I love ice cream. I shake my fist at anyone who ruins ice cream. In the case of this particular incident, the ice cream was ruined by racism. How dare you ruin ice cream with racism?
Earlier this month at a New Jersey ice cream counter, the mother of a teenage employee told an Asian American customer to "go back to China." The racially charged incident, and subsequent attempts to address and resolve the issue, resulted in a blowup on Facebook and in the local newspaper.
Mother of Scoop Coop employee tells patron to 'go back to China'
Laura Lim, who is Korean American, was at the Scoop Coop ice cream window in East Hanover on July 12 when the employee at the counter gave her "attitude." The mother of the teenage employee, who was seated near the window, heard the conversation and told Lim to "go back to China." Classy, yo.
The incident began when Lim asked the teenage employee for a lid for her ice cream float after the purchase was made. The employee said something to the effect she wished the customer had asked earlier.
Turiansky said ice cream normally rises above the cup lid in a float.
Lim told the employee she "could do without the attitude."
The mother, seated near the window to bring her daughter food, apparently heard the conversation and made the racial comment, both Lim and Turiansky agreed. Turiansky said the comment is on video, recorded via a surveillance camera.
Turiansky was called over from the deli and attempted to make peace but did not apologize to Lim at that time, though he did admonish the worker, whom, he told the Eagle, "is a teenager who can be perceived as having an attitude problem."
As Lim was leaving the ice cream stand in her car, her husband gave "the finger" to the store.
Hell, I would have given more than the finger.
Since the incident, there's been a lot of back and forth between Lim and the Scoop Coop manager about apologies and how the employee would be disciplined, if at all, and/or possible free ice cream. According to the Hanover Eagle, the mother is apparently no longer allowed at the shop.
Meanwhile, shit has gotten a little heated on the Scoop Coop's Facebook page.
Overall, it seems that Lim is dissatisfied about how the whole thing was handled from the very beginning. Can you blame her? She was disrespected in what should have been a safe space -- enjoying the sweet, cold taste of ice cream. Instead, a bad attitude and racial hate. Scoop Coop, are you the kind of establishment that allows racist shit to happen to customers, and does nothing about it? That's bad business.