According to the Daily News Journal, a waitress at Cheddar’s in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, posted a racist complaint on Snapchat. When the employer found out, the waitress was fired. And that’s as it should be. But there’s more.
Chelsea Mayes is a senior in college. She’s studying business administration and holding down two jobs. She and four friends, all in college or recent graduates, stopped at Cheddar’s after church. She says the waitress talked and joked with them. They laughed together and had a good time. Mayes and her friends were pleased with her service and left a generous tip.
The Racist Post
A few hours later, one of the group saw the waitress’s post on Snapchat:
“I’m so hung over and have a section full of n** right now.”
The friend passed it on to Mayes. Ms. Mayes questioned her own perceptions. Did the post reflect what the waitress thought the whole time she was serving them? Might she have done something to their food? And she got angry. But she didn’t stay there. Instead, she posted her thoughts on Facebook.
After telling the story, she wrote that a couple of years ago she might have returned to the restaurant and “flipped it upside down.”
Instead, she wrote:
This n** is pretty nice. This n** actually enjoyed your company. This n** is praying for you. This n** loves you and there’s nothing you can do about it.
Racism never died & I believe it more now than ever. pic.twitter.com/oHMBTzkJaZ
— ? (@CallMeDimplezz) July 25, 2016
TMI
One odd thing about social media is that people share all kinds of details about their lives that we otherwise would never know. But this Snapchat post is wrong on so many levels. How stupid is it to tell the world that you have a hangover at work? Why would anyone post that photo thinking it was attractive? And when will people learn that when you post something on social media, it’s out there for anyone to see, including your employer?
The Good News
It’s good to know that a 22-year-old college student has the restraint and the spiritual maturity to respond to hate with love. Chelsea Mayes, you’re my hero.
Something similar happened the other day. Donald Trump tweeted in response to Cory Booker’s Monday night speech:
If Cory Booker is the future of the Democratic Party, they have no future! I know more about Cory than he knows about himself.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 26, 2016
In an interview on CNN, Booker responded,
Let me tell you right now. I love Donald Trump. …I don’t want to answer his hate with hate; I answer it with love. I’m not going to answer his darkness with darkness. I love him. I know his kids; I know his family. They’re good—the children especially.
Wouldn’t it be great to see more Chelsea Mayes and Cory Bookers in the world?
