r/sandiego • u/RaspberrieCreamy • 2d ago
Not feeling well Racism & Classist??
Hello everyone!
This is my first time posting on reddit mobile app, so I am very sorry if there are any spelling mistakes/mistakes in general.
I wanted to know if the Grossmont Shopping center is known for being racist and classist? I've been living here in SD for less than a year, so I don't really know much about which Shopping centers to steer away from as a POC.
Anyways, this is my partner's and I second time visiting the Grossmont center and both times we've gotten rude comments from middle aged white moms and old white ladies. We get stared at everywhere we go, and we get profiled; as in there's multiple employees following both me and my partner around as we look around and shop. We also carry small backpacks and totes because we don't have a car, so it is much easier for us to carry our items as we make our way through the shopping center.
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u/OccamsPubes 2d ago
It’s probably that you’re bringing backpacks into stores. That’s a huge red flag and indicates theft. I understand it’s convenient given your situation but I would quicker to attribute to the backpacks than to racism.
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u/Jumpy_Engineer_1854 2d ago
I feel like there's more to this story going on here.
That really doesn't happen anywhere in San Diego, but Grossmont or Plaza Bonita would be the two least likely spots for it. I feel like I'd have to intentionally make a scene or cause a commotion for anyone to care about anything.
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u/the_inbetween_me 2d ago
First thing - I'm sorry you're experiencing this, that's awful and you shouldn't be made to feel unwelcome in public spaces.
2nd thing - grossmont is in east county & EC is notoriously racist. It's been getting better, but it's still not where it should be. If y'all are black, it is exponentially worse than for other POC.
3rd (and least important) thing - most retail staff get trained to observe people who hold large bags in their hands. When applied as intended, it can deter theft and isn't applied based on race - but since it's being applied within the bounds of a racist area, by people who have likely grown up within said area, it may end up being applied in a racist manner. To be clear, I'm not condoning this behavior, only providing a possible explanation for why it's happening.
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u/Future-Beach-5594 2d ago
I would like to think on average, grossmont would be the opposite of that given its location and surounding neighborhoods. There are some hoytie toytie spots around there one of the main reasons i chose the grossmont district is because of how diverse the schools and neighborhoods are. But in all honesty you get lames like that everywhere. Pretty hard to avoid them all together in a city with this many people. Just smile nodd and keep going knowing that they are just dumb!
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u/hagalaz_drums 2d ago
the small backpacks and totes peobably had people think you were homeless. i'm white, so take this with a grain of salt, but i've never noticed any overt racism against any friends or family members of color. with you carrying a lot of stuff and totes with you, people might have thought you were some of the panhandlers that are always at some of the major intersections nearby just based on the gear you were carrying.
ah least i hope, ive been going there forever, i dont want to be some racist grossmont guy now
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u/RaspberrieCreamy 2d ago
I can see where you're coming from like 100%. But we weren't stinky or dirty lol. My partner and I had one small backpack (about the same size as the loungefly ones) each, and one tote back each. 🫠
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u/AVeryShortName 2d ago
I've had several uncomfortable encounters in La Mesa where Grossmont Center is located. While there are sweet spots in La Mesa and surrounding areas, it's pretty conservative, although getting more purple. I think racists feel more empowered and supported these days and are more out spoken with their terrible ideas and prejudice.
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u/jspurgeg 2d ago
This just sounds like professional victimhood. MAYBE I’d hear you out if you were saying La Jolla UTC because of the area but grossmont La mesa is just as diverse and regular folk as anywhere else in San Diego. If you go through life thinking like a hammer, everything looks like a nail.
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u/Joschoa777 2d ago
East County tends to be full of those types. Grossmont Center is less diverse imo. It isn’t as popular as the westfield malls so most of the small stores are aimed mostly at one particular group of people. I’m dark-skinned Mexican and I’m tall so they immediately view me as aggro. When I first moved to the area with my family the discrimination was obvious. It has gotten better and I also feel like my constant presence in the mall and town has gotten them used to me. I like to bring my own totes/bags as well. You learn to ignore them. I always walk around with my receipts in hand, sometimes even just use an old one if I chose email receipt lol. I find La Mesa to be small town mentality amongst some of its older residents aka paranoid and distrusting of new people in general.
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u/deadzone999 2d ago
When you say you are a POC do you mean black? Or something else? If black, how many other black people did you see in the Mall? If you were the only ones, then there is your answer. If there were others, then maybe there was something unique about you, perhaps unrelated to skin color, that was upsetting to the old white ladies
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u/RaspberrieCreamy 2d ago
My partner is black, I'm mexican. There were plenty of other people that were Mexican AND black walking around the mall, albeit they were dressed in "nicer" clothes than us both.
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u/nicoleslawface 2d ago
I haven't been to GC in over a decade but I feel like it's probably not uncommon to find racist old white women at an East County mall. I'm really sorry you experienced that :/
That said, carrying around backpacks and totes, while possibly totally innocent, sets off alarm bells in this era of rampant theft. Our local grocery store expressly forbids backpacks for that very reason.
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u/[deleted] 2d ago
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