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submitted 8 months ago by stopthatgirl7@kbin.social to c/news@lemmy.world

Louis Gray says he was racially profiled after trying to buy spray paint to make over his son’s bicycle helmet

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[-] betterdeadthanreddit@lemmy.world 215 points 8 months ago

Sounds like they shouldn't sell spray paint at all if they're so concerned about graffiti. How many other products of theirs could be used for vandalism? Maybe the safest option is to go out of business entirely.

[-] afraid_of_zombies@lemmy.world 140 points 8 months ago

As long as we are doing this we really should ban white people from buying or selling mortgage backed securities. We have a dataset and 100% of the time mortgage backed securities and whites cause crime.

[-] OneOrTheOtherDontAskMe@lemmy.world 13 points 8 months ago

Inb4 JP Morgan Chase buys the Lakota tribe

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[-] Alexstarfire@lemmy.world 11 points 8 months ago
[-] xor@infosec.pub 85 points 8 months ago

i feel like people will spray paint all over the store now...

[-] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 70 points 8 months ago
[-] uis@lemm.ee 8 points 8 months ago

I want. But I'm on the other side of bathtub.

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[-] NineMileTower@lemmy.world 74 points 8 months ago

Even if he was, are you paid enough to care?

[-] ComradePorkRoll@lemmy.world 38 points 8 months ago

Racists would pay to do a racism.

[-] fidodo@lemmy.world 10 points 8 months ago

Some people want to power trip off the tiniest bits of control they have.

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[-] Paragone@lemmy.world 52 points 8 months ago

Spray-paint tends to be solvent-based, and spraying it onto a helmet can fundamentally compromise its structure/strength.

Please don't ever use solvent-based stuff on multi-layer plastic helmets, for sake of your brain, who needs that helmet to work properly, when one gets slammed into the asphalt/concrete.

Please.

[-] tryptaminev@feddit.de 60 points 8 months ago

That seems a bit unlikely. The solvents quickly evaporate off. Unless you are soaking it in solvents, there won't be enough to cause any relevant effect. Meanwhile the helmet is exposed to UV light on a daily basis, which will also degrade it over time.

You are also not going to burn from briefly touching laundry detergent, but keeping lots of it on your skin would be a problem.

[-] datelmd5sum@lemmy.world 14 points 8 months ago

Helmets are usually polycarbonate and the common solvent in spray paint is xylene. Xylene causes extreme degradation in polycarbonate. If you don't know if the helmet and the paint are compatible, it's not safe to paint it.

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[-] ifGoingToCrashDont@lemmy.world 15 points 8 months ago

That's not how helmets work. The outer shell certainly helps mitigate bumps and bangs, but what really protects your head is the styrofoam inner that compresses like an airbag upon impact.

[-] Neato@ttrpg.network 35 points 8 months ago

No it's both. The outer shell deforms before breaking and then the foam absorbs the rest of the impact.

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[-] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 34 points 8 months ago

Those motherfuckers made his four-year-old cry.

I hope corporate throws the book at them.

[-] inb4_FoundTheVegan@lemmy.world 14 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

Nope.

In an email later sent to Gray, Hobbycraft said they were continuing to investigate. “We would one again like to apologise for your recent experience in our store,” the email said. “We hae a zero tolerance approach to racism … and this is not how we want any of our customers to feel."

“Your situation involved the purchase of age restricted product which requires age verification, meaning all colleagues are trained to ask for ID should they believe the customer is under the age of 25. As you were unable to share ID with our colleagues, they were unfortunately unable to authorise the sale.”

[-] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 13 points 8 months ago

Always believe corporations.

[-] inb4_FoundTheVegan@lemmy.world 15 points 8 months ago

Corporations aren't people. But they are fucking liars.

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[-] uis@lemm.ee 7 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

25? Sounds arbitrary enough to not be mentioned in laws. How good consumer protection in UK? Can you file for age discrimination?

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[-] jadedwench@lemmy.world 33 points 8 months ago

As a general reminder, if you have fallen and the helmet took the impact, replace the helmet. If your helmet has been damaged through other means, replace it. They are not meant to be reused after keeping your brain within its skull.

Just like hardhats, you want to inspect them frequently and there is a good chance they have expiration dates. I would be cautious painting them as the chemicals may damage the integrity of the helmet, especially the foam. We always just covered them in stickers. When in doubt, check with the manufacturer.

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[-] jobby@lemmy.today 31 points 8 months ago

Because white people never graffiti anything. Uh huh.

[-] TORFdot0@lemmy.world 11 points 8 months ago

I'd be thinking of buying some spray paint from this guy and then using it to vandalize his building

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[-] JeeBaiChow@lemmy.world 8 points 8 months ago

Writer and shop owner never been to Europe, it seems.

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[-] andrew_bidlaw@sh.itjust.works 27 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

At my place, there's an artshop that has a metal fence around a spray cans and markers section that can only be opened by asking the staff. You know, not car paint or usual permanents, but specialized stuff branded exclusively towards bombing walls and tagging surfaces, like Montana. I was surprised why they even sell them if they think they are connected to crime and are afraid they are first targets to be lifted. I thought about buying them, but the whole procedure was so embarrassing and they were so overpriced. Them and Hobbycraft staff probably think they solved the graffiti problem, won the battle against the hydra of crime by that. They haven't mistaken that much in their lives. Nor in Louis case, that'd hopefully lead to consequencies, nor in mine leading to many acts of silly vandalism. Fuck them UwU

[-] thecrotch@sh.itjust.works 14 points 8 months ago

I've never been in a spray paint section at a store where people hadn't opened the cans and painted all over everything. Perhaps that has something to do with it.

[-] Landless2029@lemmy.world 21 points 8 months ago

Hardware store near me taped contractor paper to the floor so give people a place to test out. They replace it once it gets too many layers.

[-] thecrotch@sh.itjust.works 12 points 8 months ago

That's a great idea

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[-] Blackmist@feddit.uk 20 points 8 months ago

Have they used the wrong picture?

How is he black?

Or under 25 for that matter? Mf's hairline is as bad as mine.

[-] gamermanh@lemmy.dbzer0.com 8 points 8 months ago

Knew a dude in HS who by 23 had hair worse looking like that

Reasons as he gave them:

Russian genes

Bald parents

Wayyyyyyyyy too much cocaine

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[-] raynethackery@lemmy.world 13 points 8 months ago

Not that this wasn't racism, but if you are going to request ID for a product, don't put an age limit. Don't make the poor clerks have to decide that crap.

[-] cryptosporidium140@sh.itjust.works 8 points 8 months ago

It's extra awkward when you accidentally tell the customer why you didn't card them. They'll say "hey, why didn't you card me?" And you can't respond with "we only card if you look like you're under xx" cause that'll send them straight to the burn ward

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[-] uis@lemm.ee 12 points 8 months ago

Fuck Hobbycraft! And fuck Putin!

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this post was submitted on 26 Feb 2024
626 points (97.0% liked)

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