Especially if it was intentionally or unintentionally due to race. Microaggressions are not cool at all.
To clarify, I was mentally treating the cashier's comment and the responses here as separate things.
I can't speak for all but I was responding to the fact that the cashier asked this of a black woman, casually dressed for the pool. I, personally, wouldn't be offended (confused, but not offended) to be asked.
Dairy's situation is different. If the cashier is asking all customers prior to ringing up the transaction, I would not consider that offensive to anybody and more just a housekeeping task.
ETA: It was also the cashier's wording. "So that will be WIC?" as if it's an assumption.
Post by thatgirl2478 on Jul 5, 2015 20:35:44 GMT -5
I don't know, I think that some WIC/foodstamp programs have requirements on how they are rung/paid for as well as package size/variety restrictions in addition to some varieties (ie. more expensive specialty formulas) that need doctor referral to get via WIC. Maybe the clerk was being proactive so she didn't get too far into the transaction and have to re do or cancel it.
From what I've heard using WIC is actually pretty complicated when it comes to figuring out what is and is nor allowed.
I am sort of surprised by these answers. When people come on MM with budget posts (or at least, when they used to....) if their income was really low and they had kids the common response would be "look into WIC, there's no shame, it's a resource that's there if you need it" blah blah.
I agree that the cashier was not tactful to phrase it as "that will be WIC, right?" but I don't get the responses here of "imagine if you'd actually been using WIC? How mortifying!!!"
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It is not shameful at all to use WIC. It is an important program that I fully support. That everyone should support. It's offensive because the cashier asking ahead of time sounds to me like she's asking in a way to be a bitch and make a WIC user feel small. It's a shitty way/thing to ask.
WIC is a wonderful program. I supported if 100%. The reality is it still has a stigma and some people are embarrassed to use it or even apply for it. In my state it still uses paper vouchers that list specific items. The cashier must ring it as WIC from the start, or start over. There are lots of rules, but it's not really complicated.
Yeah, she asked OP because she was black and the cashier was making assumptions. I'd be offended. I might even speak to the manager about it.
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Post by awkwardpenguin on Jul 5, 2015 21:30:28 GMT -5
I would probably give the cashier the benefit of the doubt, actually. WIC purchases formula under contract, so all WIC formula in a state is one or two brands. Chances are you were buying a WIC eligible formula brand and most formula purchases of that brand are WIC. Especially since it was all you are buying and it's the beginning of the month.
The cashier ASSUMED it was a WIC situation, which means she made the assumption based on something she saw/heard...here it was either the colour of skin, how she was dressed, or both. In all three situations it speaks to the cashier's belief that 'a certain kind' of person needs/uses/accesses WIC. So yes, offensive.
The cashier ASSUMED it was a WIC situation, which means she made the assumption based on something she saw/heard...here it was either the colour of skin, how she was dressed, or both. In all three situations it speaks to the cashier's belief that 'a certain kind' of person needs/uses/accesses WIC. So yes, offensive.
She could be assuming it is WIC because of the type of formula that is being purchased as awkwardpenguin described.
I would probably give the cashier the benefit of the doubt, actually. WIC purchases formula under contract, so all WIC formula in a state is one or two brands. Chances are you were buying a WIC eligible formula brand and most formula purchases of that brand are WIC. Especially since it was all you are buying and it's the beginning of the month.
WIC isn't tied to the calendar day at all. They are tied to your appointment day, so getting new checks could be the 11th or 27th. Plus, most people who are getting WIC get more than one can of formula a month and you can't split up a check. If it says 3 cans of formula you can get 1-3 cans, but you can't get 1 can now and 2 cans later, ykwim? Also, in my state many brands of formula are covered- pretty much everything except organic and with extras like DHA.
I'm sure I biased on this because of the color of my skin and my job, but the whole "maybe the cashier was just trying to be extra good at her job" some people are suggesting is pissing me off. (Not directed specifically at you penguin- I quoted you to explain WIC more).
share.memebox.com/x/uKhKaZmemebox referal code for 20% off! DD1 "J" born 3/2003 DD2 "G" born 4/2011 DS is here! "H" born 2/2014 m/c#3 1-13-13 @ 9 weeks m/c#2 11-11-12 @ 5w2d I am an extended breastfeeding, cloth diapering, baby wearing, pro marriage equality, birth control lovin', Catholic mama.
WIC vouchers in my state are always issued at the beginning of the month, cannot be split, and have to be used by the 10th of the month or they are no good. Alimentum (powder only) is covered, albeit at a reduced quantity than other formulas. You're required to present them up front and most people get it all at once. I think it was really a matter of either a really inexperienced cashier wanting to get the transaction right or she was being a racist asshole, maybe both. I'm sorry that happened to you.
HEB is a Texas chain so I'm assuming this transaction happened there. It appears Similac is the default WIC formula in Texas and Similac makes Alimentum.
So sure, she could be an insensitive jerk for asking if it was going to be a WIC transaction based on the formula type being purchased.
I would probably give the cashier the benefit of the doubt, actually. WIC purchases formula under contract, so all WIC formula in a state is one or two brands. Chances are you were buying a WIC eligible formula brand and most formula purchases of that brand are WIC. Especially since it was all you are buying and it's the beginning of the month.
WIC isn't tied to the calendar day at all. They are tied to your appointment day, so getting new checks could be the 11th or 27th. Plus, most people who are getting WIC get more than one can of formula a month and you can't split up a check. If it says 3 cans of formula you can get 1-3 cans, but you can't get 1 can now and 2 cans later, ykwim? Also, in my state many brands of formula are covered- pretty much everything except organic and with extras like DHA.
I'm sure I biased on this because of the color of my skin and my job, but the whole "maybe the cashier was just trying to be extra good at her job" some people are suggesting is pissing me off. (Not directed specifically at you penguin- I quoted you to explain WIC more).
It should piss you off. It pisses me off, too, because that is privilege at its best. Having people explain away micro aggressions is offensive, oppresses the voice of people of color, and helps to perpetuate the problem. This is most definitely offensive. I'd be totally offended.
This makes zero sense to me. I mean, at every HEB I've shopped at (which is a lot, due to work) WIC/Lonestar is a payment option when you swipe your card, even at the self checkout. If you are doing self checkout then you aren't going to be telling the cashier anything up front. So why does she need to ask anything for any reason?
I don't even know where to post an intro here! I was on TK/TN/TB since 2003, mostly local boards. I was m_and_m.
"I speak without reservation from what I know and who I am. I do so with the understanding that all people should have the right to offer their voice to the chorus whether the result is harmony or dissonance. The worldsong is a colorless dirge without the differences that distinguish us, and it is that difference that should be celebrated not condemned." -Ani Difranco
This makes zero sense to me. I mean, at every HEB I've shopped at (which is a lot, due to work) WIC/Lonestar is a payment option when you swipe your card, even at the self checkout. If you are doing self checkout then you aren't going to be telling the cashier anything up front. So why does she need to ask anything for any reason?
I'm here. Which is why I'm voting for making assumptions.
Post by awkwardpenguin on Jul 5, 2015 22:37:10 GMT -5
I mean there's no way to know what she was thinking, and she shouldn't have assumed. But I can tell you at a grocery store I used to shop at, 90% of Enfamil purchases were WIC because that was the only formula allowed by WIC and my neighborhood was very low income. It seems possible she assumed because most formula she rings up is WIC. Or not, we can't possibly know.
If you were white and this happened to you, my take on things would be different, but all she knew is that you're a black woman purchasing formula and based on that she assumed it was WIC. Hell yeah, that's offensive. To be honest, I'm finding some of the whitesplaining going on in this thread offensive, too. Nobody is saying there is anything wrong with WIC, just like nobody thinks there is something wrong with working as a nanny. But, if you see a black woman in a wealthy neighborhood and automatically assume she's the domestic help, rather then that she can afford to live there, then that's offensive. Similarly, when a black woman is purchasing formula and the automatic assumption is that she's using WIC, that is offensive, too. We don't need to come up with a bunch of rationalizations why systemic racism doesn't exist or micoraggressions don't matter.
If you were white and this happened to you, my take on things would be different, but all she knew is that you're a black woman purchasing formula and based on that she assumed it was WIC. Hell yeah, that's offensive. To be honest, I'm finding some of the whitesplaining going on in this thread offensive, too. Nobody is saying there is anything wrong with WIC, just like nobody thinks there is something wrong with working as a nanny. But, if you see a black woman in a wealthy neighborhood and automatically assume she's the domestic help, rather then that she can afford to live there, then that's offensive. Similarly, when a black woman is purchasing formula and the automatic assumption is that she's using WIC, that is offensive, too. We don't need to come up with a bunch of rationalizations why systemic racism doesn't exist or micoraggressions don't matter.
It's not necessarily offensive to ask, because as others pointed out, it may be something they do generally. However, the way she stated the assumption is offensive. I guess that's what the problem is in my eyes. What she said was an assumption not a question.
I've been asked before when everything in my small purchase was WIC eligible and I was somewhere a high % of sales use WIC. I didn't think anything of it but I'm also white so there wasn't the added layer of wondering if my race played a factor in the questioning.
ETA: And given what you said about it being a grocery store in an affluent area and not a gas station in the middle of a poor one makes me think there is no way I would have been asked that question there, which pisses me off for you.
My first reaction was WTF. I think I might contact the store manager about diversity awareness training with the concern that this cashier is shaming WIC users. It's probably not terribly relevant but I'd be tempted to drop your PhD in there somewhere.
I would probably give the cashier the benefit of the doubt, actually. WIC purchases formula under contract, so all WIC formula in a state is one or two brands. Chances are you were buying a WIC eligible formula brand and most formula purchases of that brand are WIC. Especially since it was all you are buying and it's the beginning of the month.
No. I cannot give the cashier the benefit of the doubt in this situation, especially knowing that the OP is not white. If the cashier regularly asks customers purchasing formula if they are using WIC, there are ways of doing it that are not offensive. She did not do that and made assumptions.