We have come a long way when it comes to achieving racial equality. People of color, generally speaking, do not live in fear of racist abuse whenever they step outside. However, isolated incidents still occur, and unless people take a stand against this deplorable behaviour, they will continue to happen.
When Colleen Dagg from Florida heard a woman in a hotel lobby make a racist remark, she decided to take a stand – even though this meant getting into a physical fight with her. The perpetrator, quite literally, did not know what had hit her, assuming that she was going to get away with her blatant racism.
The woman made a racist comment about Haitians. It’s not known exactly what this comment was, or what Colleen said in response. However, another guest decided that it was time for him to take out his camera when he saw Colleen taking off her shoes in preparation for a fight when she realized that the woman was going to shut her down.
Violence is obviously never a good go-to option in the face of wrong, however, those who have seen the footage displayed on the following page believe that Colleen was right to pummel the racist for her remark when she hit her. This startling video of the incident has now gone viral on Facebook and Twitter…
The video of the incident was initially posted to Facebook by a man named Austin. It features the two women getting into a fight which is soon broken up by hotel security – the police were later called. But for reasons unknown, the video was soon taken down from the website, presumably because of its violent content.
However, it has subsequently been reposted by other users across Facebook and Twitter. Austin captioned the video:
”Ok so [the] lady in the blue sundress said something super racist about how ‘you know these Haitians’ and sis in the grey was not having it. She then lied to the police and said the other girl started it when everything was caught on video.”
Social media users were quick to praise Colleen for her actions, even though the woman in blue has stood by her story that she was the victim and that Colleen had started the right and not her. She has even said that Colleen is ”going to jail” for attacking her because she is apparently ”three months pregnant.”
Twitter and Facebook users, however, did not buy the woman’s story and deemed Colleen a hero.
Others were quick to point out how the footage shows that it is not just people of color who are tired of racism:
Ultimately, however, many people said that Colleen simply did what was right by standing up to the woman:
It did not take long for news of the viral video to get back to Colleen herself, who subsequently made a Twitter account to say more about the incident.
”This is a young country built on racism. Black people have been disenfranchised for over 250 years. The faster white people accept and validate the truth, the closer we’ll come to a place of peace and understanding. Fighting racism is dependent upon using my white privilege for the right reasons.
There were 2 examples of white privilege in the video. The woman in the blue dress tried to use her white privilege on me, the fact that I’m white too must have slipped her mind. If you see it, say something. It’s really that simple. Disclaimer; some people can’t handle the truth. Stay ready.”
Regardless of your opinion on violence, there is no doubt that Colleen was right to challenge the racist woman in the lobby and physically defend herself. So the next time that you see or hear racism, whether its online or in reality, take a stand. Otherwise you are simply letting racists know that their inexcusable behavior is acceptable.
