| Foot in mouth.what would you have done?
I made a real of myself and was not sure how to fix it. It was entirely inadvertant.
Here's what happened...I was shopping in Sears, and was absolutely exhausted. I had picked up 7 things at a 2 for 1 sale, and thought I had 8. The clerk, who was from India (I could tell from his name and accent), advised me of this and suggested I get one more item for free.
When I came back to the register, there was a huge crowd of people waiting in line for his assistance. There were also several managers near the checkout talking to one another in some sort of meeting that appeared to involve a stroll through the store. Everyone in line seemed to notice that these managers - all caucasian by coincidence - were ignoring this huge line of customers instead of jumping in to help.
I got to the front of the line again, and the clerk apologized to me for my having to wait in line again after getting my additional item. I said it wasn't a problem. He then said that he wasn't able to summon more help because the managers were all in a meeting.
This is where I made a dumb remark and said, "I understand...not enough Indians". I was thinking of the saying, "too many chiefs, not enough indians", which in retrospect I realize is offensive even when used as intended. But, given that the clerks in the store - throughout the store - appeared to be from India, and the managers were all white, this stupid remark came off like a led zepplin. It was within a nanosecond that I also realized that this young man who was clearly not born in America probably had never heard this dated saying before.
I was so embarassed I could have died on the spot. What could I have said to make it right...if anything? It seemed the more I said, the worse it got, so I ultimately shut up, said thank you, and left the store!
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