Note from BW of Brazil: Well this case is pretty typical. A black man in a Japanese restaurant just has to be the waiter, right? I would actually like to more a few more details about this case than were reported. To be fair, anyone could say that this case could have been blown out of proportion or it was a simple error in judgement, but on the other hand, the question would be, it is were a white guy wearing the same clothes in the same situation, would the customer have assumed that he was the waiter? Simply another case exemplifying the idea of race and ‘place’.
Actor Luís Miranda accuses restaurant customer of racism: ‘go take it in the ass..’
Post with reports of the actor’s attitude and photo of the bill viralizou (went viral) and won social networks
Courtesy of the newsroom of Correio 24 Horas (redacao@correio24horas.com.br)
A controversy involving actor Luís Miranda won over social networks on Thursday (7). The co-pilot of civil aviation, Leandro Cerqueira Leite reported an episode in a Japanese restaurant in the Barra da Tijuca region of West Zone Rio de Janeiro. According Leandro, a friend was accused of racism by the actor.
According to Leandro’s report, the case took place last Tuesday. “A little distracted, she went up to a man who believed to be the waiter.” The man was actor Luís Miranda. The baiano (native of Bahia) was offended and reacted. “My shirt looks like that of a waiter, right? Just because I’m black I have to be the waiter, right? I don’t work here, no!!!”, he said.
Also according to Leandro’s report, the woman apologized and the two went to a table. Soon after Luís Miranda passed by them and told the waiter that he would pay the couple’s bill. The co-pilot affirms that, moments later, the actress Dani Calabrian, who accompanied the actor, wrote a note on a bill. The message read: “I’m not a waiter and neither are you. I am the customer, just like you, but there are things in which we differ, your prejudice for example. I couldn’t leave without telling you to tomar no cu (take it up the ass).”
“Just because of being Caucasian and heterosexuals there wasn’t the least possibility of this episode ending well on our side and we decided to ask for the bill, ignoring the situation. That was when the waiter handed my friend the ‘note’ written by ‘Dani Calabrian’ (who spent the whole time at his table away and didn’t witness at any time any comments of his friend, but even so took sides) at the request of her friend: YES, THIS IS PREJUDICE !!!,” wrote Leandro explaining the situation.
In an interview with Extra (news), Luís Miranda confirmed the incident and said there was racism on the woman’s part. “She was racist to me. It’s not because she confused me with the waiter, but because she didn’t apologize to me. I was not on her side. I was going up to go to the bathroom. You look at the people next to you, you know? You walk into a restaurant and call any person a waiter because of the (skin) color?,” asks the actor, who spoke about the bill.
“It doesn’t matter who wrote it. The message was to her, it was I who sent it,” he said.
Source: Correio 24 Horas
I experienced a similar thing in a restaurant in Salvador. One of the elderly white patrons in a baiano resturant asked if I was a footballer as I can only assume it must of been inconceivable that an African goes on holiday or lives there and likes to eat food in restaurants too.
It was my first introduction to the crazy racial politics of Brasil.