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Comedian and writer Milly Tamarez has spoken out about her experience being racially profiled while at a gift shop in Massachusetts.
Tamarez was in the town of Great Barrington when the incident occurred at a shop called One Mercantile.
Tamarez says she was the one who wanted to go to the shop in the first place because she had done research on vintage stores in the area.
I never do this type of thing, but if you are ever in Great Barrington Massachusetts, do not go to One Mercantile.… https://t.co/vL8kfANc8S— Whacktose Intolerant (@Whacktose Intolerant) 1552922486.0
I researched ahead of time and saw an article from Vogue magazine of places with what we should visit when we are t… https://t.co/YRpONJsIxu— Whacktose Intolerant (@Whacktose Intolerant) 1552922487.0
Things went awry as she browsed the shop's selection of scented candles.
And made my friends go there. When we get there, the shop had all these interesting knick knacks and plates, and it… https://t.co/u4axvjbcpd— Whacktose Intolerant (@Whacktose Intolerant) 1552922487.0
there was a lot of the scent combinations that I never heard of, and to be honest, I do this everywhere with candle… https://t.co/ylWdwlVNE9— Whacktose Intolerant (@Whacktose Intolerant) 1552922487.0
about it and continued walking around the store and caught up with my friends. I showed them the candle and asked w… https://t.co/CeOGqWOzvD— Whacktose Intolerant (@Whacktose Intolerant) 1552922487.0
an ungodly amount of time and an embarrassing amount of money there. Have a huge problem shopping and it is very e… https://t.co/OKdz1HoFW5— Whacktose Intolerant (@Whacktose Intolerant) 1552922487.0
No candle would. I set the candle down and continued walking around but I felt the two store employees (a man and a… https://t.co/Uuge2yvvqQ— Whacktose Intolerant (@Whacktose Intolerant) 1552922487.0
Tamarez's fears of being watched were confirmed by the shop owner, who accosted her.
Even when I went up to the register to look at the products they said nothing. Me and my friends were headed toward… https://t.co/CrQQrLTehf— Whacktose Intolerant (@Whacktose Intolerant) 1552922488.0
When he went back the register I talked to my friend. “Hey is it me or are we being watched?” My friends confirmed… https://t.co/NJ481N4mlj— Whacktose Intolerant (@Whacktose Intolerant) 1552922488.0
said “Hey do you have that candle you picked up?” “No I put it down” I said. “Can you show me where you put it?” T… https://t.co/ltkxIw3SM7— Whacktose Intolerant (@Whacktose Intolerant) 1552922488.0
But the candle was right in front of the shop owner's eyes the whole time.
I went right to the area to where I left the candle and the candle was actually at the FUCKING COUNTER THEY WERE ST… https://t.co/Y2OEXcbNTY— Whacktose Intolerant (@Whacktose Intolerant) 1552922488.0
Tamarez then began to question her own response to the situation, wondering what she could have done differently.
She believes, however, that there is no excuse for the way she was treated.
I keep thinking about what I could have done differently. Maybe I shouldn’t have picked up and sniffed so many cand… https://t.co/UUYeSz105Z— Whacktose Intolerant (@Whacktose Intolerant) 1552922488.0
people treat you like shit for the color of your skin and make it feel like it’s your fault. And look, I love small… https://t.co/H8z0rpPkYM— Whacktose Intolerant (@Whacktose Intolerant) 1552922488.0
She notes that the shop owners could have handled the situation differently.
business owner can bring a family but this ain’t it. If they were really concerned about me stealing they could hav… https://t.co/ZFTqV3RhyZ— Whacktose Intolerant (@Whacktose Intolerant) 1552922489.0
“Did you want me to ring that up for you?” All of those things would be problematic but at least it would still hav… https://t.co/g9hePOh45l— Whacktose Intolerant (@Whacktose Intolerant) 1552922489.0
I go to yoga at least twice a week, I live in WILLIAMSBURG, and I have spent lots of money on “crystals” (rocks) th… https://t.co/kYSr81782Q— Whacktose Intolerant (@Whacktose Intolerant) 1552922489.0
the brand story of any of the candles or the sustainability of their 40 dollar salad bowls I would have bought so m… https://t.co/Dck1evle5C— Whacktose Intolerant (@Whacktose Intolerant) 1552922489.0
She says that for the first time in a long time, she felt "ashamed" about her skin color and that the tense situation did not defuse once she left the store.
stop crying. My friends were visibly upset and shaken too, and I began to feel every more ashamed because my Asian… https://t.co/BB3hIFm07t— Whacktose Intolerant (@Whacktose Intolerant) 1552922489.0
I was ashamed of my black skin. TALK ABOUT TAKING HOME A UNIQUE GIFT. I couldn’t stop crying so much so that the wo… https://t.co/vPjzEfQKyg— Whacktose Intolerant (@Whacktose Intolerant) 1552922490.0
“I just want you to know we do that all the time to everyone, people steal from us all the time” This woman was rea… https://t.co/dVRT1lcPmn— Whacktose Intolerant (@Whacktose Intolerant) 1552922490.0
"No one checked in on us and asked if we were okay," she said.
no one checked in on us and asked if we were ok. They just saw a white woman aggressively talk to a group of women… https://t.co/jWKjHhTcWh— Whacktose Intolerant (@Whacktose Intolerant) 1552922490.0
The whole time this woman was arguing with us outside at least 15 people walked in her store. All white people, and… https://t.co/0bXF7FC2x9— Whacktose Intolerant (@Whacktose Intolerant) 1552922490.0
This happened in Mass, a “blue” state. These are people who replace dryer sheets with wool dryer balls and scoff at… https://t.co/Y4W8CHh5xG— Whacktose Intolerant (@Whacktose Intolerant) 1552922490.0
Then it became crystal clear to me why the store owner was outside. It wasn’t to check in on me or apologize for ba… https://t.co/EsbGtOe84N— Whacktose Intolerant (@Whacktose Intolerant) 1552922491.0
concept of white people wanting absolution for their guilt, and I even made a satire site based off of it (shout ou… https://t.co/rkrv6NS9cf— Whacktose Intolerant (@Whacktose Intolerant) 1552922491.0
Many responded to Tamarez with words of support.
@MillyTamarez @MikeDrucker I live about 15 minutes south of Gt. Barrington, it used to be a cool town, but it becam… https://t.co/AF4TV2fZNT— Devin's Groundhog (@Devin's Groundhog) 1552946503.0
@MillyTamarez I’m grew up in that area, and I am so sorry you had to experience that. No excuses for that shit.— Jackron (@Jackron) 1553031179.0
@MillyTamarez I've seen so many of my brown and black friends have to go through something similar and it makes me… https://t.co/0ppkd8XDyw— Kate Moran (@Kate Moran) 1553001480.0
@MillyTamarez This is a terrible thing to have to deal with. I am glad you at least had friends with you to offer s… https://t.co/iIluFv4v6C— Steph Widman (@Steph Widman) 1552976095.0
One Mercantile did respond eventually and apologized.
@MillyTamarez I want to take a moment to thank you for posting this and to convey to you and those the story of you… https://t.co/mskrFh7ynu— One Mercantile (@One Mercantile) 1553018460.0
@MillyTamarez resulted directly in your hurt and humiliation. We also understand that our reaction in the moment wa… https://t.co/04EFWLQNTy— One Mercantile (@One Mercantile) 1553018467.0
@MillyTamarez an opportunity for open conversation. It has been eye opening to see how easily our approach to store… https://t.co/a9m4g2Twxz— One Mercantile (@One Mercantile) 1553018515.0
@Jenni8Z All we can say is that we agree- we need to do better. This was a really painful error and eye opening to… https://t.co/vvWLxfPZMA— One Mercantile (@One Mercantile) 1553130505.0
The store later clarified to another social media user that its staff reached out to Tamarez directly before making a public statement.
Tamarez has not elaborated further nor confirmed the store's claim.