A firefighter got into it with
an employee at a Walmart when
the employee committed the sin
of speaking a language other
than English.
Here's what the firefighter had to
say about it.
>> What gives you the right
to tell her?
[CROSSTALK] Uniform does not give
you the right to be racist.
>> And I'm almost 70, and you
better respect your elders, because
you're disrespecting me now.
>> You're against respecting her.
>> You want to bet?
When you're in America,
you better learn our language.
>> We don't come up in somebody
>> You want to bet?
>> Yeah. >> You want to bet?
Seriously?
>> Yes I was.
>> [CROSSTALK] You were very racist
to that woman.
>> No, I was not.
>> You should just leave.
>> No, you should leave and
get her away from me or
she is going to have a problem.
>> I'm not leaving till you leave.
[CROSSTALK] >> He should leave.
>> Just get her away from me.
Roger that,
it's called the first amendment.
>> You're a very racist man.
>> You want to bet?
>> Why would you say that to her
just because? >> I'm a christian,
I'll tell you why.
>> because you couldn't communicate
with her? >> Because they murdered
343 of my fellow firemen, that's
why, September 11 2001, that's why.
>> That has nothing to do with her.
>> You want to bet?
>> That has nothing to do with her.
>> Learn English, it's America,
it's not Spain and it's not Mexico.
>> Get a manager or
call the police.
>> Is there a manager? >> I'm
trying to get one on the way. >> Or
the police because he verbally
attacked one of your employees.
>> I'm waiting for Brenda.
I have a purchase to make, and
this lady is verbally accosting me.
I want her away from me.
I'm a retired Los Angeles fireman,
slash Peace Officer.
Get her away from me. >> I don't
know about both of you, I feel like
I'm learning a lot. I now know that
jet fuel can't melt steel beams,
but the dulcet tones of
the Spanish language can, I guess?
>> [LAUGH] Well, I feel like I'm
off the hook here.
I thought maybe it was Muslims but
it turns out it was Mexicans,
so my favorite.
I mean, look, there's so
many insane things over that.
And of course,
there's a serious part of this
we'll get to in a second but first
let's keep being in front of them.
[LAUGH] Is that, want to bet?
[LAUGH] >> You're saying
racist statements, want to bet?
It was the Mexicans who did 911.
>> [LAUGH] I want to bet.
>> Okay, if you're betting on that,
sure, I do want to bet, right?
And I mean on everything.
I don't know if you could hear
in the beginning, the lady said,
I was in the military too,
and he's like, want to bet?
I imagined she does because
she knows her life a little
bit better than you do.
[LAUGH] And then, the lady says
the woman you were yelling at
911 had nothing to do with her,
he said, you want to bet?
[LAUGH] >> Yes,
that bet I will definitely take,
where do I take that bet?
[LAUGH] Okay, so- >> If you close
your eyes, he sounds like Joe Biden
a little bit, just the voice,
just the vocal tone,
[LAUGH] not what he's saying.
>> want to bet?
>> [LAUGH] Depends on the time
of day.
[LAUGH] >> But yeah, really
ridiculous fella we got here, and
I'm not surprised that he is
a retired Los Angeles firefighter.
There's been a long history of
racial bias in that
fire department.
Even as little as a week ago where
black and
Latino firefighters are calling for
a federal investigation because
there has been a history of racial
bias.
So this does not surprise me at
all, but wow, what a crank.
[LAUGH] >> Yeah, and so look,
the serious part of it, of course
is he says he was a peace officer.
I guess he's referring to
firefighters, but
he's trying to throw all of his
credentials out there in terms
of ironically the authority he gets
from the government.
Which on other rants, my guess is
he will tell you the government's
terrible, although they paid his
paycheck apparently for
his whole life, okay?
And he was in the military
he claims in a firefighter, etc.
And look, if guys like that are in
the force, right?
Whether it's firefighters or
police, did he not go into certain
fires in certain communities
because he thought their lives
aren't worth it?
want to bet, right?
And so, man that is scary.
Your house is on fire and that guy
is going to judge you if you
live in the right neighborhood and
you're the right ethnicity.
And he's super mad at you if you
live in East LA because
you did 911, right?
And what is that going to lead to,
let alone if they're police and
what they do and
guys, there's tons and
tons of those folks in police and
fire department across the country,
super scary.
I'm going to say one last thing
about that story.
He's like,
it's the first amendment.
[LAUGH] >> Well,
isn't she using her first amendment
rights to call you a racist?
Yeah, that's right,
it's the first amendment, shut up.
[LAUGH] >> He was told by a Walmart
employee to leave and
he told her to leave.
And I thought she probably wants
to, but she can't,
it's her shift you.
Why are you trying to stay
any longer in a Walmart than
you need to?
When I go in there,
I go to get something and
then leave.
I don't often do that even,
you should want to go.
Why do you want to be there so
badly?
>> want to bet?
It doesn't have to make sense.
>> Yeah, a Walmart in Los Angeles
of all places were like,
[CROSSTALK] half of the people
living here are Hispanic and
you're surprised that somebody is
speaking Spanish, really?