Postal Worker Secretly Films Customer's Racist Rant

gawker.com ^ | 11-12-10

[Justaham]

Things got ugly when a black mail carrier refused to take back a letter he'd delivered to a lady in Hingham, Mass. She went on a racist rant and slapped him. He secretly taped it all on his cell phone.

The argument in the video is sparked by a certified letter that the mail carrier delivers. The woman has signed for it, but decides she doesn't want it because it's addressed to her husband, not her. But the mail guy won't take it back. Things go sour when she calls him a "F****** n***** thief." She quickly qualifies: "I'm not prejudiced but right now I'm getting real pissed off." Then everything she says afterward is so racist it would make George Wallace blush. Finally she slaps him. Just your normal day on the mail route. Except really, really racist.

[Constitutions Grandchild]

You would??? Really. Sweetest-heart, have you seriously considered an eye exam? I mean, well, she isn't the plainest Jane in the world, but when combined with that brain, she becomes problematic. You're bright enough, you're nice enough and, gosh darn-it, people like you. ;-)

[seowulf]

As distasteful as the woman’s behavior was, it was not illegal.

However, the postman’s secretly recording the conversation is probably a felony (depending on state law).

[calex59]

I think this is fake. Why would he be taping this delivery, does he do that to all his deliveries. If he had turned the phone on after she started to rant that would be different but he has it on all the time. A put up job to show how racist whites are, just as fake nooses hung from doors and trees are done to implicate whites.

I know there are racist white people out there, but this stinks.

[mamelukesabre]

lol

[Ramius]

Unreal...

[ml/nj]

Or maybe the whole thing is BS? And why would there be "blatent racism" on his route? Exactly how much interaction do most people have with their mailman? I wave to mine sometimes. Maybe once or twice a year he needs a signature for something. We don't really discuss much when he does, and as I recall he doesn't have a free hand to take movies.

ML/NJ

[gleeaikin]

If you read the comments following the full article, there are two people who know the woman and say she is really crazy and needs professional help. The mailman may have had run-ins with her before and realized that a certified letter might be a trigger, therefore ready with the camera.

[FreedomPoster]

It was down South.

South Metropolitan Boston.

[stayathomemom]

Did she say the letter was from the Rotary Club? I’ve got a feeling she’s been nasty to this guy before as he was ready to record this interchange. Perhaps it’s SOP for carriers to be ready to record incidents like this?

[isthisnickcool]

As distasteful as the woman’s behavior was, it was not illegal.

What? She assaulted him. She hit the guy. SHE went postal on him:)

If you read some of the comments on the link there are several people that know the woman in the video and say she is crazy because they have had run-ins with her. I suspect that the mail carrier has had some issues with her already.

I'm from the south and I've never seen anyone do such a thing. The mail carrier was pretty cool and I think that pissed her off even more. Good for him for filming this for his own protection.

[trumandogz]

“As distasteful as the woman’s behavior was, it was not illegal.”

My guess is that assault of a postal worker is actually against the law.

Lock her in a cage.

[netmilsmom]

>>If he had turned the phone on after she started to rant that would be different but he has it on all the time. <<

You don’t see the woman walk up. He did flip it on during the rant. She just continued on.

Look, I don’t know if you have ever worked customer service, but I can tell you, people lie about what you do. You can be the nicest person on earth and it doesn’t please some people. This guy started filming to cover his own butt. I would have done the same thing. She was so upset, she could have said or done anything.

[Opinionated Blowhard]

(BTW, I would hit that)

LOL. Then God help you when you try to break it off with this nut. You'll come home to your pet boiling on the stove.

[netmilsmom]

Thanks!

[Mr. K]

Once she started verbally abusing him it became illegal (assault).

He is lucky he was able to video evidence of the additional crime when she hit him (battery).

Is it illegal to tape evidence of a crime being committed? especially against yourself when you may have to defend yourself?

[Constitutions Grandchild]

Now that you mention it — my one and only trip to Boston was an eye opener for me, too. At the time, New Yorkers were supposed to be the most boorish and vile to out of towners of all cities in the US. I found, however, after completing my trip to the Northeast that by comparison, the average Bostonian made the average New Yorker seem like Emily Post, Amy Vanderbilt and The Blessed Mother Theresa rolled into one.

I think we're being too harsh on this poor woman. She's obviously come up in a tough town and had little or no occasion to travel outside her comfort zone. As another poster noted, “it only happens in the South.” Well now, that's as may be true, but there are some differences. In the South, that postman could well be your fifth cousin once removed. ;-)

[PapaBear3625]

I think this is fake. Why would he be taping this delivery, does he do that to all his deliveries.

If he's been doing this delivery route for years, he probably knows which people are going to give him trouble, so he probably knew that registered mail was going to trigger bad behavior and was prepared. Having a video recorder when having to deal with potentially hostile people is a good CYA move.

Plus, high-capacity recorders are cheap enough now that you can get one, let it run your whole shift, and just clear it at the end of the shift if nothing of note occurs.

[dpa5923]

self ping

[wally-balls]

Hingham is a beautiful town but, unfortuantely, it’s also nauseatingly WASPish, elitist, ruling-class on almost every level. Biggest friggin’ phonies you can imagine. Kind of people that toast eachother’s courage for voting for Obama but have nothing but disdain for people who aren’t exactly like them. Not surprised by this

[TexasCajun]

This woman is a racist liberal.

She tells him White People want to help him but his IQ is too low to comprehend the effort.