Black woman wins casino jackpot. White bank employees won't cash it for her.

Pugh persisted. She would not leave without the check. And eventually, the bank gave it back to her. She successfully deposited it at another bank, where the check cleared the next day.

"I was really, really nervous," Pugh recalled of those first few moments back in her car in the bank parking lot. "I had to sit there for a minute. I took a picture of the bank. I had no idea what the address was or anything like that. And then I left."

It was Pugh's niece, 50-year-old Yolanda McGee, who convinced her to file a lawsuit. Initially, Pugh was adamantly opposed to taking legal action, convinced nothing would change.

But her niece insisted. Her aunt had been hurt, humiliated, disrespected, said McGee, who remembers her aunt crying on the phone with her after the bank incident, asking how a blessing like a jackpot winning could turn into something so hurtful.

"I told her, 'This clearly was a violation of your civil rights. There are laws in place now, where you can fight. Let's fight this,' " McGee recalled telling her aunt. "Fifth Third Bank needs to know that they humiliated you. What they did was wrong. And they need to answer for this."

But her aunt was scared, McGee said. The incident had rattled her. She got nervous going into businesses after the encounter at the bank, fearful that something bad might happen. Then there were bad memories to contend with. Pugh had experienced racism in the past, and nothing was ever done. People got away with horrible things before. What had changed now?

But McGee wouldn't let it go.

"I encouraged her. I said, no, no, no, no, no. We are not in 1950s Alabama. We're not in the Jim Crow era. We are gonna fight. No one's gonna shame you," said McGee, who helped her aunt find a lawyer with experience in just these kinds of cases: Deborah Gordon.

In 2020, Gordon handled a case similar to Pugh's. One of her clients – a Black man – had won an employment discrimination lawsuit, but the bank wouldn't cash his settlement check. So Gordon sued the bank, which issued an apology and settled the case confidentially.

Gordon described these incidents as "Banking while Black."

"What happened to Lizzie was really a heartbreaking situation," Gordon said. "Given what she has lived through – and to have a happy moment, something she enjoyed, be ruined by being humiliated?"

It's something Gordon has seen one too many times.

"This is just extremely disheartening," Gordon said. "It’s really unfortunate these stereotypes continue to exist right here in our metro area." Old wounds open up

Pugh was born and raised in Alabama against the backdrop of the Jim Crow era, where racism was tolerated, even celebrated in some parts, with children like Pugh being forced to live in fear and humiliation.

Pugh moved to Detroit in 1971 at the age of 20. She spent 36 years working for the Detroit public schools, holding numerous jobs over the years, including library clerk, shipping and receiving, supervisor and storekeeper. She retired in 2009 and has two grown sons.

Though it has been decades since she left Alabama, she still can't talk about her childhood without choking up.

"Don't cry," her niece told her one recent summer day, as Pugh recalled her initial encounters with racism.

"I was 12," she recalled. "I went to buy some candy."

And then the tears came. Pugh was scolded that day by the store clerk's husband for not addressing his wife as he deemed fit.

"He jumped all over me. He said, 'You use 'Yes, ma'am, No, ma'am,'" she recalled.

Then there was the fear of going to school. Pugh said she and her siblings went to one of the first desegregated schools in Alabama. She remembers stones being thrown at her and her siblings, and being taunted her first day in class. She was the only Black student, and her chair was pushed against a wall far from the others, and the students started beating on her table.

"I was never taught racism," Pugh said. "I didn't use it or think much of it."

Oh, but ain't that America?

Fuck 'em. Close out the account at the old bank. Start a new one in a new bank (even better if it's a rival bank). Cash and deposit the check at the new bank.

All black people should remove their money from this racist bank.

In fact, all POC should do that.

EVERYONE should pull their money from this bank.

She should have used the ATM to deposit it. No teller to hassle with and they really don't pay attention to what gets deposited there unless it bounces or it really is fraudulent and someone makes a fuss.

This is horrible but black people continue to be our own worse enemy. In the article someone suggests that it’s shocking that negative stereotypes still exist about black people in Detroit.

What? Detroit is a poster child for the decay and decline of once-grand cities that have been ruined by violent black hood rats. Unfortunately, black people who appear lower class will experience acts of racism like this because the vast majority of lower class black people will not be depositing five figure checks lawfully.

I am black but I have never once been accosted when depositing large checks (the largest was $30k) or really had any other issues when shopping at high end stores (Brunello Cucinelli, Tod’s, Ermenegildo Zegna, etc). I look the part. Blacks people who look the part aren’t experiencing these sorts of problems.

Of course that doesn’t excuse the blatant form of racism and classism that this lady experienced, but I resent the suggestion that all black people are constantly experiencing all of this racism in our day-to-day.

I got a job at Fifth Third Bank and went through training. Seemed like a nice enough place.

Was placed at a branch and the managers were holy rollers who expected us to pray all the time. One day I was told my job was in danger because I would not join the hold hands and pray circle. And we're worried that you might be a sinner in other ways, they said. Becky thinks you might be a homosexual.

I walked out that second and never looked back. Never got my last check either.

But probably most banks would do that, sadly. Unless she went to a bank with black managers and staff.

*do that to her

Are you serious, R8?

That is discrimination, and you could have fucking sued them for that.

Gambling is a sin, Sister.

[quote]black people continue to be our own worse enemy.

[quote]I am black

And I am the Queen of England (in addition to: oh, dear).

[quote] Gambling is a sin, Sister.

It was a "church outing."

Rofl!!!

R10 I know that now, but it was one of my first jobs, and I was losing my place as well (crazy roommate, had to move out) so I just packed it in and moved back to where I'd started out from.

Good to hear the well behaved darkies are doing okay. R7

R7 Right on. I am Syrian muslim and live in Monte Carlo. Muslims are our own worst enemy. Our migrants bring down every European city we invade. But I look the part of a jet settee so I lunch at the casino, ski St Moritz, and buy expensive furs every year. People treat me with respect at all the luxury bootiks and I can deposit high sums in any bank. If only my muslim brothers weren't raping everyone and throwing acid around they could have respect too and eat jewels from a porcelain bowel like my dear friend Mel Trump.

Friend of mine is a white girl who is dating a black man. He served in the military and had high level security clearance.

Friend bought a few cans of mushroom soup from Aldi. They tried one, didn't like it and so she asked if her boyfriend could go return it even though they didn't have their receipt anymore. He went to do so and they wouldn't give him his money back. The can of soup was $1.89. A few days later, my white friend took the same can back to the same Aldi and got her money back, no questions asked. This was in Southern California, BTW.

This shit happens every single day.

LMAO at R7.

R7 is fucking with us, right????

The only time I've ever had banks call to question an employee's pay check is for my black employees. It's maddening. Never had one call asking about a white employee's check

I don't fault the bank employees for checking but they should be able to discern the validity of a check rather quickly.

That's really sad and depressing, R19.

And I'm not even black.

I’ve been held up, phone calls made, managers called, waited half an hour to withdraw a large sum in the form of a cashier’s check that had been deposited to my account.

R17 lol that totally happened.

R7.

I’m not a fan of lawsuits In most cases but I Hope she wins big time. Fuck that bank.

Yawn. Blacks commit more crimes than any other group. If they don’t want to be questioned they need to clean up their community. They brought this on themselves.

It did, r23

Typical Dl'er, R3. This was not her "old bank". She went there to pen an account and deposit the check. Why don't you read before commenting?

My first job was processing deposits at a bank. If there was any issue, we were instructed to call the issuing bank and ask if there is sufficient funds to process. If there was, then we would continue the deposit and process it. It’s been decades since then so I’m not sure if you can call a bank directly but I’m pretty sure there are ways to verify it. In the rare instance we could not verify it or it was missing something required (e.g. a signature), it would be returned to the depositor.

r7 in the *Why did Hillary Clinton lose in 2016?* thread:

[quote]She’s an unlikeable, arrogant, condescending, corrupt, screeching, controlling, manipulative, lying bitch. She was too divisive a candidate in 2016 versus Trump who was seen as a non-politician and a breath of fresh air by voters.

r12 Wouldn't be too quick to dismiss him. I've met a quite a few younger (30-35 y/o) black men and women who have expressed similarly frustrated and conservative views yet don't support the Republican Party.

R7, you look the part, what? She is a grandma, looks like a grandma and unlikely to be dressed and talking like a hood rat, yet she still got treated that way.

What is the deal about just taking the check, if it bounces, then thats when you call somebody? Dont banks put a hold on it until check clears?

[quote]Why don't you read before commenting?

I'm not R3, just to be clear from the outset. Further, it's from that birdcage liner [italic]USA Today[/italic] and behind a paywall, so all I could see was the headline and bullet-point summary. However, my guess is that Ms. Pugh had a checking or other account at Fifth Third (ironic name for this story given the Constitution's calculation that a black person is 3/5ths a "free individual"). What's infuriating is that a bank like Fifth Third has complete access to the Fed's check clearing system and could verify the validity of the check in under a minute if, indeed, there actually was a question as to the check's provenance, but I think we call know that it had little to do with the check and everything to do with the depositor.

[quote]And I am the Queen of England (in addition to: oh, dear).

Oh Dear! There is no such thing as the Queen of England, as England is not a separate sovereign state since the early 1700s.

Fuck them. Deserve to be sued. Very easy to call the casino or the bank that issued the check to verify.

First the story says she wanted to DEPOSIT the check. But then it says she wanted to CASH it. There's a HUGE difference. NO bank is going to give you a large amount of cash based on an unverified check. Even if you have a cashier's check from another bank, they will put a hold on it for five days or more (depending on the amount.)

R32, I am not excusing the bank employees. They were wrong.

But this lady does not look someone who would be depositing such a large check. My mom is a 69 year-old black woman of means with multiple large sum bank accounts and a fat retirement income. She has never experienced any issues when depositing large checks.

The most racist thing my mom ever experienced was when my parents hired a tree trimming service and a blue collar white man showed up asking if the “lady of the house” was available. That was certainly ignorant, but it was also in the mid-90s in any area where not many blacks lived, so he could be forgiven for assuming my mom wasn’t a maid or something.

[quote] But this lady does not look someone who would be depositing such a large check

It clearly said CASINO JACKPOT, with the Casino logo on it.

All the bank had to do was call the Casino's accounting department for verification.

But, no. They didn't want to cash it for her. BECAUSE SHE IS BLACK.

Give me a fucking break.

The entire.story is posted, R33.

Whoa r37, its almost like you are saying regular black folk can only be expected to be treated with dignity and respect if they are well dressed and rich. Its like you are saying, Im black but not that kind of black.

r37-- You're so forgiving of racism, Black Millennial! So very big of you.

I'm know there are black people who fall into the racist line of thinking that all black people are "violent black hood rats" like R7. Surrounded by the constant stream of racism, it's easy to become a victim of and believing it oneself. My experience is that when confronted with the reality of it all, people like R7 end up admitting their own racist perceptions and correct themselves. Not always, but I've witnessed it myself repeatedly.

And that's why I used the colloquialism of "and I am the Queen of England". It's not only obvious that I am not Betty Deuce, but using it in the universally accepted sarcastic reply used when someone is, shall we say, making things up. It is therefore not subject to DL's "oh, dear" admonition.

[quote] this lady does not look someone who would be depositing such a large check.

Appearances can be deceiving, R7. "Judging a book by its cover" is another idiom with which you should become familiar.

R36, the issue is not whether she was depositing or cashing the check. No one disputes that banks will hold a large check before releasing the funds, sometimes for days, to verify that the check is legitimate and the funds are available.

The bank employees at this bank insisted that the check was fraudulent immediately. They did not make any attempt to verify the check and had no reason to suspect that it was fraudulent. A total of 3 employees told her the check was fake, and refused to give it back, claiming the were required to confiscate it. That's obviously not true since they relented and gave it back after she threatened to call 911.

It's obvious that this isn't a simple case of routinely holding a large check before releasing funds, this bank all but accused her of committing fraud and tried to steal her check under false pretenses. How did you miss all that and feel the need to post your theory like this was a just a misunderstanding? What exactly is your point?

r43 I just detest inaccuracy in reporting. Was she trying to deposit it or cash it?

[quote] Pugh still gets emotional

I can't get emotional. I have had sufficient.

R7/37 is just a classist snob who blames anyone who's not as wealthy and privileged as he is for their problems. I don't know if R7/R37 is black, millennial, or from Mars for that matter, but they have a cruel and callous attitude for people less fortunate than them, and that's never a sign of good character, let alone wisdom or emotional intelligence.

Tl;dr: ignore the troll. They feed on attention.

No, R40. Everyone should be treated with dignity and respect regardless of socioeconomic status.

But black people are often looked at with suspicion because of how many black people act, including blacks disproportionately high rates violent and petty crime.

I’m stating that this narrative of black victim hood and oppression doesn’t solve the root cause of why black people experience these examples of racism at much higher rates than Asians, Hispanics, or Middle Easterners. It’s because of negative black stereotypes.

[quote]And we're worried that you might be a sinner in other ways, they said. Becky thinks you might be a homosexual.

Gee, you suck Becky's boyfriend's wiener and all hell breaks loose.

R44, wtf does it matter? You might as well be asking if she endorsed the check before handing it over, or entered the bank's parking lot through the exit lane. It's beside the point. The woman was accused of fraud and almost lost what was rightfully hers, all because 3 separate people with a tiny amount of power decided a black woman couldn't possibly have that kind of money. The story is about blatant racism and you're fixated on semantics in the reporter's writing. Let it go.

[quote] I just detest inaccuracy in reporting. Was she trying to deposit it or cash it?

I agree R44 about the inaccuracy. Also, was this asswipe excuse for a bank where she already had an account? As a WASP, I would never have tried to open a new account at a new bank with a largish check from a casino.

Oh FFS, calm the fuck down you knee jerk idiots. It isn't racism, it's standard bank procedure in 2022..

I just closed an account at Fulton bank and deposited the funds in my account at BofA. They told me that, because of the amount of the check ($50k), it would take a week to clear. One week. It was a bank check too, not some bogus, sketchy check from a fucking casino. This is commonplace now due to the massive amount of fraud banks deal with on the daily.

Oh, but keep on calling anything and everything you don't like "racist".

[quote] They told me that, because of the amount of the check ($50k), it would take a week to clear. One week. It was a bank check too

They totally took your money and lent it to Venezuela while depriving you of your money. One born every day.

^Tell it to BofA, fool. They don't GAF. You wait for your money to clear at any bank now. You'd know that if you had any.

R18 I don't know, but you type like a child.

R51 Uh oh, feeling a little butt hurt? You seem overly sensitive.

The number of people jumping to defend the institution is boggling. Can you for one second even consider the possibility that institutional bias and racism exist - or that, God forbid, that you open yourself up to the thought that not everyone shares your privilege?

R56 It's the same 3 or 4 people who 100% cannot admit it, and they are furious.

R52, the receiving bank doesn't "have" the money until the check clears. It remains at the sending bank until such time. Again, you'd know that if you ever deposited a sizable sum....something a great deal more than your fast food paycheck.

[quote]She should have used the ATM to deposit it. No teller to hassle with and they really don't pay attention to what gets deposited there unless it bounces or it really is fraudulent and someone makes a fuss.

Are you so fucking white and stupid that you are actually offering this as a SOLUTION??

You are an asshole!

R58 You're not very bright dear.

What's truly boggling, R56, is that standard bank procedures have been explained to you, in simple terms, and you still don't get it. No one cares what color you are. Check funds will be held. Period.

R8 First Third Bank investigated for multiple cases of fraud (2020)

R61, they said the check was fraudulent, not that funds were being held. Fraudulent. That’s a huge difference, but thanks for the banking lesson. Much appreciated. I don’t know how I made it this far without your wise counsel.

* oops - you said Fifth Third. What is up with these weird names?

Wells Fargo did the same thing as First Third - opening fake bank accounts. Is there an honest bank in the country?

[quote][R12] Wouldn't be too quick to dismiss him. I've met a quite a few younger (30-35 y/o) black men and women who have expressed similarly frustrated and conservative views yet don't support the Republican Party.

Yep. And I'm one of them.

I don't see any proof of racism in this incident. We're at a point where every unfavorable interaction a Black person has with a White person is because the White person is "obviously racist."

Imma just start using it on White liberals since that's the world most of those people, apparently, want to live in. I'm more than happy to oblige and treat them like the enemy and constantly accuse you of being oppressive. Since they want to indulge this type of foolishness and play the race card, I might as well.

Let this mf burn. Fuck it. -_-

This whole thing doesn't make sense. Isn't this why they put "holds" on deposits to make sure the check clears before you can use the money?

So the bank is protected - they're just being assholes for the fucking fun of it.

[quote]The number of people jumping to defend the institution is boggling. Can you for one second even consider the possibility that institutional bias and racism exist - or that, God forbid, that you open yourself up to the thought that not everyone shares your privilege?

I'm not defending the institution r56. I think they were being assholes, however, I see nothing in this story that proves racism is the reason aside from the races of the individuals involved.

Maybe the fact that the bank is in Livonia is what gave them that impression. [/italic]Maybe[/italic]. Livonia has been known to have a racism problem. In fact, as far as the entirety of Oakland County is concerned, Livonia is probably the worst in that regard. So, perhaps she got a "vibe" from the tellers. But even then, even if you can "vibe" that someone is being racist, there is no way to explicitly prove that.

[quote]they said the check was fraudulent, not that funds were being held.

No they didn't. I guarantee it. They told her that they had to hold the check because there is so much check fraud happening of late. But she (and YOU) only heard......."if you are black, we know YOUR check is fraudulent".

R69 Yes they did, I guarantee it

God, you people are dumb. Looking for racism under every rock. It's why everyone tunes this shit out now. It's ridiculous.

God, you people are dumb. Ignoring racism because it's too scary when it's right in front of you. It's why nothing has been solved. It's ridiculous.

You seem *very* invested in this not being about racism, r69.

R73 Hmm, I wonder why - it seems quite angry as well.

"I'm not racist, as long as they know their place."

R69

[quote]So the bank is protected - they're just being assholes for the fucking fun of it.

The fact that they wouldn't even call the casino to verify it or the police shows exactly what their intentions were.

[quote]I just closed an account at Fulton bank and deposited the funds in my account at BofA. They told me that, because of the amount of the check ($50k), it would take a week to clear. One week.

[quote] Check funds will be held. Period.

They said the check wasn't real. They said nothing about the funds being held. They wouldn't even deposit it. You're arguing over a scenario that did not occur which seems to be what you people do when you can't actually argue the point.

[quote]She should have used the ATM to deposit it. No teller to hassle with and they really don't pay attention to what gets deposited there unless it bounces or it really is fraudulent and someone makes a fuss.

It would have been safer for her to go in and deposit it (at a normal bank.) Also she's older, she may not know how to do that.

[quote]Was placed at a branch and the managers were holy rollers who expected us to pray all the time. One day I was told my job was in danger because I would not join the hold hands and pray circle. And we're worried that you might be a sinner in other ways, they said. Becky thinks you might be a homosexual.

Same thing happened to me at another bank entirely and I was working at a high level within it.

[quote]Banks place holds on checks to make sure that the check payer has the bank funds necessary to clear it. In addition to protecting your bank, a hold can protect you from spending funds from a check that is later returned unpaid. That's important because it could help you avoid accidental overdrafts and related fees.

.........

R69 etc I guess USA Today got it wrong too. And for some reason the bank didn’t respond. I wonder why. Again, thanks for your wise counsel. Go forth & continue to make the world a better place.

From R62’s link:

Fifth Third Bank is a large regional bank based in Ohio. It has more than $150 billion in total assets and operates more than 1,100 branches in states across the country, including in Illinois, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, and West Virginia.

Now, isn’t it fascinating that this bank has branches in all “RED” states?

You guys have no idea how fucking corrupt many red states are, from government, to banks.

More important issues in the world.

I am a 50 year old black man. There are 2 things I know, racism has not gotten worse as some people would like to claim and not every negative interaction a black person has is about racism. This does not mean that there is no racism, but just that sometimes a negative interaction is just a negative interaction. Sometimes people have bad days. Sometimes people are just douches. Sometimes you get the counter person who just a stickler for everything. Some days, you're just the one.

R80 I'm a black man, and sometimes - it's plain ol racism.

Was it one of those cardboard novelty checks?

r81 I'm a Black woman. Most times it's just plain assholism.

So, she just happened to get three people who were having a bad day and were sticklers for the rules, the rules apparently being assume fraud and never, ever do anything to try to verify if it actually is. Got it, thanks, corporate whores, for reassuring us that banks are always completely right about everything, always, even when they are clearly completely wrong.

This is just wrong on all levels. And, while I'm sure race played a major part in this instance banks do pull this crap all the time if they don't think you have a legitimate source of that kind of money. Which I can understand if it was from some unknown company, but they had the name of the casino and their bank I'm sure they could've called either and verified the check without the customer even knowing.

Someone upthread said she should've deposited it in the atm, but I wouldn't recommend that for large checks. I deposited a $100 check and the machine ate it, I mean they actually opened up the atm and there was just strips of paper. Luckily it was a reimbursement check and so my boss wrote me a new one. I deposit cash in the atm but no checks over $50.00. I use the phone app for most check deposits or I go in the bank.

R83 Oh yeh well I'm a mixed race

[quote]Pugh hit the jackpot on a slot machine, and elected to pay the taxes on her winnings at [bold]the casino, which issued her the rest of her prize money in a check, and a small amount of cash.[/bold]

JFC you people fucking REFUSE to read, then set up ridiculous arguments based on your MISUNDERSTOOD "facts."

Poor lady.

But hey, at least she's still rich!

R88 Probably going to be a lot richer. I would imagine she will sue.

She was definitely mistreated R89, but what could she sue for?

R90 I don't know, but I'm sure a lawyer would find something. Plus the bank will probably offer a rather sizable settlement so that they don't receive additional bad publicity. Even racists aren't going to patronize a bank where they refuse to accept legal checks.

So many "black" people I run into online seem to be spouting beliefs suspiciously similar to the white hood brigade. Much more of this and I might start to question just how black these posters truly are...

[quote] Probably going to be a lot richer. I would imagine she will sue.

[quote] She was definitely mistreated, but what could she sue for?

Well, R89 and R90 didn't read the article either. From the article, posted in FULL at the top of the thread....

"According to her [bold]lawsuit[/bold] filed Aug. 29 in U.S. District Court..."

"I told her, 'This clearly was a [bold]violation of your civil rights[/bold]. There are laws in place now, where you can fight. Let's fight this,' " McGee recalled telling her aunt. "Fifth Third Bank needs to know that they humiliated you. What they did was wrong. And they need to answer for this."

I cannot believe how many people didn't bother to read the article without commenting. The article that is at the top of the fucking thread!

Yes, I know others have stated as much, but it can't be said too often. Want to comment on an article? READ IT FIRST.

[quote]So many "black" people I run into online seem to be spouting beliefs suspiciously similar to the white hood brigade. Much more of this and I might start to question just how black these posters truly are...

I hope you're also Black, because that is the only way this comment is even mildly acceptable.

Anything else than Black, fuck you, though.

Something else I just thought about, what if they thought she was being scammed? Yes, they should've just called the casino in question, however, I do know that banks and retail stores have been put on alert to be wary of elderly people trying to cash large checks or buy an insane amount of gift cards because that's usually a sign that they're being scammed, such as a lottery/sweepstakes scam.

[quote]Another version of this scam is a variant on the old returned check scam. The mark receives a check for their “winnings” right away, then is instructed to wire back some money for fees. The scammers get the transferred funds right away, while the victim ends up with nothing when the check bounces.

[quote]Which I can understand if it was from some unknown company, but they had the name of the casino and their bank I'm sure they could've called either and verified the check without the customer even knowing.

Hey, time travelers from 1962. Bank staff don't 'call' anyone to verify if checks are legit (aw, that sounds so quaint and adorable in 2022 - LOL). They have to wait the REQUIRED amount of time, per their bank's specific policy, for large amounts to clear. The clerks could not have cashed the lady's check even if they wanted to. The funds were frozen automatically once deposited.

[quote]According to her lawsuit filed Aug. 29 in U.S. District Court. I told her, 'This clearly was a violation of your civil rights. There are laws in place now, where you can fight. Let's fight this,' " McGee recalled telling her aunt. "Fifth Third Bank needs to know that they humiliated you. What they did was wrong. And they need to answer for this.

Surprised that sad faced old lady isn't wearing a fake noose around her neck in OP's photo.....a la Jussie SCAMett.

Hi Mr. Obtuse, the clerks not only didn't want to DEPOSIT her check for her, they essentially accused her of fraud by THREE fucking people telling her it was fake. They also broke the law by keeping the legitimate check before deciding to suddenly just let her go along with her "fake" check. They cannot claim this was some bank policy about keeping a check that is fraudulent and then suddenly decide to hand that check right back. Not only did these people not have a fucking clue as to how to tell a fraudulent check, they humiliated this woman.

Get it now, Mr. Obtuse, r97? Or do you need shit explained to you like a toddler?

^God, you are dumb. Sorry for you. They gave the check back because she wanted it cashed. Can. not. do. that.--- no matter the person's color.

Every time I see a topic like this I count down to posts like r7 with the predictable "I'm black and I support racists" comments. Never fails.

R99 which part of this sentence is hard for you to understand. (from OP)

Two days after the casino outing, Pugh drove to the Fifth Third branch to open a savings account and deposit her winnings.

Also the third sentence, about not giving it back to her:

But three white bank employees told her the check was fraudulent, Pugh said, and refused to give it back to her.

Those three separate individuals were just having a bad day when they all accused an elderly church lady of fraud and theft! I'm black and I think other black people are hood rats and entirely at fault for everything racists accuse them of! I've never been accused of anything because I dress well and my parents are wealthy!

I'm black and have the look of a pure virgin. Still, no banks will cash my checks!!!! We black folks can't catch a break.

Give it up, R102. David Dukes is never, ever going to listen to reason. He'll keep pretending that he knows what happened, even though there isn't a shred of evidence to that effect and there is evidence to the contrary. He'll keep insisting he KNOWS it went down differently than the article states. And why?

BECAUSE HE KNOWS THAT BLACK PEOPLE ARE EVIL. Full stop.

It's impossible to use logic and facts with somebody like this. Just walk away.

Why didn’t she go to a bank where she already had an established account? It does seem a little shady to show up at a random bank branch and want to open a new savings account with some casino check.

For those saying you don’t see racism in this story: IF this was a fraudulent check incident, why wouldn’t the bank call 911?! Fraud is a crime so calling the police would be the logical thing to do, no?

They also could have placed a hold on the majority of the check amount. Both of the banks I use will allow me up to $100 in cash until the hold is released. That was an option for them but it doesn’t appear any bank employee made that offer.

She was ‘Banking While Black’ as someone upthread phrased it. Those 3 White bank employees didn’t want a Black and old women to have more money than they do. Or didn’t want ‘no n-word’s money tainting the money of good ole white folks.’

It is amazing that people can understand standard bank procedures, but lack the reading comprehension to understand when an article describes a breach of those standard proceedures.

The article does not make it clear if she was trying to cash the check or deposit it into a new account. They claim both in the article, which makes no sense. Few to no banks are going to just cash a large check for someone if they don't have an account there. And if you deposit a large check, even if it is into your own account, it can take more than the normal 3 days maximum processing time. I believe the extra time is built into large check deposits to counteract any possibility of fraud. But there are many procedures those idiot bank employees could have taken, that they clearly didn't. That shows me they were racist. They had no interest in checking to make sure the check was valid which would have only taken a phone call to the casino. They were more interested in making that lady's day a misery. They prejudged her and that check, and that makes them prejudiced.

I just checked the ratings for that bank. Lots of downgrades by Moodys over the years. And check out the customer reviews on that outfit. Why anyone would want to bank with them is beyond me.

We’re not getting the whole story here. They probably told her something like “we have to put a hold on this check/new account for several days to confirm that it’s not fraudulent.” She immediately assumed racism of course.

I don't think this is racial. I could this happening to me. The "opening a new savings account" with a check that said "Casino Jackpot!" is a red flag.

That said, I would've calmly suggested they phone the casino to verify the check? The article doesn't say that she did?

It doesn't matter I guess. The media and all the white, Gen Z, social justice smartphone reddit warriors just automatically assume incidents like these are vicious hate crimes, no exceptions. If this happened to a white customer/black Bank manager, nobody would ever know.

Now R110 it was clearly more than that. They tried to withhold that check from her. They had absolutely no proof that check was fraudulent therefore they had zero right to not return it to her. They figured they had an old black woman there and they could do her any way they wanted. They found out differently.

No, not 'now'.

I am R80. I am not going to apologize for what I wrote or walk it back. And if you don't believe I'm black, that's on you. Not a whole lot I can do to prove it on an anonymous forum, except post my photo - which I won't do. As I made clear in my post, I didn't say racism wasn't a thing or that racism no longer happens, just that not every negative interaction is about racism. If you guys want to live your lives holding on to that every time someone is mean to a black person, then good luck with that.

I have no idea if those three bank tellers were racist or not. But I do know that the story starts off by talking about how this lady grew up in the Jim Crow south and was bullied for being black. I don't doubt any of that, but what does it have to do with the current issue at hand?

The lady tried to cash a check and they wouldn't cash it. That's the story. All of that other stuff, trying to frame a narrative around race, is wrong and diminishes real racism.

It's shocking the number of people who don't do one second of due diligence before opening up an account in a bank. People with internet access never even attempt to check and see how the bank is rated or check reviews by their customers or former customers.

The second big mistake this lady made after trying to deal with that shitty bank was go over to Chase to set up an account. Why anyone would bank with Chase (or any other big national bank) is beyond me. When will people wake up and see that Credit Unions are vastly better institutions to deal with than traditional banks.

Also, the article is suspect in that it deliberately omits and occludes important facts. Such as the whole" 5 figure check" bullshit. Was it $10,000 or $99,999? That's a pretty big fucking difference.

Her memory is suspect. She says she didn’t know where the bank was located or what its address was. Whole story is shady.

Oh the irony of R110 accusing other people of assuming things.

Now this is just speculation on my part, but hear me out. It doesn’t make any sense that they really thought she was trying to run a con on them because they would have called the police and handed the check to them. And as others have pointed out, they could have just set up the account with a five day hold on withdrawals. In fact the whole thing with the three people and the increasing level of humiliation and the unwillingness to return her check to her seems oddly rehearsed to me. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that they were going to “wash” the check and steal her money.

Bank personnel are in a perfect position to engage in that sort of criminal activity. And you’d want to do it for large checks from an entity with no personal relationship to the recipient and to a marginalized person. whom you could cause to feel guilt and shame so he or she wouldn’t go to the cops.

And to the poors on this thread who are all wondering why she just didn’t deposit it in her existing bank account, maybe she didn’t want to go over the FDIC limit. That’s why a lot of people have relationships with more than one bank. Of course, I don’t know for sure in her case, and that is also speculation.

[quote]Her memory is suspect. She says she didn’t know where the bank was located or what its address was. Whole story is shady.

I would have called the news immediately, a consumer reporter, if this happened to me. Something is off with this story. I don’t understand the backstory of this, I would want my money immediately, I’m not going to sit around and drudge up my past.

The casual and obvious racism here is depressing as fuck.

It is odd to be opening a new account with the money rather than depositing in an existing account. But, yeah, if her name on check and ID matched, they need to go through the motions of treating the check as valid, suspicions or not.

At a local branch of a horribly managed bank I stopped by to get some change. A black fellow was very frustrated about the way he was being treated over a check as well. I believe it may have been his payroll check from the school district not one drawn from some strange account.

My local credit union was giving shit to some black customers at the counter one day, and I said something about it. They begrudgingly sold the customers traveler's checks; why they wouldn't in the first place, I don't know. They used money in their account to pay for the checks. As this was going on, a guy in line behind us said he was going to open an account elsewhere and just left.

The next time I went in it was to deposit an insurance check after a storm did a bunch of damage to the house. The credit union tried to hold the money themselves, claiming they had a lien on my home. They didn't. I demanded the check back and they wouldn't return it, so I called the police (the main line, not 911, so don't have a fit about it). Just as I started to explain the situation over the phone, someone who works there, who had been a co-worker of mine at an insurance company a few years prior, came running out, took the check, deposited it into my account herself, gave everyone the stink-eye (even me) and never said a word, and went back into her office.

I chuckle every time someone repeats the old canard that "credit unions are better than banks" because no, of course they're not, they're still financial institutions with asshole employees, just maybe 5% less awful than banks.

Were they possibly attempting to steal her winnings? Aye - it's a posdibility.

Its just sad, because now, her lawyer will milk her dry, and she will be as poor as she was before she won the jackpot.

[quote]A black fellow was very frustrated about the way he was being treated over a check as well. I believe it may have been his payroll check from the school district not one drawn from some strange account.

Come on, who works for a professional entity like a school district, and doesn’t get paid vie direct deposit? That guy was pulling a scam.

The old, white gay “progressive” doesn’t want to hear that. ^

Her lawyer should look to see if there were other victims.

White fragility around the thought of a white person engaging in racist behavior and the subsequent mental gymnastics involved in figuring out why the black person must have deserved it, makes black people easy targets for crime.

[Quote]Come on, who works for a professional entity like a school district, and doesn’t get paid vie direct deposit?

Depends on the school district, along with the type of services rendered. If that guy did work as a substitute teacher, or some other type of occasional contract work, he would've been paid by check.

Re-reading the article, there is a younger, female relative (hongry welfare Queen) who repeatedly pushed her to take legal action.

Can't remember the location of the branch, eh? Got it.

This is a softcore Jussie Smollet situation.

I loathe going to the bank in-person for any reason. There's always a black person at the front of the line having an "issue" which requires 45 minutes to resolve.

[quote] All black people should remove their money from this racist bank.

"All people should remove their money from this racist bank."

Fixed it for y̶o̶u̶ me!

[quote] I’m not a fan of lawsuits In most cases but I Hope she wins big time. Fuck that bank.

I hope she wins multiples of her lottery winnings. A Black woman survives the horrors of Jim Crow in Alabama to be treated this way in 2022?! Nope...

My advice to that Bank is to bust its checkbook open and start with a big prime number with at least 5 zeroes behind it BEFORE she files a lawsuit. A jury will kill them, people of every color HATE banks.

[quote] My first job was processing deposits at a bank. If there was any issue, we were instructed to call the issuing bank and ask if there is sufficient funds to process. If there was, then we would continue the deposit and process it. It’s been decades since then so I’m not sure if you can call a bank directly but I’m pretty sure there are ways to verify it. In the rare instance we could not verify it or it was missing something required (e.g. a signature), it would be returned to the depositor.

Everything that you did manually back then can done with about 10 keystrokes today.

[quote] I'm know there are black people who fall into the racist line of thinking that all black people are "violent black hood rats" like [R7].

R7 is not Black, she's a troll. Any Black person would be enraged that their grandmother could be treated this way.

[quote] That guy was pulling a scam

No, it was more likely the poster was making up that whole story just to ultimately claim that credit unions were little to no better than traditional banks (which is verifiable bullshit). Of course not every credit union is perfect. One has to check on them just like one has to check on any other banking institution. The main thing that makes credit unions better is that they are all non-profit banking institutions owned by the account holders. I get a big fat check from my credit union for several thousand dollars at the end of each year (in addition to my monthly interest) which is the operating profit split amongst the account holders.

[quote] Oh FFS, calm the fuck down you knee jerk idiots. It isn't racism, it's standard bank procedure in 2022..

It is not standard, you knee jerk idiot. I've been in banking for 30 years. Everything is done electronically. You don't refuse a check unless the issuing institution has an unknown routing number. It does not take 3 people to determine that, it is done by a single device. However, I suspect 3 people will lose their jobs.

[quote] I don't see any proof of racism in this incident. We're at a point where every unfavorable interaction a Black person has with a White person is because the White person is "obviously racist."

Maybe due to your ignorance and inexperience. What is alleged to have happened to this woman could have only happened because a human negligently or malevolently applied their unnecessary bias to the scenario. Today, determining the legitimacy of a check requires no human discretion or analysis. Humans in banks screen for elder abuse, potential money-laundering, power of attorney and just a few other things. Nothing in this story, as reported, required a human to do anything other than physically handle the check.

If you are actually Black, and are privileged to live a little longer, one day you'll see things as they are.

[quote]Oh Dear! There is no such thing as the Queen of England, as England is not a separate sovereign state since the early 1700s.

"Queen of England" is an American colloquialism that's been around forever and is never going away.

In typical 21st Century negress fashion, she claims the bank "accused her of stealing"..

They did no such thing.

In typical 21st Century negress fashion, she claims the bank "accused her of stealing"..

They did no such thing.

Save that racist bullshit for Breitfart, fuckface.

This is all being driven by her "niece", who wasn't even involved and is looking for a big payout. "They disrespected my auntie!! Now pay me!"

My god R121 and R122, that's fucking horrifying!!

And yes, I don't know anyone who actually likes banks. They're nothing but bloodsuckers.

[quote] Fifth Third Bank

What kind of stupid name is that?

I wouldn't trust a bank with that name. It sounds made up.

Never mind that there's no such thing as a "fifth third."

A bank that doesn't understand how numbers work, is NOT a good bank.

r139/r140 - Keep on trollin'...

Well, this sucks. Poor lady - I am glad the bank is getting some bad publicity.

Banks have increasingly stupid names.

Those questioning why she didn't do her "due diligence" are idiots.

She's a 71 year old woman.

She's probably not tech saavy, nor does she put a lot of thought into shit like this.

She's an elderly "church lady" who won a jackpot, and wanted to deposit it in a bank.

Like they used to do in the old days.

Little did she realize that banks and bankers nowdays are all fucking CUNTS.

[quote] Was it one of those cardboard novelty checks?

That was the first thing I (jokingly) thought of when I read the headline. Your comment brought a hearty laugh to me.

I declare, silly ole' me, I did not know that Michigan was a Southern State !

"I would have called the news immediately, a consumer reporter, if this happened to me."

There is literally an article about this. She called the news, you dumb fuck.

R146 nailed it

Can we fucking stop capitalizing ‘black’? It’s ridiculous and condescending, and is especially obnoxious when ‘white’ is left uncapitalized.

R134 is a woke, fat, elderly white fag who considers himself “anti-racist” probably because he’s never lived around more than a few hood rats. He would have a very different opinion of lower class black people if he did, and wouldn’t be accusing me of being not really black for simply verbalizing what most people really think about this demographic and explains much of the “racism” this group is always whining about.

Also, do not refer to me as “she”, R134. You may identify as a woman but I don’t.

Last thing — my mom is almost 70 and she does not look, sound, or act like a “grandmother”. When I saw the pic of the woman in the article I assumed she was like 85.

R151

THIS IS NOT ABOUT YOU, HEAUX

Sure, Black Millenial Jan @ r151.

Blocked - stupid, elderly, condescending, effete, obnoxious, ridiculous queen, R153.

Um, R151, you capitalized "Black" in your signature.

Just thought someone should point that out to you.

[quote]R92: So many "black" people I run into online seem to be spouting beliefs suspiciously similar to the white hood brigade. Much more of this and I might start to question just how black these posters truly are...

They're not black at all. It's like the poster from the erstwhile Yahoo Comments, claiming, "I'm an 88 year old black man who marched with MLK in Selma, and I'm voting for Donald Trump!" Even 𝑖𝑓 the identity-based claim were true, it cannot ever be verified on anonymous forums, and the posters making such claims know this - it's a form of self-conscious trolling. Monty Python once did a skit about 'canned opinions' - they called them 'vox pops' - depicting an old-timey Victrola on a city street, playing a record: "Well, I've been in the city all my life and I'm as alert and active as I've ever been" (Episode 24, 'City gents vox pops').

On this thread, it takes various forms, as the socks of a far right troll keep on posting:

'I'm a black guy, and...'

'I'm a banker, and...'

'I'm a black banker, and...'

It just goes on and on.

R155, I capitalize the word ‘Black’ in my signature because it’s the first word. I do not capitalize ‘black’ in sentences. The capitalizing of ‘black’ only became a Leftist virtue-signal after that violent crack head Floyd died in police custody in 2020.

It’s ridiculous and accomplishes nothing. It just reinforces the same tired victim mentality and oppression narrative that continue to plague the black community.

▲ Stormfront troll who's triggered by the capitalization of 'Black'.

I know, r156/PD. "Black" Millennial couldn't be a more blatant troll if he tried.

R159, do you suppose it's a Matt A. sock?

A person this age regardless of race should not be treated like a thief.

I’m glad her niece encouraged her to sue because nobody deserves this treatment, if it’s racially motivated they need to pay and fire the racist bank employees.

Well with this large cash windfall, hopefully she can afford a better wig now!

Matt A. could not possibly keep the charade up for this long without letting the mask slip and start ranting about "goyim".

Sashay away, Black millennial.

I don't know, R163. He holds forth for long periods of time when he's anti-transing, without breaking into rants against the goyim. And I've read older DL posts which claim he has pretended to be black before.

Oh I know they're not black, R156. I was being sarcastic. "Black Millennial" is about as black as my snow white cat.

Yes, r165/PD, I remember those!

Capitalizing "Black" is not new. I'm 67. When we switched from Negro or Colored, we were told to capitalize Black and only use that. That was before African-American was used. This was the late 1960s or maybe 1970s - not sure because I was a kid and didn't pay close attention. But it is NOT a new phenomenon - it was part of the Civil Rights movement, I believe - or at least around the same time that the usage changed for identifying the minority group.

She is lying, why would he do that? She could only get back in money what she had.clear in the account If the check was fake she'd be hit with fees and the bank would still have the check,

To be fair to the handful of white supremest black people who actually exist IRL and aren’t just internet trolls’ phony personas, a person could probably play a pretty long game of “who said it, KKK grand wizard or Candace Owens?” Maybe we’ve attracted a male Candace?

Candace is getting $$$ out of it, r170/ElderLez, all "Black" Millennial is getting is negative attention. But as Dr. Joy Browne said: "Children would rather be praised than punished, but they'd rather be punished than ignored."

R170/ElderLez, on an anonymous forum, claims whose validity is predicated on who or what a poster claims to be constitute a form of trolling anyway, regardless of whether they actually are a real-life 'Uncle Ruckus.' And even if it were true, none of us are bound to respect their conservative views, i.e. if Clarence Thomas or Thomas Sowell were to post here; we'd still tell them to fuck off. Not in spite of who they were, but more like because of who they were.

These "Black" posters are trying to put across, 'you need to acknowledge my conservative, racist-ass opinion because I'm Black,' and that's not happening, regardless of whether they are or not.

[quote]If you are actually Black, and are privileged to live a little longer, one day you'll see things as they are.

I am Black. I'm just not as obsessed with finding incidents of racism (especially amongst Whites) as so many others are. I don't give a shit if White people like me or not because I'm Black, I will merely go elsewhere. I probably have experienced incidents of racism, I just didn't notice because it wasn't overt nor did it have any major impact on my life. I don't give a fuck about White racists or White people, in general. I just go on about my business. If someone is racist, that's their problem, not mine.

It's certainly not as big of an issue in 2022 as it was in 1922, however. A few racist White people will not strip me of my rights. If they want to have a funky attitude because I'm Black, that's on them. That's how I live my life; sincerely giving zero fucks about these types of people. Try it.

Yes, r173, because it doesn't happen to you or you weren't aware of it happening to you then by all means disregard it happening to other people. You're so brave!

r174 There is no proof that this was because of racism aside from the fact that it involved a Black woman and three White bank tellers. That's it. That's the proof.

Whoever wrote the article knew that was a weak premise which is why they had to "start strong" with her experience growing up in Jim Crow south to mentally and emotionally set the reader up for the rest of the story. Instead of just stating what happened, like a news organization is supposed to.

It was actually them starting the article off that way that made me think some bullshit was about to be written.

And it was.

[quote] Like they used to do in the old days.

In the old days Black people avoided banks for reasons just like this.

[quote] Capitalizing "Black" is not new. I'm 67. When we switched from Negro or Colored, we were told to capitalize Black and only use that. That was before African-American was used. This was the late 1960s or maybe 1970s - not sure because I was a kid and didn't pay close attention. But it is NOT a new phenomenon - it was part of the Civil Rights movement, I believe - or at least around the same time that the usage changed for identifying the minority group.

It's pretty new. Until a few years ago every English dictionary used lowercase "b."

[quote]R175: That's it. That's the proof.

The 'proof' is that they claimed the check was a fake. That's the tell.

[quote]A few racist White people will not strip me of my rights

Can we talk about voter suppression. r173? Why are you so invested in this *not* being racism? You honestly think they thought she was being scammed and *that's* why they acted like they did? You protest way too much to be taken seriously.

ITT White people who disagree with Black people on this issue accuse them of either not being Black or...lol...[bold]White supremacists[/bold].

If there is one situation where Whites should shut their fucking mouths, it's on this topic. The worst thing a Black person can tell a White person is that they're wrong. You people can't handle it when we "branch off." Seriously, fuck off.

[quote]The 'proof' is that they claimed the check was a fake. That's the tell.

Um, no. That is not the tell. That is you reading into it what you want. And we don't even know if that's really how this all went down. They could've told this woman that we have to hold this check for x amount of days to make sure it's not fraudulent and in her "everything negative with White folks is because of racism" brain, she took that as them saying they were keeping her check because it was fraudulent. Banks have security cameras. Perhaps they should roll the footage. I'm not jumping to the racist conclusion on such flimsy information. I'm just not. Be mad about it as much as you want. I do not care.

[quote]Why are you so invested in this *not* being racism?

Why are you so invested in this *actually* being racism? Why do you want us to be victims so much? Very odd. I have no problems voting. Are you insinuating because I'm Black, I, personally, am at a disadvantage of voting? What proof do you have of that aside from my race? You people love it when we're weak and pathetic. It feeds your savior complex. I'm not playing your game. You can fuck off, too.

[quote]R180: I'm not jumping to the racist conclusion on such flimsy information. I'm just not.

You're jumping to the other conclusion on an even flimsier basis - 'I'm black and I say so.' You cannot even justify your conclusions.

[quote]Be mad about it as much as you want.

I don't do outrage, or get angry online. Ever.

[quote]I do not care.

For someone who supposedly doesn't care, you're sure investing a lot of energy putting your contrarian viewpoint out there.

You're just digging yourself even deeper, r180.

[quote]You're jumping to the other conclusion on an even flimsier basis - 'I'm black and I say so.' You cannot even justify your conclusions.

I haven't jumped to [bold]any[/bold] conclusion, actually. I've simply stated there is no proof this is because of racism. Not once did I say that this is definitely not because of racism. I even mentioned that it's possible because this happened in Livonia and I'm familiar with that area (I grew up in Detroit).

[quote]For someone who supposedly doesn't care, you're sure investing a lot of energy putting your contrarian viewpoint out there.

Obviously, I care about the topic otherwise I wouldn't participate, genius. I don't care about how you feel about my thoughts on this matter. I will, continue to maintain my position; there is no explicit proof of racism in this incident. It is, however, not impossible. Once again...this is Livonia. But based upon this information, since they're pursuing litigation, there is no concrete evidence to go upon that this was because of her race. The court of public opinion doesn't count, either way.

[quote]I have no problems voting. Are you insinuating because I'm Black, I, personally, am at a disadvantage of voting?

Are you saying the voter suppression laws *aren't* aimed at black communities, r180?

r184 How the fuck do you know where I live? You just assume because I'm Black I live in a specific type of community?

But I'm the "Black White supremacist," here? It's some straight up clowns on here, I swear.

And what is your definition of "voter suppression?" Having to show ID when voting? So, we don't have IDs, now? Yes, keep those low expectations coming. It's definitely not making you look like the racist one. /s

You didn't answer my question, r185. Do you think the voter suppression laws are aimed primarily at black communities?

r186 And you didn't answer my question. What is your definition of "voter suppression?" I'm not aware of any actual "voter suppression" laws at all. Be. More. Specific.

Here, r187. You seem to not have been paying very much attention.

[quote]The modern approach to voter suppres­sion can often be char­ac­ter­ized as death by a thou­sand cuts — seem­ingly minor rules about issues like voter ID, mail voting, resource alloc­a­tion at polling places, and voter roll main­ten­ance can add up to create signi­fic­ant burdens, partic­u­larly on communit­ies of color.

Voter security =/= voter suppression. That is a disingenous misnomer.

Also...

[quote]After an elec­tion where Black voters in Flor­ida cast mail ballots at a rate higher than in recent years, Flor­ida enacted S.B. 90, which imposes a long list of new constraints on mail voting. The law severely limits the avail­ab­il­ity and access­ib­il­ity of mail ballot drop boxes and requires voters to put their state ID number or Social Secur­ity Number on their mail ballot applic­a­tion without provid­ing an altern­at­ive for voters [bold]who lack such inform­a­tion.[/bold] It also limits who can assist voters with return­ing their mail ballots.

That seems to be more aimed at restricting non-Citizens. I'm not sure where you're from, but even the most downtrodden Black folks have state ID and an SSN. Come on now.

So, r189, what exactly is the purpose of all of these "security" measures when 2020 was the most secure election in our history?

[quote]Voter security =/= voter suppression. That is a disingenous misnomer.

The only disingenuousness in this thread, r189, is yours and "Black" Millennial's.

R105 You are mentally retarded on so many reasons. Please learn English. Just stop with your "full stop" - see how trendy I am everyone? I can't spell David Duke, but please validate me! I need my safe space!

r191 The more you put the word "Black" in quotes whenever you refer to our posts, the less seriously I take you. It's objectively insulting. Why should I continue to entertain you at this point? Maybe he will, but I'm done. Because it's genuinely starting to piss me off.

[quote]The capitalizing of ‘black’ only became a Leftist virtue-signal after that violent crack head Floyd died in police custody in 2020.

This is incorrect. Racial and ethnic group names are proper nouns and are always capitalized. This is basic English grammar. I have always been taught, as long as I've been writing in English (so my entire life) to capitalize all racial/ethnic group names whether it's White, Black, Asian, Arab, Indian, Hispanic, Latino, etc. Whenever it's referring to a racial or ethnic group, it's a proper noun.

I have no idea where you're getting it from that it just started because of George Floyd but that's not the case at all. Perhaps you're just now noticing it, but no. All races and ethnic groups get capitalized. Period.

R193 But here you are, giving it attention

Conservative and/or ill-informed black people exist, so I don't actually doubt black millennial is black. Candace Owen, Kanye West, Michael Steel, Ben Carson and the late Covid denier who died of Covid, Herman Cain, all come to mind. I've encountered this type and they're usually either very invested in a church community even if they aren't that religious or spiritual, or they are very materialistic, image-obsessed and shallow. Sometimes both.

[quote]Conservative and/or ill-informed black people exist, so I don't actually doubt black millennial is black.

That is so dismissive. Is he even conservative? I don’t believe so. Black Millennial is one of the best posters on this site. A voice of reason in a sea of extremist ideology and misinformation.

[quote]as long as I've been writing in English (so my entire life) to capitalize all racial/ethnic group names whether it's White, Black, Asian, Arab, Indian, Hispanic, Latino, etc.

Asian, Arab, Indian are capitalized because they are named after places, which are proper nouns. Same with Hispanic and Latino, which are named after languages. Black and white are colors and not capitalized.

Here is the NBC News version of the story that puts things into a little more context. USA Today was trying to frame a certain narrative, reading the NBC story shows that the narrative is coming from her attorney and they are trying to get a big pay day. Which, if that's what they want to do, more power to them. I don't know if those three bank staffers were racist or not, but this lady, without an account at that bank, comes in to open an account with a check from a casino would raise red flags, I don't care what her background is.

People are complicated, the world is complicated and I will say it again, not every negative interaction a black person has with a white person is about racism. I think this lady should have gone to her primary bank and handled this matter, and not gone to a bank she didn't have a previous relationship with.

But it's clear from this thread that if you're black and don't see the world a certain way, then you're the problem. Which should bother us all.

[quote]Black and white are colors and not capitalized.

They're capitalized when referring to the racial groups and not capitalized when referring to the colors. This isn't complicated.

That’s recent. And ridiculous^.

r201 What's ridiculous is you being bothered by it, real talk.

I agree with most of your other points, but this is an asinine, non-issue, to occupy oneself with.

Why do some DLers make it a point to capitalize Black but not White? I'm seeing it all over the latest Whoopi thread, for example.

I personally don't care who does or doesn't capitalize things, as long as it's consistent.

On a previous thread, R7 also claimed to be American but then gave his trolling away by writing “flavour”

[quote]What's ridiculous is you being bothered by it, real talk.

I just think it’s eye-roll inducing.

If you're so desperate to capitalize something, then type out African-American and Caucasian. Colors like black and white don't get capitalized.

[Quote] I think this lady should have gone to her primary bank and handled this matter, and not gone to a bank she didn't have a previous relationship with.

Yes, let’s blame the victim, shall we?

A white person could have gone to any bank she wanted and been able to open an account.

Omg, this thread has descended into chaos!!!

It started out as normal, but now the crazies are in charge.

[quote]If you're so desperate to capitalize something, then type out African-American and Caucasian. Colors like black and white don't get capitalized.

I don’t recall ever capitalizing caucasian, but I think I’ve ever just used white to describe myself. Or cracker. Heyooo.

The victim R207? Victim? Is that where we're going with this? They didn't cash her check, they didn't drag her into an alley and rape her. Dear God. WTF is happening.

STOP! STOP! STOP!!!

[quote]I think this lady should have gone to her primary bank and handled this matter, and not gone to a bank she didn't have a previous relationship with.

Why wouldn’t she go to her regular bank? Makes no sense. This story is so shady. The bank knows what’s up, and so do their lawyers. They don’t care about the kookie media, especially pro-trans NBC.

[quote]A white person could have gone to any bank she wanted and been able to open an account.

Wrong.

[quote]It started out as normal, but now the crazies are in charge.

Don't you mean Crazies?

The bank teller was caught on camera talking to the old woman...

R212 has to make everything about trans.

R199 Please take a writing class. Good lord.

Just pointing how kookie NBC is. FOX News also kookie.

R202 Your points are valid, your desperate attempt at refined writing is not. It's okay, stick to your facts. You were fine.

I think this story will just simply go away. Just a hunch. She’ll probably get some money, I don’t know why, but she will.

[quote]I think this story will just simply go away. Just a hunch. She’ll probably get some money, I don’t know why, but she will.

If this poor lady wins anything, which is highly unlikely. the attorney will just take it all.

Some mentioned that upthread, I think the the attorney is pro-bono. Just an opinion.

[quote]Why should I continue to entertain you at this point?

You have been the antithesis of entertaining, r193.

[quote]Black Millennial is one of the best posters on this site. A voice of reason in a sea of extremist ideology and misinformation.

Bwah-ha-ha-ha!!!

How *very* bothsides of you, r218.

She should have stood in the middle of the bank lobby and shouted, "GIVE ME MY MONEY, YOU FUCKING CUNTS!!!"

That's what I would have done.

Do black churches really organize trips to casinos? Don't they consider gambling the work of satan?

R34 What a fucking pedant! I think she's often referred to as the Queen of England.

[quote] Do black churches really organize trips to casinos? Don't they consider gambling the work of satan?

Lol.

r226 A lot of Black churches tend to be ass-backward and pick and choose what verses to follow out of the Bible.

That casino frequenting church probably has a lot to say about the gays, though. But then they'll turn around and have a gay "praise team leader" but just ignore it because the brotha can blow.

I grew up around this inconsistent BS. It's one of the main things that made me turn away from the church.

[quote]Do black churches really organize trips to casinos? Don't they consider gambling the work of satan?

It's no different than Bingo Night but instead they go all in.

The casino check written in crayon looked good to me

[quote] This is incorrect. Racial and ethnic group names are proper nouns and are always capitalized. This is basic English grammar. I have always been taught, as long as I've been writing in English (so my entire life) to capitalize all racial/ethnic group names whether it's White, Black, Asian, Arab, Indian, Hispanic, Latino, etc. Whenever it's referring to a racial or ethnic group, it's a proper noun.

35 years ago, in college -- private university in a southern state -- I wrote a paper wherein I capitalized every reference to "Black" as a race. My white (southern) professor put slash marks through every capitalized "B" in my paper, maybe like 40 references and wrote in the margins that I needed to refer to a dictionary. Of course, every reference to white as a race was appropriately capitalized. One of several racial microaggressions -- a word that did not exist then -- I endured in college and unfortunately have been unable to forget. This is how I know the English dictionary used a lowercase "b" until recently.

You didn’t capitalize white^.

The “woke” and “anti-racist” white people infesting this thread are the most egregious hypocrites. When they encounter blacks that they can’t compartmentalize as one dimensional blameless victims of white supremacy, they lose their shit and regress to ad hominem attacks.

These types are the first ones to start throwing slurs like “Uncle Tom”, “Uncle Ruckus”, and make accusations of someone not being really black, because of course, all black people are a monolithic class of perpetually oppression and all think alike and have the exact same experiences with racism. 🙄

The white people in this thread trying to school the black people on racism is laughable and oh so condescendingly pompous. You are ignorant fucks and you know it.

[quote]R185: And what is your definition of "voter suppression?" Having to show ID when voting? So, we don't have IDs, now? Yes, keep those low expectations coming. It's definitely not making you look like the racist one. /s

Pure trolling.

[quote]R197: That is so dismissive. Is he even conservative? I don’t believe so. Black Millennial is one of the best posters on this site. A voice of reason in a sea of extremist ideology and misinformation.

^ Sock detected. The amount of self-absorbed sycophancy is just incredible.

[quote]R216: [R212] has to make everything about trans.

R216, that's because it's Matt A.

^^^I KNOW!!! I've had enough of you honky motherf*ckers!

I don’t know who Matt A is.

[quote] I am Black. I'm just not as obsessed with finding incidents of racism (especially amongst Whites) as so many others are.

If you are indeed Black you need not be obsessed with finding racism, it will find you. Trust.

I believe that r232. Define "recently," though. Because, as I stated, I've always been taught to capitalize the 'b' and the 'w' when referring to the racial groups, and this goes all the way back to middle school and high school for me, which was about 20 - 25 years ago. Then again, I didn't grow up in the south and it was the 90s - 2000s.

R239, I only noticed WaPo and NYT capitalizing "Black" since around 2014. To me, 8 to 10 years is "recent."

Also, to those of you saying capitalizing ‘black’ isn’t a new thing, perhaps you are correct but mainstream media, including the Leftist outfits like CNN, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, et al were NOT commonly, if ever capitalizing ‘black’ in reference to black people.

I would know because I have been a voracious reader for years and when mainstream media started capitalizing the word ‘black’ in 2020, it was jarring and unexpected. I even had to read an article about WHY it was suddenly commonplace to capitalize the word, because I had never seen it before.

Those of you arguing that the mainstream media was capitalizing ‘black’ before 2020 are being completely disingenuous and you know it. The attached article from NYT is from mid-2020 and is making a case (faulty and racist one at that) as to why they’ve decided to capitalize the word ‘black’.

r234 I'm ignoring them at this point (not putting them on ignore, but actually not bothering to dignify them with a response). It's White entitlement. They always have to "teach" the ignorant little Negro about where we stand and when we "step out of line" and refuse to be their faithful little minstrels, here they come with the "you ain't Black" accusations. They did the same thing to principal Joe Clark (whom the movie Lean On Me was based), Malcolm X, Marcus Garvey. They can't handle it when we're not eager to be victims and choose our own path. Like I said, they have a savior and superiority complex.

They're allowed to brush off instances of blatant racism against them from Black people because "we're inferior" to them. So, when we're racist, it doesn't even cross their mind nor are they fazed. It's how they were socialized; to be superior. But when [bold]we[/bold] have that same attitude and approach and don't automatically see racism in everything, suddenly we're self-hating. Imagine that. We're self-hating because being a victim isn't our default setting. The racism of this thinking is lost on them when you bring it up, however. They don't see us as equals. That's the problem. On a subconscious level, we're beneath them. So, how dare we not behave how they expect us to behave (i.e. like perpetual victims who need their rescuing and "allyship"). It's infuriating, tbh.

[quote]What? Detroit is a poster child for the decay and decline of once-grand cities that have been ruined by violent black hood rats. Unfortunately, black people who appear lower class will experience acts of racism like this because the vast majority of lower class black people will not be depositing five figure checks lawfully.

This elderly retired schoolteacher really screams "hood" to you?

...and just to luxuriate further in my bitterness, I distinctly recall Obama being celebrated as the first "black" President in the Wall Street Journal. Of course, the term "African-american" was more prevalent in 2008 and used more frequently than "[B]lack."

Totally racist ideology from the unhinged NYT, as expected. A “shared cultural identity”? I have NOTHING in common with George Floyd, Cleotha, or any of the other millions of no-good ghetto trash that has become representative of the “black experience in America”. It’s fucking offensive.

Do all white people have a shared cultural identity? Would a rich white man who went to private school and works in tech or investment banking have anything in common with the rural, redneck who never finished high school?

Total ignorance from the New York Times, but that’s the Left for you. That’s how they see black people.

R242, I am completely confounded by your opinion but impressed by your ability to make it sound less sensible with each post.

[quote] They're allowed to brush off instances of blatant racism against them from Black people because "we're inferior" to them. So, when we're racist, it doesn't even cross their mind nor are they fazed. It's how they were socialized; to be superior. But when we have that same attitude and approach and don't automatically see racism in everything, suddenly we're self-hating.

So which act of blatant racism would you say fazed these white folks the least? When we denied them mortgage loans or when we made them sit at the back of the bus? When we refused them service at the Walgreens lunch counter, or when made our white maid enter and exit the house through the back door?

It's how they keep us mentally enslaved, r245. This is why, full disclosure, I am willing to tolerate being called an "Uncle Tom," "coon" or "house slave," from my own people more than I am Whites. It is Whites that planted the seeds of division amongst our people dating all the way back to slavery when they would separate the dark-skinned slaves from the light-skinned/mulatto slaves (darks in the field, lights in the house). That's what started this colorism bullshit. And we keep it going, unfortunately. They've always meddled in our affairs to make us clash because if we're against each other, we remain powerless, and subsequently less of a threat.

So whenever they start in on the attacks on our identity for deviating from how they believe we should think, it 100% pisses me off and I immediately start tuning that mess out. I will go back and forth with my own people on this topic, no problem. And they can call me all the coons and bedwenches they want. Whatever. I'm used to it from my own people and understand where they're coming from more. But a White person? Oh no. They can go all the way to hell with that bullshit. They do not get to weaponize my identity against me. That is completely out of order and yet another example of their deeply ingrained sense of entitlement. Most of them get a few Black friends that agree with them on a few key issues and get just a little too damn comfortable if you know what I mean. And that goes for both liberals and conservatives. They need to stay in their damn lane on this one.

I'm talking about today r246. Keep up. And there is plenty of blatant White racism that we get away with, and that most of them either aren't fazed by or are too afraid to speak up about because they don't want to be accused of racism, themselves. And you know this.

Exhibit A:

Then there's the Black Hebrew Israelites...

JFC, the abysmal reading comprehension of some of the posters here denying the possibility that this incident was racist... or are they being willfully ignorant again?

At no point in the article did it say that Ms. Pugh was trying to cash her casino check at Fifth Third Bank. She was a new customer trying to open an account. She wanted to [bold]deposit[/bold] the whole check into a new [bold]savings[/bold] account. Per standard banking procedures, the check would have to be put on hold for however many days it would take for the funds to clear. After that, all of the money would be available for her to withdraw. But she wasn't interested in withdrawing it. She wanted, again, a savings account. You would think that bank would appreciate a new customer bringing in five figures to store at their institution for a length of time.

Instead, three employees told her the check was fraudulent. At no point did they take the time to verify if the check was real. They just told her minutes after talking to her that the check was fake. Well, if they truly believed the old lady was running a scam, they should have called the police. But they didn't. They refused to give her back her check without calling authorities, which implies they didn't see this as a real threat at all. It looks like it was an opportunity for the bank employees to embarrass Ms. Pugh.

Show me in the article where it says she was trying to cash the check on the spot. That never happened. The employees were in the wrong. All they had to do was tell her that her funds wouldn't be available immediately (except perhaps for $100 cash back on a deposit, a common bank policy) because the check needed to clear first. If she didn't like the policy, then give her back the check so she could leave. If she accepted their policy and deposited a check that turned out to be fake, well, she wouldn't benefit in the end because her account balance would be $0. Accusing her of fraud was a stupid decision.

Preach, R247. I didn’t realize how prevalent this attitude was among wokist whites until after George Floyd’s death.

I have never encountered a conservative or Republican white person who has mocked me for my beliefs, despite the mainstream media pushing the narrative that Republicans are indiscriminately racist and anti-black.

My experience has been that most conservatives hate and rightfully admonish the black community for its dysfunctional and destructive ways, but will assess black people individually.

I wish I could say the same for the woke crowd.

r251 Meh, I've personally had a different experience. White conservatives are more overt with their racism and White liberals tend to be subtle and try to come off as "friendly." I prefer the overt so I know who to avoid. The White liberal is especially irritating because they sincerely believe they're better when they're just as bad. But they all generalize us in their own irritating and condescending ways.

We don't have a party that is "for us." At the end of the day, both White liberals and White conservatives manipulate and weaponize us to remain in power. Malcolm X called this out decades ago. We still haven't learned, sadly.

Sounds like you need to avoid ALL white people, R252. You, know, since we're ALL the same.

I don’t really understand churches that consider gambling a sin. It seems rather extra-biblical to me. After all, the apostles cast lots to decide who should replace Judas. Which is, let’s face it, just rolling the dice.

Banks have state and federal regulations against discrimination. Fifth Third Bank will inevitably be sanctioned with a significant monetary fine.

[quote]USA Today was trying to frame a certain narrative, reading the NBC story shows that the narrative is coming from her attorney and they are trying to get a big pay day.

Nice try, R199, but your link describes nothing that you claim it does. It describes the woman claiming she was accused of fraud by three separate employees and the bank tried to keep her check, and the bank's statement that it was all just a misunderstanding, whoopsie-daisey. It's standard corporate speak for "we're covering our ass." The link mentions nothing about her lawyer looking for a payday, that's entirely your spin.

Did you think we wouldn't read it? Or did you assume we share your poor reading comprehension and wild imagination?

[quote]Banks have state and federal regulations against discrimination. Fifth Third Bank will inevitably be sanctioned with a significant monetary fine.

Only if it happened. It didn't.

My reading comprehension is just fine R256. USA Today started off their story about fucking Jim Crow. The NBC News story does not, it gives a less agenda-driven take. USA Today probably interviewed only that poor woman's lawyer who is setting up a race case for a big payday for his firm and not that woman.

And just for the record, no bank is required to open a new savings or checking account for anyone. The Third Fifth Bank or whatever said no, Chase said yes. That is where the story should have ended.

But instead we have a story of a poor black church lady who escaped the segregated south and who is still facing racism because the mean ole whitey bank people won't let her open a new account.

Stories like these make people numb to real racism. And I know a lot of you on here are trying to get your progressive white person anti racism points for the year. But if you want to be an ally, be an ally by not falling for this kind of shit.

A bank can decline to open up an account, but they can’t keep the check. They need to give it back or give it to law enforcement. Attempting to keep the check themselves is theft. That has nothing to do with being an ally or not. That is about being anti-criminal.

[quote] Sounds like you need to avoid ALL white people, [R252]. You, know, since we're ALL the same.

Yes, well, all white people except for his white mother, his white husband, his white Grindr hook-ups, his almost entirely white social circle, and his white professional colleagues.

Otherwise, death to ALL whiteys!

[quote] And just for the record, no bank is required to open a new savings or checking account for anyone. The Third Fifth Bank or whatever said no, Chase said yes. That is where the story should have ended.

It is required, dumb-ass! Since you know so f*cking much, you should also know that Banks are federally regulated and FDIC-insured, and cannot discriminate against ANYONE meeting lawful eligibility criteria in their offering of products and services. This means anyone of legal age with proper identification is entitled to open a bank account at any U.S. bank. Third Fifth Bank is not a family-owned liquor store in Forsyth County, GA it has no right to refuse service. Unless she had a grenade and a machete -- or the check had some OVERT sign of fraud, like being signed by Donald Trump -- the Bank absolutely is required BY LAW to allow her to open an account. As a practical matter, and a matter of law, there is absolutely NO spin on this story that would justify the Bank's actions.

NOTHING!!!!

[quote] I don’t really understand churches that consider gambling a sin.

I always assumed it was in reaction to the soldiers marking time after the crucifixion by gambling below the slowly dying men, including for Jesus's robe. 𝐼𝑓 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑔𝑎𝑚𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑜𝑟𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑝𝑒𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ.

She wasn't trying to open an account. She wanted cash to give her her grifter niece.

[quote]Two days after the casino outing, Pugh drove to the Fifth Third branch to open a savings account and deposit her winnings.

Pay attention, R263!

r253 No. I just treat you people exactly how you treat me in any given moment. But the fact that most of you, on both sides of the political aisle, were socialized to think you were better is simply that, a fact. White liberals just try to hide the shit...poorly. You think you're better than your conservative counterparts by being a reactionary "anti-racist." You are not.

[quote]You are not.

And you are not black, r265. We can all see that.

R6, are you an idiot. Who the fuck uses the ATM to deposit an 80,000 check.

R7, Please have seats. What about this lady appeared low class. She's elderly and a retired schoolteacher for Christ sake. Please go away. No one should be profiled while conducting business and living their life. If the bank cannot afford to have a risk management department and then investigate when fraud occurs and recoup their capital they should not be in the financial industry. As long as one provides sufficient identification, none of those other variables should matter.

Also it must suck to be such a young Uncle Tom/Tina.

"Black" Millennial isn't black, r268.

And fuck you too, Joe Biden at r266.

Can't stand you mfs. For real. -_-

For real-for real, r270?

Your using Joe Biden as a disparagement says *everything* we need to know about you, r270.

This is not an isolated case. There have been so many reports of blacks trying to cash checks and accused to having forgeries. THAT is why this is particularly egregious.

[quote] calm the fuck down you knee jerk idiots. It isn't racism, it's standard bank procedure in 2022..

It's standard procedure to take every big check and call it fraudulent and refuse to open a savings account?

[quote] And just for the record, no bank is required to open a new savings or checking account for anyone. The Third Fifth Bank or whatever said no, Chase said yes. That is where the story should have ended.

Except the part that the bank specifically said it wouldn't open the account because the check was fraudulent.

Now, why would they think that?

R274 Most importantly they wouldn't give her her shit back. They refused to return her check. I hope this woman wins a million dollar grievance settlement. Enough is enough. Racism is fkin stressful.

I haven’t seen the check and no one has published a photo of the check, so I don’t know why they thought it was fraudulent.

[quote] I don't know if those three bank staffers were racist or not, but this lady, without an account at that bank, comes in to open an account with a check from a casino would raise red flags, I don't care what her background is.

It may raise red flags but one generally opens new accounts when they come into money. Also, the bank just assumed it was fraudulent without investigating if the check was valid.

Because of a history of how blacks are treated by banks, one can assume it was because she was black.

[quote] People are complicated, the world is complicated and I will say it again, not every negative interaction a black person has with a white person is about racism. I think this lady should have gone to her primary bank and handled this matter, and not gone to a bank she didn't have a previous relationship with.

Yes, the world is complicated, but quite often, especially in America, the cause IS racism. Also, there is no evidence anywhere in any article that she actually has a primary bank.

[quote] I think this lady should have gone to her primary bank and handled this matter, and not gone to a bank she didn't have a previous relationship with.

She can go to which ever bank she wants and be treated with respect. Any white person would be. If a white lady came in saying she had a check to open a new account, they would never have questioned it at all.

R278 the shit happens all the time. So what she wants to open an account. Verify the check and her id's. All checks have some sort of official verification watermark. I hope this bank is bankrupt into non-existence. Its funny the times in my life I have encountered racism wasn't with the police but financial institutions, even sometimes at my employment with potential clients surprised at my position coupled with my race. Yes there are black managers. Racism is stressful.

[quote] Yawn. Blacks commit more crimes than any other group. If they don’t want to be questioned they need to clean up their community. They brought this on themselves.

Poor people commit more crimes. Race is irrelevant

Men between 18 and 35 commit more crimes then women over 70. How old are millennials again?

Bank personnel attempting to steal a check is a crime. Anyone of any race who excuses that sort of behavior is a criminal sympathizer.

[quote]Your using Joe Biden as a disparagement says *everything* we need to know about you, [R270].

Did his old White ass say if we didn't vote for him we "ain't Black" or not? That person spouted the same rhetoric; "if you're not/don't think [xyz] then you're not Black." [bold]That's[/bold] what is racist. Assuming we all think the same. There is no empirical evidence of racism in this incident other than the races of the parties involved. I'm not going to automatically assume it's racism because I don't go through life with a worldview that racism is the cause behind every negative interaction between Black people and White people. This does not mean these people weren't being racist. I just don't see it [bold]based upon the information presented.[/bold] Somehow, we're "Uncle Tom's" for not immediately seeing racism, here.

That's pure bullshit.

Sure, Jan @ r284.

I was having such a good day - and then I found out r270 can’t stand me. And then to so eloquently be called an MFer. I’m taking to my bed. It hurts. It hurts so much.

Any bank that may have a suspicion that a check is invalid can place a hold on the check amount for new customer until it is confirmed as having been cleared by the paying bank. The new customer isn't negotiating the check for cash on the spot, she is opening an account. The employees at the bank are morons and also racist.

r284 in the *“The Little Mermaid” (2023) Teaser Trailer is Here!* thread:

[quote]They kept Prince Eric White (played by Jonah Hauer-King). So, essentially, we'll have a Black female character giving up everything and changing everything about herself to be with a White guy. It's a bad message whatever the race of the guy but, this is worse for multiple reasons. I'm just waiting patiently for someone from the Black delegation to call this out.

Given *you're* a "black woman", r284, aren't you part of that "Black delegation"?

[quote]aren't you part of that "Black delegation"?

No, you ignorant, out of the loop clown.

Harpo, who dis?

Sorry, but to me it sounds like the bank's employees were trying to steal her money, and tried to intimidate her by claiming that the cheque was fraudulent and behaving very aggressively. If the check had been truly fraudulent, they would have called the police, who would have clarified the entire situation upon arrival - incidentally, this is what the lady offered to do herself, while they tried to isolate her and hid in a third employee's office, seeking to find a way to drive her away and cash the cheque themselves.

The fact that they didn't want the police to become involved in any way and ultimately, they released the cheque when they realized that she had contacted family members to inform them about the situation, tells me that they saw an old lady and thought that they could overwhelm, manipulate and frighten her easily. I think that the lawsuit is fine, but those employees ought to be disciplined and dismissed from their jobs, because they should NEVER be anywhere near other people's money, as they are completely untrustworthy.

Also, the bank ought to pay some form of compensation to her, because they clearly don't have an effective recruitment process and their employees are incapable of safeguarding anyone's money. This is thievery, and a bank should NEVER allow any of its employees to engage in it, as the reputational risk is simply too great for the entity. Obviously, their HR department is failing at doing their job properly and vetting applicants in an effective way.

I'm confused, r289. You're waiting for the "Black delegation" to call something out that you're calling out in your post?

She should sue their ass. And that should be getting even bigger

[quote]I'm confused, [R289].

Clearly.

[quote]You're waiting for the "Black delegation" to call something out that you're calling out in your post?

Is every Black person a member of the NAACP?

UGH. I can't believe I'm having to explain a damn joke to you. The "Black delegation" is a fictional group of chosen Black individuals who make decisions on behalf of all Black people. The joke is that there is a specific group irl (see: Black Twitter) who is charged with the same responsibilities on behalf of the rest of us. They are otherwise known as gatekeepers.

Goddamn, man. -_-

I think you missed my point, r294. You're on the same side as the "Black delegation" in this scenario, so you indeed have consensus with them.

Yes, I definitely missed your point, r295. Because the joke was that I have a problem with that setup in TLM but am supposedly "withholding further opinion" until the so-called "Black delegation" tells me how I'm supposed to feel about that problematic shit.

That isn't the way you worded it, r296. You didn't withhold your opinion whatsoever:

[quote]It's a bad message whatever the race of the guy but, this is worse for multiple reasons

R291, Hmm food for thought. You introduced a perspective I never considered. And you might be right.

First of all, r297, why are you grilling me on here and reading so much into my posts from other threads? You are all over DL trying to play these ignoredar games to, I suppose, find an inconsistency and it is bizarre.

It's getting stalkerish. You won't be able to prove I'm Black. You won't be able to prove I'm White. Or Asian, or belong to whatever demographic you think I belong to. Period. This is an anonymous board, you will just have to just take people's word for it when they say they are x, y, or z. So, rest your damn nerves and leave me the hell alone. This is silly.

Not to get in the middle of other people’s fights, but on an anonymous message board no one HAS to take anyone else’s word about anything. We are all making judgments about other posters’ trustworthiness based upon the content of their posts. To the extent that posters don’t authenticate the only way to do that is to “block and stalk” so I don’t understand why people get so out of shape when it is done.

Well, certainly, r300 no one "has to" take someone's word for something on here. But if you (not you specifically) really want to go through all those changes to "verify details" of someone's identity on DL then knock yourself out.

I'm, personally, not about to do all of that, though.

I’ll let the courts determine this one. But to the poster who talked about banks in red state being racist. After a visit to South Carolina I saw more social interaction different races and less racism in my hotel/resort than I have ever seen at any hotel/resort up North. Especially in oh so blue but really oh so racist New England.

The idea that they were plotting to "steal" the money is ridiculous. It is possible they were trying to "validate" the check, which was taking a long time, so the woman wanted to give up and go home with the check. Although, I was under the impression that's not really possible, more a matter of deposit and wait to clear.

Despite the desire to espouse racism based on this side of the story alone, we have not heard the bank's version yet.

Why is it ridiculous R303? I was a victim of a check washing crime where the perpetrators clearly had someone on the inside given the amount of the check. (In my case they washed the amount as well)

Ok 304 - how does the check-washing work exactly? I don't understand what you mean.

In my case it was a pretty standard post box theft. They left my signature, but washed everything else I wrote. They successfully got the funds, which were substantial, but my bank quickly realized the fraud and made me whole.

Now the thing about a check from a casino is that there is no standard amount or recipient so as long as you don’t change the total it is hard to flag and catch quickly.

If I were a criminal bank employee I’d be on the look out for large checks from entities like casinos that have no personal relationship to the recipient and where the recipient is “vulnerable” to intimidation so that he or she might be too ashamed or embarrassed to report the theft and who might not be believed even if the crime were reported; Say, for instance, a mildly demented elderly black woman who comes in by herself.

Then all you have to do is wash the recipient name, deposit the check and split the money with your fellow criminals.

And any question about whether or not such a scheme might work is pretty much answered by all of the posters on this very thread making derogatory suppositions about the woman, her family and her lawyer, while remaining entirely uncritical of the bank employees.

Well, r308, it's likely because the articles and lawyers immediately tried to turn this into a race issue when it's very likely the, ever more common, issue you're describing. Especially since she's elderly.

People are starting to tune out accusations of racism because it's so overused for the pettiest situations (i.e the recent "Why didn't you hug my child Rosita?" controversy with Sesame Place). As a result, the whole situation gets blown off or you have people arguing about "is it racism or nah?" nonstop. I didn't even think about the possibility of check washing until you brought it up. Scams are on the rise, even with bank employees. And yes, the elderly are primary targets. I'd be more apt to believe this was a case of general elder abuse/scamming than racism since that has been on the rise the past couple of years.

And it's not like bank employees haven't committed fraud before.

I don’t think it’s either/or R309. The fact is if you are a thief and you want to get a way with your thefts, then you steal from black people. And I think this thread, with all the bizarre and baseless accusations against the poor woman, is a great example of that.

If the bank had run the same scam against a white woman, I doubt posters would have commented that they thought the bankers were justified, or brought up hood rats, or questioned how she was dressed, or commented that she somehow deserved it by not depositing the check in her existing account, or called the niece a grifter or assumed her lawyer was going to steal the entire settlement.

What really popped out at me in this story, as a white lady who has been in a lot of banks as a customer, is that it seems like the bankers never handed her their card. As soon as I am walking to or at someone’s desk, I am always handed a card. Taking a picture of the location to remember the address is a coping mechanism for anterograde amnesia, but you don’t need to do it if you have a business card. She dealt with three bankers and needed to take the card, so it sounds like they saw her as a potential mark right away.

So who knows if they were personally racist, but they were relying on other people’s racism to assist them in getting away with it.

[quote]If the bank had run the same scam against a white woman, I doubt posters would have commented that they thought the bankers were justified, or brought up hood rats, or questioned how she was dressed, or commented that she somehow deserved it by not depositing the check in her existing account, or called the niece a grifter or assumed her lawyer was going to steal the entire settlement.

You don't seem to understand that people started bringing that up [bold]because[/bold] race was brought up when, honestly, it didn't need to be. Had they simply focused on the incident itself, which was completely mishandled by the bank employees, in my opinion, then that's what most people would've focused on, as well. Unfortunately, bringing racism up for anything now has gotten overplayed, and many accusations turn out to either be false, misunderstandings, possible grifts, or just bold-face lies (i.e. Jussie Smollett). So, yes, you will have people who are immediately dismissive of such claims because we've run this issue into the ground as a society and a lot of people, of all races, are just over it at this point. Myself included.

Once again, there is no empirical evidence of racism other than the races of the parties involved in this incident. To immediately jump to that conclusion is reckless and distracts from the bigger issue here; possible theft by bank employees of a potential customer. Does this mean that race wasn't a factor in their behavior? Of course not. But, as far as I'm concerned..."more information needed."

I have a vested interest in preserving racism accusations for actual racism because, yes, it still exists. However, you make it harder for genuine victims to receive justice when you throw the accusation around all willy-nilly. As you can see, in this thread, the social climate regarding this issue is one of exasperation and a lot of that is due to the claim being abused. I know racism and prejudice exist and I believe most people would agree on this front. My grandmother actually reminded me a few days ago about an incident that happened with one of my elementary school teachers that went over my head as a child but now as an adult, I can certainly agree was racist.

My (White) teacher made a comment to my grandmother, that was damn-near straight out of 'The Color Purple:' "You always keep her so neat and clean." (On [bold]God[/bold] this woman said this shit). I remember my grandmother replying to her very calmly, "Well, how else would we keep her?" Which caused my teacher to get flustered and try to play it off and correct, what she sincerely saw as a compliment. This was the 90s. Perhaps these bank tellers made certain comments that "tipped off" this woman that there, indeed, was a racial motivation. However, that detail has thus far been omitted from this story, so I can't jump to that conclusion and won't.

[quote] You don't seem to understand that people started bringing that up because race was brought up when, honestly, it didn't need to be.

Race needed to be because blacks speak all the times about how banks treat them as liars. This very incident of not believing a potential black customer has happened over and over again. THAT's why race was brought up.

[quote] Had they simply focused on the incident itself, which was completely mishandled by the bank employees, in my opinion, then that's what most people would've focused on, as well.

Three bankers were involved and they all accused this woman of being a fraud and a thief. Again, THREE bankers.

You think they were all incompetent at their job and couldn't tell the difference between a real and a fake check?

[quote] Perhaps these bank tellers made certain comments that "tipped off" this woman that there, indeed, was a racial motivation.

Really? Racists usually tip people off if their reaction is racist?

In fact, I'll even grant that much of this may have been subconscious but rarely does anyone use a smoking gun. No one says, "I'm calling you a liar because you're n___ger!!!" It's pathetic that you think only that can signify racism

Fuck these mafuckers acting purposely obtuse. They know what goes on in society. They are purposely being tedious to derail the discussion.

You really could've put all that nonsense in one post r312 - r314.

No, r315, you're being tedius by insisting this is definitely on so little evidence of such. But by all means, keep nitpicking every little unsatisfactory experience a Black person has with a White person as racist. Because overusing the accusation has been working so well and people are definitely not over us calling everything racist and being perpetual victims at this point. Definitely not.

*definitely racism

How much of this story actually happened, and how much was made up by the grifter niece?

R311 you must have come from a wealthy hoity-toity area that your grandmother considered that a racist comment. I grew up in a poor rural 99% white area and lots of kids were filthy and disheveled. That would be a legitimate compliment in my experience. I am going to take your word that in the context of where you grew up it was actually racist even though my visceral reaction is to think you and your grandmother are absolutely paranoid and reading racism into completely benign comments.

I know what you're trying to do r320, but you are failing. Miserably. And because you're White, it's worse. This is why you people need to stay out of these conversations, altogether.

Why would a black have so much money? The bank must have seen hundred of blacks pulling similar stunts. Even if check is real, it would be an anomaly. Black slaves were bought from blacks for a lot of money . Get that through your diseased liberal brains.

What’s interesting about this thread is that the three black people (including myself) are downplaying the “racism” angle of this story while presumably elderly, woke, Democratic white people are trying to amplify it.

A lot of people refuse to believe I’m black because I have zero qualms about openly criticizing the pathologies of black culture. When I was a kid in the ‘90s, and my white-adjacent stepfather would make anti-black comments, or I heard of racist incidents in the news, I really did not understand why widespread anti-blackness seemed to be somewhat prevalent.

Fast forward to today and now I get it. I’ve recognized that the vast majority of people, white or otherwise, don’t give a damn if someone who is smart, honest, hardworking, kind, law-abiding, a productive member of society, etc, happens to be black. Most people judge you on an individual basis. Period. I don’t think that has much changed in my lifetime.

I do concede that yes, a lot of anti-blackness does still exist in 2022. But it’s not because of black people look. It’s because of how they collectively act. Unfortunately, negative stereotypes about blacks (stereotypes because they’re often true) sometimes adversely affect the too few black people who aren’t the dredges of society.

Basically I’m saying the onus is on the black community to fix its own shitty culture — not on a subset of anti-black white people to stop being racist. If most blacks acted normally, were educated, assimilated, stopped committing a wildly disproportionate amount of violence, murder and crime, and didn’t infest and destroy every major city where they become a majority, I’m willing to bet very few people would have a problem with black people collectively.

Today, anti-black racism isn’t dead, as evident in the comment sections of Zero Hedge, 4chan Pol, or Fox News. These “racists” aren’t talking shit about normal black people though.

Despite how badly the Left and many in this thread want to lump me in with the ghetto trash masses of black people, I have never and will never allow myself to be associated or lumped in with them due to our shared genetic phenotype. The real racists are those who continue to insist otherwise.

[quote]presumably elderly, woke, Democratic white people are trying to amplify it.

Because a lot of them probably have done and said some really racist mess in their heyday, feel bad about it, and are now trying to make amends before they croak.

I know the type. And they are fooling absolutely nobody.

[quote] Bank asks court to dismiss lawsuit filed by Black woman who says staff refused to cash jackpot check

In its denial motion, Fifth Third Bank of Livonia, Michigan, said the situation involving Lizzie Pugh’s $12,000 jackpot check had nothing to do with race.

Fifth Third Bank is requesting that the court dismiss a discrimination lawsuit filed by 71-year-old Lizzie Pugh, who claims she was mistreated by three white staffers who accused her of trying to deposit a fake jackpot check for $12,206.84.

According to The Detroit Free Press, Fifth Third of Livonia, Michigan, claims in its 23-page response filed in U.S. District Court, that its staff members involved were doing their jobs, and the incident was a misunderstanding that had nothing to do with race.

Bank spokesman Ed Loyd explained Wednesday in a statement that, as part of its fraud prevention measures, the bank employee was attempting to confirm the check with Soaring Eagle Casino. He further stated that the bank has verified records of a call made from the branch to the casino on the April afternoon.

“From our review of the claims, we believe our employees’ actions were well intentioned and have been misinterpreted,” the statement read, according to The Free Press. “That said, we regret Ms. Pugh has come away feeling mistreated after her interactions at our branch. We never want someone to feel that way. Our employees’ actions were consistent with our process and the dual goals of serving our customers while also preventing potential frauds that can victimize both the bank and our customers.”

TheGrio previously reported that Pugh, a Detroit public schools retiree who migrated to the city from Alabama in 1971, allegedly told the first pair of Fifth Third Bank employees she encountered to open an account and deposit the check on April 11 — two days after she won the jackpot — and that her check was valid. She had even given them a copy of her license and told them she was retired.

The check featured Pugh’s name and the same residential address that appears on her identification, as well as the Soaring Eagle Casino logo, address and the words “SLOT JACKPOT” on the memo line.

Instead of processing the check, the bankers called in a third employee, who backed up their accusations and told Pugh they would not be returning the check to her.

Deborah Gordon, Pugh’s attorney, believes the bank mistreated her client because she is Black. The Free Press reported that Gordon referred to the bank’s recent explanation as a “bunch of bulls–t,” pointing out that three Fifth Third staffers told a customer her check was fake, wouldn’t open an account as requested, and initially refused to return her winnings.

“Her concern in leaving is they would not return her check. They had it in the back office, and she kept begging them to call the casino. In the meantime, they had taken her check from her,” said Gordon of her client, according to The Free Press.

“They refused the transaction with her, and she had to leave and go elsewhere,” Gordon added. “Why couldn’t they open an account for her? Obviously, they assumed fraud, and they didn’t want to do business with her.”

Gordon also refuted claims from the bank that it handled the situation properly, adding that her client was able to take the check down the street to Chase Bank and deposit it right away.

Pugh’s lawsuit requests an unspecified amount in damages from Fifth Third. In its denial motion, the only admission bank officials made was that the check was returned to Pugh at her request.

“Fifth Third denies all allegations of the complaint … (and) respectfully requests that this court enter an order dismissing plaintiff’s case in its entirety,” the bank’s filing states, “and awarding Fifth Third costs, interest, attorney fees and any other relief that is warranted under the circumstances.”

R323 I'm black and I'm not downplaying shit. Now go away you self hating loon.

Again, if the details matched her account application I don't see why they couldn't just submit the check for payment, with a hold on the money until it cleared? A Chase rep told me it's not possible to "pre-verify" this stuff.

It was only $12,000????

Omg that cheap ass bank!!

I thought the check was for $50,000 AT LEAST.

[quote] my white-adjacent stepfather

R323, why do you describe your stepfather as “white adjacent”? Was he biracial (black and white)?

R329, why are you engaging with an obvious troll?

R323 I'm white and I grieve every day that slavery ended. Successful blacks are just stealing white opportunities.

Furthermore:

Moreover:

The troll infestation has gotten out of hand and this thread is exhibit A.

Well, I'm a black woman who happens to mourn the end of slavery. Millions of blacks were rescued from starvation in Africa and supplied with stable supply of food and freedom from constant tribal conflict.

Good god, f&f the Boris in blackface at R336.

R336 also wrote R331 and R322. The "black woman" at R336 is also "white" at R331 and wonders how "a black" could have so much money --$12,000 is "so much money?" Maybe in rubles!

Boris, turn in your badge, you're about to be fired.

R336, Do you realize the transatkantic slave voyage was a fkin holocaust. You fkin troll cunt.

Transatlantic*