Was it the color of my skin?

I had quite an experience today. First of all, let me just tell you a little bit about me. I'm a single, African-American mother of one son. I've worked ever since I was legally able to. I graduated from high school and am currently working on my bachelor's degree. I work for a major company...I make pretty good money.

When I first had my son, times were a little rough. Thank God for family and the help from agencies like DHS that helped me out a lot. I was on welfare until I was able to "fair-well" (that's what it's for, right?). I'm not ashamed to admit that.

I had to share that little bit of background information with you in order to bring you up to speed...Now, today I was in the local grocery store, just picking up a few items that I would need for the week. As I approached the checkout, there was another gentleman in front of me. "Hello, sir. How are you today?" the cashier asked. The man responded and they continued on with a friendly conversation about the weather. After the cashier finished ringing up his items, the gentleman pulled out a card to pay for his items. The cashier, Mike, asked the customer, "Credit or Debit?" The gentleman said, "Credit", slid his card, got his receipt and his groceries, they said their goodbyes and the gentleman left the store. I was next...

Well, I didn't get a hello, a smile, a wave...nothing. Horrible customer service right from the start. I never actually made eye contact with Mike, as a matter of fact we had no conversation at all. Mike rang up my groceries in total silence. When he had finished, I pulled out my credit card. This is where the problem began. Mike says, "Bridge card?" I stood there for a minute...another minute...and another. I said, "Excuse me?" He said it again, "Bridge card?" For those of you that don't know what a bridge card is, it is a food stamp/cash assistance card a.k.a welfare card. I didn't say excuse me because i didn't hear Mike, but I said it to give him a chance to realize what he had just said to me. He didn't realize it. Normal procedure is not to ask a customer if he/she has a bridge card, but to ask what type of payment it this. I know this not only because the gentleman in front of me was asked credit or debit, but because I was a cashier for three years. A bridge card is not a standard form of payment. They haven't even been around that long! I asked Mike why did he assume that I had a bridge card. His response to me was, "I don't know, I just asked." Why didn't he ask the gentleman in front of me, the one he held a friendly conversation with, if he had a bridge card? Mike's face turned red and he immediately got defensive. That said alot right there. He explained to me how he wasn't racist and how he has black friends...blah, blah, blah. I then explained to Mike that I had a credit card, I work, I'm a college student and that I actually make too much money to get assistance. I also told Mike that he could return my items to the shelf on his break because I wouldn't be needing them. I went to the manager who blew me off like I had no reason to be offended. Needless to say, I won't be going back to that store nor will my family.

What is wrong with this picture? Was the cashier insinuating that because I was black, I was on welfare? There was no way that I could EVER own a credit card? That had to be EXACTLY what he was doing. Why was this even an issue? Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with a bridge card if you need one, but I was offended that it was assumed that because of the color of my skin I had a bridge card. The way the economy is right now, I wish I could get a little help from somewhere.

If Mike really wants to know who benefits more from the welfare systm, he should read this: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1077/is_n2_v48/ai_12970819 . Mike obviously didn't know...




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