money being spent by African Americans or in some cases Hispanics is not returning to the community at all. It's all on a one way pipeline out of the community.
I can recall while growing up in Baton Rouge, Louisiana most of the stores in my area were owned by Italians and those of the Jewish faith. In those stores there were people from the community who were hired to worked there. People who were Black and White. Not just people from the store owner's families. These store owners gave back.
As a kid I remember Mr. Bonfanti (grocery store owner) giving me gifts on my birthday or Mr. Damati (shoe store owner) sending me balloons when I was hospitalized. I can recall Mr. Sternberg (millionaire owner of Godcheaux's clothing store now Macy's) saying hello every time I saw him.
Now, when I walk into some of these locally owned stores in the Black community the owners are rude and simply don't respect the customers who spend their hard earned money with them. Some don't even take the dang phone off their ear to say thanks for shopping with us. They just reach out their hand and ask for the money.
I don't want you to consider what I'm writing here as racist. I want you to consider it an observation and interpretation by a person who does it for a living. It's what I've seen through my eyes.
Is it a cultural thing? Even if it is, every person from every ethnicity should be respectful of others. But here's where the finger is pointed back at me and my community. I don't think it's completely and totally the fault of these different groups. It's also the fault of the African Americans in those communities who don't demand respect. If you allow people to run over you and you still do business with them, then you likely deserved to be dissed.
In Baton Rouge while I was a radio talk show host and local tv reporter we kicked off a citywide program. It was called 'Recycle Your Black Dollars.' It encouraged African Americans to spend with African American owned businesses. For a short period of time it was a huge success. Black owned businesses were booming in the early 90's. But all good things must come to an end. Some African American store owners wanted to get rich quick. Their competitive edge was lost when they increased their prices so high that those in the African American community simply couldn't afford to do business with them. It would've been financial suicide for many families. That caused a lot of the businesses to go under. All that was left standing were their buildings. An effort to recycle Black dollars had died a quick death. Many of the Black businesses in the Black community dissipated.
That takes us back to 'some' of the current minority store owners. They have very cheap and competitive prices. Most Black owned businesses can't and won't compete with them because of their volume in sales and lack of overhead. That left them cornering the market in the hood. And when you control the market you answer to no one even your customers. The people you don't even respect enough to allow them to use the restroom in your business.
What's my solution to this? Those who live in these communities like Southpark should demand respect. Those who come in just to make a buck should also give that respect and hire people from the community or their customers should go elsewhere!
I agree with you about the no respect as well...and I believe it is cultural/ ethnic perhaps. I am caucasion and I notice this treatment or disrespect, I believe from some of the same owners...The times I go into some of those stores, I feel as though I do not belong...I feel this way in some stores/ shops owned by arabs...very uncomfortable and I can tell, I am not appreciated or wanted in there. There is a store, or was a store that sold clothing to arab women...i was curious about the clothing. I went into the store and was treated very rude! I was shocked but at the same time to some degree, not surprised after thinking about it. I have been in some of the places where the restrooms are closed off. I think maybe there could be lack of cleanliness by the store owners. I also notice they do not hire from within their community where their store is located. I believe that while our city is very diverse, there is a big divide within/ between cultures. I have attended events of arab people, and notice that the women will not speak to me..it is as if i am from another planet. So, I have decided to not attend any of the events around town at all....it is a shame because we should be closer as a community as a whole. Thanks for the great story and insight!
ReplyDeleteThis is one of the most ridiculous blogs ever. I don't even know where to start, but I will begin by putting things into context first. What is really going on is far greater than just a matter of respect. What you should have done is expand on this culture thing that you just briefly mentioned, and opted out of talking about how the people in SouthPark deserve respect when they go into a store.
ReplyDeleteFirst, I have been into stores owned by Asians and have received very good customer service. In fact 90% of the stores owned by Asians give me good customer service. Now, I live in 3rd ward and when I go into stores in 3rd ward the level of customer services changes. Why is that Isiah? Why would a shopkeeper or gas station owner treat customers in 3rd ward or South park differently. It could have something to do with the area, or his/her clientele. Asian store keepers in River Oaks do not have to worry about their store being robbed, or someone stealing their merchandise. I have been in stores in South park and 3rd Ward and have seen drug addicts, homeless people, and individuals that are generally not polite people, for whatever reason.
The fact that is is an Asian or Arab owned store means nothing, because when you take those individuals out of a rough area those same people are very pleasant and customer service oriented. I am not sure what you mean by respect, it is not a matter of respect.
Your post was a poorly thought out ramble, that had absolutely no substance.
These neighborhoods are rough neighborhoods, who sometimes have rough people come in, who sometimes have an average looking person rob them at a higher rate than they would if the owner was in another neighborhood. The reaction of the store owners in these areas is human nature, a result of their environment, which is not peaches and candy. What you should have talked about is why the city is not cleaning up these neighborhoods, or why there are not more African American store owners.
I hope in the future your blogs have a little more meat to it, than just a valid observation that is not thought through.
Isaiah I'm really glad you wrote about this problem. Its a situation that must be address in the black community. We should open our own businesses and send these people a mesage.
ReplyDeleteGreat post. I've seen this happen a lot in the Fifth ward which is my community. As you said if people don't patronize them then they wouldn't be so disrespectful. That's why I always go to major stores if I can.
ReplyDeleteI think Isiah's observation is correct. I live in California and we experience the same rudeness from Asian owned businesses.
ReplyDeleteI also work with a lot of Asians and culturally many of them are rude...but as a business owner if you choose to exploit communities of color--the expectation is you should provide some level of customer service.
Do not use the excuse that they are being robbed, it's a dangerous neighborhood or their customers are rude-they know what the neighborhood was like when they set-up shop.
As someone who doesn't always agree with you, I do have agree that this can be a problem. The convenience store in my building is owned by a Vietnamese woman, and the way she treats me is better than the blacks who come in. She'll be helping me at the counter, but when a black person comes in, she'll have to look past me to keep an eye on them - she doesn't trust them. I think that once they come in several times, she starts to trust them a little more, but if she doesn't know you, you get the eye the whole time. Apparently this is a cultural / racial thing between them and blacks.
ReplyDeleteAs for hiring locals, that would be nice, but there is that same mistrust of blacks by Asians. Also, their culture tends to revolve around their extended families, and they hire their own family first. With both of these factors, I don't see a change coming soon.
I am black, my grandfather owns a service station in south park, and he does not allow patrons to use the bathroom (black, white, or blue). I've never asked him why because I don't think it's a big deal. I used to work in retail and people left bathrooms filthy...crap (literally and figuratively all over the place). You yourself mister Carey admitted to flushing the toilet, letting it flood over, and not telling any one; and who knows when they found out about the mess? Maybe after several people went in and added dirt to the floor; so now there is mud, wet toilet paper, AND water all over the place. I wouldn't want to deal with that as a business owner. Who are you that everyone should trust you at face value? SO what if they are watching you, your role is to do what you came in to do, not do anything wrong, and leave. I don't know about hiring practices and I don't know anyone who has applied to work at the stores you mention but I have a friend who is over hiring and she tells me that people come in, apply for jobs, and when she offers them the job they turn it down because it doesn't pay enough money for them. A Pakistani man owns a liquor store next door to my grandfather's service station and he approached my mom and asked if she would talk to the customers...apparently someone parked in his parking lot, he asked that person to move, and the person called him a bitch. I wouldn't be in such a good mood if I had to go to work and be called a bitch because I asked someone to move their car off my property. The man's exact words were, "I just asked him to move his car a little bit and he called me a bitch". Shoot I worked in retail and I watched everyone; it had nothing to do with respecting them or not. Thieves look like regular people! I have never felt disrespected by anyone whether they spoke, followed me, or whatever. I generally speak and smile at most people I come in contact with and if they don't say anything back, who cares. Maybe they're having a bad day, and in retail, a bad day can mean someone was shot in front of your store, in front of your kids...your store had to be closed for hours while police investigated the scene so you lost money...etc...That's your livelihood...it's a convenience store, conveniently walk in get what you came for and leave.
ReplyDelete"Honestly, this is easily solved. Mr. Elijah Muhammad taught "do for self or suffer the consequences." Nothing prevents us from stopping this tomorrow except our unwillingness to unite and pool our resources. It can be and must be done. Until we do, we will keep having these types of experiences. Peace"
ReplyDeleteWho's going to keep these stores open if all those "rude Arabs and Asians" move out? It's not like they invaded and took the stores by force. And I find it hilarious that you think you're not racist for singling people out...by race. Yeah, let's shut down all those dirty foreigners. Where will you buy your grape soda then?
ReplyDeleteSomeone needs to call the Health
ReplyDeleteDept if restaurants aren't providing restrooms to customers. That's just crazy.
"Powerfully put", Isiah. The refusal to do for self and do business with our own kind is why they don't respect us. Charity is supposed to begin at home and THEN spread abroad. We are the only community that spends with those from abroad and virtually nothing with our own. It is the result of a sad mental and spiritual state. Our people must be taught better and FORCED to do better. Those who set up shop must also be FORCED to give back. Elijah Muhammad also said that once the white supremists got done sucking the blood of the poor, the Asians would come in and suck the marrow from the bone. We must restore the financial blood in the Black community by supporting our own and making those who do business on the block respect us, even as we struggle with self-hatred and self respect. Thanks Isiah. Your point is duly noted.
ReplyDeleteVERY good post!
ReplyDeleteMaybe if some of the patrons of these establishment had manners and didn't behave like they were staight out the jungle a little respect would be shown. Your comparison of the way it was when you were coming up and the way it is now is pointless. Back in that day peoples had their manners intact.
ReplyDeleteThose who set up shop must also be FORCED to give back.If it's "forced," it's not giving back. It's theft.
ReplyDeleteElijah Muhammad also said that once the white supremists (sic) got done sucking the blood of the poor, the Asians would come in and suck the marrow from the bone.And hey, why not rely on the rantings of a racist polygamist ex-convict?