Tensions have been high after the presidential election — and, when combined with the stress of the holidays, the result can be pretty distressing. Nowhere was that more evident than on Thanksgiving Eve, when a self-identified Trump supporter went on a tirade against two Black store clerks at a Chicago-area Michael's, claiming they had discriminated against her. The video quickly vent viral, spreading the opposite of holiday cheer across the internet. Now, with a brand-new year (and a Trump administration set to take power in a few weeks), the distressed holiday shopper has now come forward, with her reflection on what went down at the craft store.
Jennifer Boyle sat down with NBC 5 for an exclusive interview about what happened when her "fight or flight kicked in" after she felt discriminated against for her political views. Apparently, what started as a discussion about shopping bags somehow brought up these heightened, post-election tensions — eventually leading the Michael's employee to ask Boyle to leave the store. While she admits that, in retrospect, just leaving the Michael's would've been the best course action, "I felt that I needed to defend myself," she told the local NBC station. "That this wasn't about race, this wasn't about political views, this was about very poor customer service."
Boyle insists that "there's not one bone in my body that is racist or homophobic." However, she's not exactly apologizing for the video, either. "I believe that I stood up for myself," she said. "Everybody is a work in progress, we're all human. I really believe that being above reproach is the way to be from now on." You can watch the full interview over at NBC 5.
This story was originally published on November 28, 2016.
Listen, the holidays are hard. Everyone's family is in town. We're all stressed. That being said, the woman screaming in the middle of an Apple store isn't, like, a role model.
A Chicago-area Trump supporter lost her mind in a dispute over what she calls discriminatory treatment at a local Michaels. We know she was a Trump supporter because she said so multiple times, reminding viewers that Trump had won the election.
Trump supporters' continuous reminders that he won while going on screaming tirades raise the question: What would these people have done if he lost? Even if she hadn't told us about her Trump support, the following question could have tipped us off.
"You're not gonna give me some liberal lecture about who's a human," she told an employee.
Well, then. The dispute apparently happened because the employee tried to sell the customer a reusable bag. Her item was apparently too large to fit inside the paper bag which she requested. As a result, the shopper called the police three times and did a whole lot of yelling.
The woman, who refused to be identified, took issue with the volume at which a Michael's employee was attempting to assist her. She variously said that the employee screamed at her "like she was my friend," "like she was in her living room," and "like she was on the street?!" Emphasis and interrobang firmly the speaker's.
Longtime Esquire writer and actual genius Charles P. Pierce brought the shopper to our attention, joking that she was "the future assistant attorney general for civil rights."
Jessie Grady captured the video at a Michaels location Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood on Thanksgiving Eve and posted it to YouTube. Grady, who is also a white woman, tells Chicago Patch that the woman went on a 30-minute racist tirade.
Grady established a GoFundMe campaign for the Michaels clerk, which has now raised over $12,000 compared to a $400 goal.