Shopper Confronted Women And Demanded They Stop Talking In Their Native Tongue

Look at this mother and her daughter’s reactions to one of a woman who was shopping at Walmart on Friday asking them to use the English language when conversing.

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Many people have it as a myth that English is the official language in us in the United States of America. That is not true as the US technically does not have a language that has been officiated. So, it should not be a surprise when you go out in public places and find people conversing in their native language. Chances of coming across this case are greater when you go shopping at Walmart especially on Black Fridays.

According to the Facebook post by Jasmine Xiong, which has gone viral, she and her mother found it comfortable to converse in their native Hmong language when they went shopping at Walmart in Appleton, Wisconsin, on Black Friday. The two didn’t realize anything wrong with them using their vernacular as the conversation only involved the two of them.

What followed came as a shock to both Jasmine and her mother, and over 40,000 who had a chance to watch the video on Facebook.

USA Today revealed that another woman walked towards Jasmine and her mother then told them that they should use English when speaking. The only surprising thing is that the woman proceeded with her statement even after realizing that the conversation that the two had had nothing to do with her. She insisted that they should speak English just because they are in America.

Jasmine and her mother asked the woman if she implied that she would use Hmong if she pays them a visit to their house.

Surprisingly, the woman said yes but added that it would only apply if she permanently lives with them. The woman also noted that whenever she plans to travel abroad to a foreign country, she would take lessons so that she get equipped with the language that is used in that country.

She justified her statement by citing an incident when she had Spanish classes when she had a plan of going to Mexico. Jasmine and her mother challenged her by asking her to speak in Spanish. Her response was interesting that it made mother and her daughter laugh.

She counted one to ten in Spanish, but unfortunately, she sounded more like singing than counting. And again, it was obvious that anyone would know how to do counting in another foreign language.

The woman whose identity has not been revealed acted as though jasmine and her mother confronted her for asking them to use English in their conversation. She asked them to stop yelling at her severally. The two explained to the woman that her words show racism and that they have all the reason to be disappointed.

“I was shocked, offended, and upset at the same time. I didn’t expect her to say something of that sort,” Jasmine told USA Today in one of the interviews where she opened up to share how she felt in their encounter.

The first group of 50,000 Hmong people arrived in the US in 1976 as refugees from Laos and Vietnam war.

Wisconsin has the third largest number of Hmong people after California and Minnesota. There are about 250,000 Hmong people currently residing in the United States.

Jasmine said that she began recording the action towards the end of it. It involved them and other shoppers, and she wished to share their experience with family and friends. It was never her imagination that her video would go viral on social media attracting that large number of likes and shares. She was surprised and felt as though she didn’t do enough to let the whole world know the racism that is experienced in the United States.

“I have never come across something of that sort. I have never imagined that one day it would happen to me.”

Unfortunately, USA Today assures people that it was not the first time in history that shoppers from another ethnic group had racist compliments, and that it will not be the last time that is being experienced. They couldn’t just explain how ethnicity and racism can be faced off from the United States.