Activists Angry With Cracker Barrel

[RamboLiberal]

Source: CBS Atlanta

MORROW, Ga. -- Local civil rights leaders are furious with Cracker Barrel over its handling of a racially motivated attack there earlier this month.

In a story that’s getting national attention, Morrow police said surveillance video and witnesses caught a man beating a mother who is also a soldier and calling her racial slurs.

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Activists want to know what the restaurant is going to do to keep customers safe.

They also want to know where the surveillance tape is showing the attack. They believe the company is hiding something.

“There are differing versions of what happened here. We've been told Cracker Barrel employees did not render any aid,” said community activist Derrick Boazman.

Read more: http://www.cbsatlanta.com/news/20991485/detail.html

[badgolfer]

1. CEO of Cracker Barrel

Check out the CEO of this company; he is a big Republican contributor.

Enough said!!

[HillbillyBob]

10. Well that is a good reason not to spend $ there

nt

[Cha]

51. Didn't see that coming..

yeah right.

[MiaCulpa]

2. Cracker Barrel banned the racist for life

Read that this am somewhere. Would the restaurant employees have known what was happening before it was over? Or, sometimes(often, actually) if you have no first aid training, I doubt an employer would allow you to attempt to give aid if you wanted to. The reservist was unconscious for a time, and it may have been best to wait for emergency care.

But usually when I try to give people the benefit of the doubt, they smack me in the face with it.

-Diane

[liberal N proud]

9. I wonder how that is enforceable

With so many of these same floor plan, same food restaurants around the country they could possibly enforce a customer ban.

[Uncle Joe]

57. I imagine it would be difficult to enforce unless they made every employee aware of his photo, but

I believe if nothing else it serves as a symbolic message.

I think as a furtherance of that message they should allow the victim and her daughter to eat at any Cracker Barrel free for life, that should be easy to implement.

[medeak]

34. 2 employees signed police report agreeing with victim

good for them!

[XemaSab]

42. If a restaurant had bodyguards to prevent patrons from being attacked

I DEFINITELY wouldn't eat there.

[Cha]

52. It would be a red flag,

wouldn't it?

[WriteDown]

54. Great point.

Reminds me a bit of Nicaragua where guys with machine guns stand outside fastfood joints.

[Joe Chi Minh]

3. K&R

[customerserviceguy]

4. While I decry the attack, of course, it's not the policy of any place

I know of to get in the middle of a fight between customers. Unless you count bars that hire bouncers.

Yes, it would have been nice if a big burly manager would have stepped up and said, "What's going on here??!!" in a booming voice, but I'm going to guess that the incident started and ended before one could be found and summoned to the scene of the attack.

The surveilance video will be handed over to police, as it should be. The attacker's attorney will get a chance to review it, then if he is worth anything, will convince the attacker to plead guilty to whatever the lowest charge the attorney can negotiate with the prosecutor. Then the victim's attorney will sue the ass off of the attacker, with the video as evidence.

Perhaps a jury will get this, but the public is not the jury. We don't have an absolute right to the tape.

[chaplainM]

12. Well said. n/t

[Raejeanowl]

38. Very Reasonable

One of the few reasonable reactions I've read.

Also, I've been in several Cracker Barrels myself, and know how tightly they're set up. The gift shop through which you enter and exit would be difficult to navigate around with its floor pattern, even if the aisles weren't usually clogged with people. You can't just fly straight to the front door where this took place from the cashier stand or the hostess station, for example, even if you wanted to. The salespeople on the floor are just as likely to be small, middle-aged women. There's no abracadabra solution for instant intervention.

More telling would be, did they call 911? Can't imagine what more they can do to "protect" customers from the next nut that walks in or out, unless it's to hire a full-time security guard for that purpose. If that's necessary, then every business needs its own security guard.

Final thought: What happened was intolerable, but as a Good Samaritan, I can just see myself standing there frozen in shock for too long a moment to be of any use.

[Brickbat]

5. Sometimes employees are encouraged not to, or even forbidden to, give aid. I really doubt that

Cracker Barrel has a policy that says, "If you see a black person getting beat up, just watch, but if it's a white person, jump in and save them."

[IDFbunny]

6. Hero employees get fired frequently.

[morillon]

31. Exactly.

Employees of the big box retailers are told not to interfere but to call police.

[WriteDown]

55. Must be in the secret employee manual.

:)

[HillbillyBob]

7. dupe

dupe

[HillbillyBob]

8. I am mildly surprised that the manager didn't jump in and give a few licks too.

I have not been in a cracker barrel since they acted so badly toward their gay employees, nor do I set foot in any other chain they own.

CBRL owns Cracker Barrel, Ponderosa, and Bonanza (I thought they owned several other brand restaurants too).Someone told me they owned Red Lobster and another too, but I turn up nothing on a google search other than the two named.
Another Place I really don't stop at unless on the road and have little choice is Shoney's I worked there long ago and was let go because they suspected I was gay.
I am, but that is not something I take to work. I thought it was hypocritical since there were several others that were quite a bit more than obvious, I was kitchen help washing dishes and doing salads and soup.

The actions of this miscreant are horrid and he should do some jail time.
The tape should be turned over, since withholding evidence is a crime too.

[customerserviceguy]

15. Red Lobster

is owned by Darden Restaurants, which also owns Capital Grill, Longhorn Steak House, Olive Garden, and Bahama Breeze.

Can't say that I'd ever go to an Olive Garden, since I moved to the land of really, truly wonderful Italian food, but I'd go to the other places, if there weren't a well-recommended place where I was travelling.

[Treo]

11. The best thing the restaurant can do to keep customers safe

Is allow concealed carry in their restaurants

[Nuclear Unicorn]

17. And if they did but the victim was unarmed

how does that change culpability?

[Treo]

20. Doesn't change it at all.

It's still the attacker's fault. But I bet there would have been a different outcome had she been packing

[Nuclear Unicorn]

21. I Want To Say That...

...if she would have been carrying a gun he could have overpowered her and killed her or she would have had to kill him without a moment's forethought or hesitation and that would be a horrible thing for her and her child to have to live with.

That's what I want to say but sometimes it's hard to say that.

It's easier to say this world saddens me.

[Treo]

22. This world saddens me too

But I think it would be a much sadder place if only the wolves were armed and able to defend themselves.

[varelse]

23. What if *he* had been packing?

Are you sure he would have settled for beating her up? Would she even be among the living now?

[Treo]

25. Don't know

But I'd be willing to bet that a guy like that wouldn't pay any attention to a law against carrying anyway. He certainly didn't pay any attention to the law against battery did he?

[twitomy]

32. Reminds me of the Lubys Cafeteria massacre

A woman with her parents in the restaraunt left her gun in the car as she was not allowed by law to bring it in with her. Her parents were killed.

[Treo]

39. Not just her parents

22 (20 more wounded) people four of whom also had firearms in their vehicles. according to the police report, the shooter ran into the back of the restaurant and killed himself after the police fired one shot at him. I am speculating here but had one of the five people that had guns there fired that shot how many lives might have been saved?

[Aristus]

24. Yeah, that was my first thought: 'You know what would have made this situation better? A gun!'

:sarcasm::eyes:

[Treo]

26. Better? No. More even ? yes NT

[varelse]

28. More deadly

and not necessarily for HIM, either.

[rfranklin]

37. Why do you assume you will always be able to use that gun?

And that it won't be turned on you in a fight? If someone wanted to take you out and was experienced, you would be out cold on the ground before you knew what happened.

[Treo]

40. I don't always assume I Will be able to use my gun

However I know W/out question I won’t be able to use it if I don’t have it.

And that it won't be turned on you in a fight?

That might happen but it’s actually very rare and generally only happens when the person W/ the gun isn’t resolved to shoot. I’ve already been there I’ll shoot no questions asked.

If someone wanted to take you out and was experienced, you would be out cold on the ground before you knew what happened.

Possible but again, not likely there was recently an incident in which an armed robber walked into a stop-n-rob, walked right past a customer who was open carrying a single action .44 revolver (Think BFG out in the open) and opened fire on the cashier. Where upon the customer pulled out his hog leg and took the robber out

[Frank Cannon]

47. The best thing Cracker Barrel can do to keep customers safe

Is stop serving their food.

[Treo]

48. +1 NT

[Fastcars]

13. What do they expect....

Do you really expect the part-time cashier making 7-8 bucks an hour to jump in a fight with a raging 6' 2" crazed maniac? Especially considering that often times the only male employee I have ever seen in a Cracker Barrel is the manager.

Giving the company grief over their politics is one thing, but to expect workers at a restaurant to intervene in a fight is a bit much.

[47of74]

43. Espeically given that they don't know

...if the guy is on something (such as meth), or is carrying something (knife/gun). The best thing they can do is just call 911 and summon law enforcement.

[edc]

14. Geez!

This asshole is 6ft. 2in. tall and weighs 230 pounds. He beats the shit out of woman while her four year old daughter watches and the fuss is about whether or not he is a racist? I don't know if he's a racist or not, but he sure as hell is one sorry fucking excuse for a man.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

19. Bravo!

FWIW - My brother is a restaurant manager and his corporation has a strict non-interference policy. It seems if the employees had tried to stop this brute HE COULD HAVE SUED! He could have sued for assault, false arrest, any injuries AND emotional distress.

If Cracker Barrel sat idly by chuckling to themselves while this poor woman was being assaulted I could understand the complaint but what are folks to do?

[varelse]

30. Precisely

He's a sorry excuse for a man, and he is soon to be a convicted felon.

[pipoman]

44. Last I eard he was only charged with misdemeanors and has been released on bail..

[varelse]

58. That's just pathetic

not surprising, unfortunately, but still pathetic.

[shanti]

33. he called her the n word

not once, but several times. there, it's been spelled out - he's a mf'ing racist! :grr:

[edc]

35. Fine.

And I'm sure he hurt this poor woman with his words, but he did a lot more damage with his fists. I have witnessed people hurt others and call them names, and I have seen people hurt others who called them names. What exactly is the difference?

[varelse]

36. When you do both at the *same time*

you're eligible to be charged with a hate crime and go to Federal prison.

[edc]

50. Very well, I concede the point.

Sticks and stones cannot break bones, but they can cause deep pain. We all know this, because we have all suffered it. My point was that taking someone's dignity by abusing that personal physically, with or without the added offense of verbal assault, is worse, but I will not pursue that line of reasoning further.

[Treo]

41. OK does that some how make her wounds hurt more?

IMO any crime is a hate crime

[bluedigger]

16. I think activists need to get real.

Do they expect Cracker Barrel to provide armed security at all its locations? What about every other business in the US? I don't really want to live in a world of armed private security guards at every turn, although it would be a good jobs program, I suppose. The proper action of the staff was to call 911. The decent thing for any human being witnessing the assault would be to intervene, if they felt they could stop the violence. Like any other assault and battery in public, the location is irrelevant. As for Cracker Barrel "hiding something"? The tape would be evidence in the possession of the police, wouldn't it?

Cracker Barrel sucks all on its own merits, but this assault is not their fault.

[liberalmuse]

18. I would have jumped his shit.

I've done so before on a guy who was beating up a woman and dragging her by her hair in a club. I detest men who beat up on women. I also detest racism. Anyone who saw that had a responsibility to stop it.

[bertman]

27. It's always easy to second-guess what others should have done in a situation like that.

Incidents like that usually only last a few (long) seconds and unless someone is close by they may not have even heard the ruckus.

I'll withhold judgment as to what somebody SHOULD HAVE done until we find out what folks actually DID.

Meanwhile, the Police have the tape and we'll know very soon what went down.

[hay rick]

29. Saw the school bus video umpteen times on CNN...

and I don't watch their crap more than 5 minutes at a time. I'm sure CNN has umpteen employees trying to get the Cracker Barrel video...SARCASM, drip, drip, drip.

[theHandpuppet]

45. I wonder how many folks here are familiar with CB's record...

... of blatant discrimination against black and gay Americans. Until very recently it was CB's official policy to fire any employee discovered to be gay. The company also had a lawsuit filed against them by the NAACP. I had posted on this very subject here some years ago but I doubt you could find that in the archives now. Since an acquaintance of mine was fired from CB for being gay (yes, I saw the actual severance letter/form, which gave the reason for his firing as being "homosexual") you couldn't get me to eat there for love nor money. There's a reason they call it the Cracker Barrel.

[IDemo]

49. If I remember correctly, just being suspected of being gay got you a pink slip n/t

[knixphan]

46. The Bill Maher quandary:

How do I avoid a place I would never set foot in anyway?

[DiverDave]

53. Overpriced crappy food

I only ate in one man, musta been in 97
I just don't see the draw.
What with this AND crappy food, they shoulda folded long ago.

[WriteDown]

56. Location....

I've been on many road trips where Cracker Barrel IS the only sit down restaurant choice and I like many others, hate stopping at fast food restaurants . I want a waitress and an actual table.