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All sorts of odd things are arising from the lockdown that is stretching across the USA.
San Diego was met with the oddest and most alarming choice we have yet to see-a man grocery shopping in a Ku Klux Klan hood.
The man was caught by the Times of San Diego. Citizens and public officials alike responded with disgust at the gesture.
Santee Mayor John Minto said:
"The Sheriff's Department is investigating. I hope they will have more information for us tomorrow."
A man grocery shopping with a KKK hood in Santee, California. The city of Santee has a history of racism & people i… https://t.co/1S4Zj14aey— Stone (@Stone) 1588537166.0
@stonecold2050 What’s next in Trump’s America?! Step by step, they feel more impunity 🤬— Magda K Gadek 🔆🌎🔆 🆘 (@Magda K Gadek 🔆🌎🔆 🆘) 1588538860.0
@stonecold2050 Someone should just run up and pull his hood off.— Clay 🇸🇬😷 (@Clay 🇸🇬😷) 1588555777.0
@stonecold2050 What a buffoon!— Lee M. (@Lee M.) 1588565066.0
@stonecold2050 San Diego county as a whole is as racist and backwardsass as any southern states in the union. Fallb… https://t.co/1wt5YYgI3n— Pink Flamingo (@Pink Flamingo) 1588561802.0
The San Diego City Council and the City Of Santee made a joint statement decrying the mask:
"The citizens and Vons employees took steps to address the situation...Many thanks to all who stepped forward to curtail this sad reminder of intolerance."
"Santee, its leaders, and I will not tolerate such behavior. Santee and its citizens are great, and this particular individual's actions are not representative of us as a people and a wonderful city."
No elaboration was given on what these steps were.
A KKK hood worn openly at a Vons in Santee, CA, near San Diego. The area’s been a hub of white supremacist and sk… https://t.co/I4EO19ITgF— Nico Pitney (@Nico Pitney) 1588474389.0
According to some other threads, he apparently was eventually asked to remove the hood but allowed to finish shoppi… https://t.co/fag00TZZGC— Nico Pitney (@Nico Pitney) 1588534529.0
"But why do you guys call Santee Klantee?" Santee's other claims to fame are the Creationism Museum and being Dun… https://t.co/B0WKYZH2PX— Kragar (@Kragar) 1588552566.0
.@vons Hey! Hey Vons! Yooohoo. Hello there. I live in #Santee. Not shopping at your store if you don’t immediately… https://t.co/SamQtL8y0d— Ida Rose Florez, PhD (@Ida Rose Florez, PhD) 1588564406.0
People in the Santee Neighborhood app were butthurt a couple weeks ago that santee was still being referred to as K… https://t.co/47zf46TypV— c a r m e n 💖 (@c a r m e n 💖) 1588553220.0
However, several eyewitnesses say that the employees of Vons, the grocery store in which the man was shopping, asked him to remove the hood. But they allowed him to continue and finish shopping. Finally, the hood was removed in the checkout area. The man cashed out without wearing a protective face covering.
One customer also reported that others were egging the perpetrator on.
"He was behind me in line. Standing quietly. A man in a wheelchair [went] past and saluted him and he laughed. I took the photo because I couldn't believe what I was witnessing. I've grown up in Santee and have never seen such racism right before my eyes."
You grow up black in San Diego, you know to NEVER go to Santee, Fallbrook, Lakeside, or Lake Elsinore. They are pretty much sun-down towns.— Ashanna Thee Copywriter (@Ashanna Thee Copywriter) 1588566992.0
Saying that “this isn’t the Santee you know and love” is not enough. If you aren’t recognizing that this is the his… https://t.co/qS5l7LN2Yo— kev (@kev) 1588576465.0
This happened in Santee, which when I was growing up had the lovely moniker “Klantee” https://t.co/B68pcKKryM— Sarah Parvini (سارا) (@Sarah Parvini (سارا)) 1588607050.0
the fact that they weren’t kicked out of the store & allowed to finish shopping ???? this is why growing up in / li… https://t.co/fwL4R0lrVe— ris (@ris) 1588555039.0
Hey everybody call the Vons in Santee and ask them why they allowed a customer to wear a KKK hood in there store wh… https://t.co/1touj0nvL0— DAG SAVAGE (@DAG SAVAGE) 1588536209.0
Vons has since released an official statement about the incident.
"At Vons, fostering an environment of courtesy, dignity and respect is one of our highest priorities, and we work hard to hold everyone in our stores to these standards, including customers."
"Unfortunately, an alarming and isolated incident occurred at our Vons store in Santee, where a customer chose an inflammatory method of wearing a face covering. Needless to say, it was shocking."
"Several members of our team asked the customer to remove it, and all requests were ignored until the customer was in the checkout area."
"This was a disturbing incident for our associates and customers, and we are reviewing with our team how to best handle such inappropriate situations in the future."
No word has come on whether the man will face charges.
The book Ku-Klux: The Birth of the Klan during Reconstruction is available here.