"Wilsey's is just the latest high-profile tale of an American who lost her job on account of a viral video. The racism she's accused of is not debatable. In the TikTok video that circulated last week, Wilsey, a 43-year-old white woman, hurled a racist epithet at her customers and declared, "I am racist, and I'll say it to the whole entire world." She gestured to her crotch and added: "Suck it!""
"When I saw the video, I naturally sympathized with the Somali couple. The slurs came at a time when Somali Americans are being persistently targeted in racist attacks from the right, including by President Donald Trump himself. And yet, as repugnant as Wilsey's behavior was, I couldn't help but consider that she was a single mother whose wages helped feed a child."
"Cinnabon was quick to terminate Wilsey's employment and declare that her actions didn't reflect the "values of Cinnabon." Progressives who abhor racism may applaud this move. But as a socialist, I can't easily take the side of a billion-dollar corporation over that of an ordinary worker. (Cinnabon is owned by the Georgia-based conglomerate GoTo Foods, which also owns Auntie Anne's, Schlotzsky's, and many other brands popular in the South.)"
A 43-year-old Cinnabon cashier in Ashwaubenon, Wisconsin, directed racist epithets at a Somali couple on a viral TikTok video, including declaring "I am racist" and making obscene gestures. The couple said the cashier had earlier called the woman's hijab a "witchcraft bandana." The cashier claimed the couple had harassed her but provided no substantiating details. Cinnabon terminated the cashier and stated the actions did not reflect company values; the brand is owned by conglomerate GoTo Foods. The incident prompted public outrage and raised tensions between condemnation of racism and concern for low-wage workers' livelihoods.
Read at The Atlantic
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