Jagmeet Singh Just Responded To The Racist Shoppers Drug Mart Incident Going Viral In BC
A video of an enraged customer shouting at Shoppers Drug Mart employees in Metro Vancouver surfaced on October 28 and has since gone viral. The video shows a woman yelling things such as “speak English in Canada,” “shut up,” and “you’re rude,” repeatedly at staff members of the Burnaby store. The Shoppers Drug Mart racist video has now been removed from Facebook, but not before getting thousands of shares across social media and garnering significant media attention.
This Wednesday, the leader of the NDP of Canada, Jagmeet Singh released a response to the video on Twitter.
"This is very tough to watch. One of the many things I love about Burnaby and all of (Canadian flag emoji) is hearing all the different languages people use - I try to learn how to say ‘Hi’ in as many languages as I can, because it’s beautiful to be around. We need to stand together against hate," the politician wrote.
If you were unable to see the video while it was in circulation, here is a summary. The video begins with a woman shouting at two Shoppers Drug Mart staff who stand behind the sales counter. The altercation had already begun when the individual with the camera started recording.
She shouts at the store employees for "speaking Chinese" in front of her while pointing in their faces. When a third staff member comes out, the scene escalates. She calls him an idiot several times, saying, "You want a manager to talk to me, you bring your manager here. If you want to talk to me, you bring your manager here you idiot! Or go talk Chinese with your other staff and sh*t talk me somewhere else."
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The woman eventually leaves the store with her shopping bags and a young boy, presumably her son, in tow. The internet erupted in response to the video, one of the reactions coming from Jagmeet Singh.
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Singh's tweet has received comments such as "Wow... and I thought Quebec was the only province with a 'On est qu Québec icitte, parle français!'... so sad.. Learning a new language is difficult" in support of his message.
On the other side of the token, there have been responses such as, "In my opinion a national leader should not be participating in any kind of public shaming. Who ever recorded this, was wrong to publish it on the internet without first confronting the woman. Our cameras have made us cowards."
A spokesperson from Shoppers Drug Mart, Catherine Thomas, told Global News that the incident that took place on Monday was both "disappointing and unacceptable, and has absolutely no place in our stores."
She went on to say, “We believe fully in two-way respect between our employees and our customers and were appalled to see that behaviour. We have been in touch with the store, and have offered additional resources and support where required.”
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