A video of a retired Los Angeles firefighter going on a racist tirade against a Walmart employee because she could not speak English has gone viral on social media.
TikTok user @kaysmiles78 shared a series of videos on the platform after she said the man cornered the Walmart employee and started yelling at her for "not being American and not speaking English," prompting her to intervene. The incident took place at a Walmart in Lincoln, Nebraska.
'When You're in America You Better Learn Our Language'
The video starts off with the TikTok user calling the man over his racist and disrespectful behavior towards the employee. "When you're in American you better learn our language," he says before another woman is heard asking him to leave.
"It's called the first amendment, ma'am," the man says before urging the TikTok user to go to church as she continues filming him. "You need some prayer," he adds. The man then pulls out his cellphone and starts recording.
"You're a very racist man. Why would you say that to her?," the TikTok user tells asks and he responds by citing the 9/11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Centre. "Because it murdered 343 of my fellow firemen," he says. "September 11, 2001. That's why."
'This is America! It's Not Spain. It's Not Mexico'
"Learn English! This is America! It's not Spain. It's not Mexico," he continues his rant before accusing the TikTok user of accosting her and asking Walmart employees to "take her away." "I'm a retired Los Angeles fireman / peace officer," he adds.
In the second video, he claims "people die" when someone can't speak English and there is no way to "communicate." Another customer wearing a light blue t-shirt then intervenes and defends the Walmart employee who was being berated by the retired fireman.
He then brags about being MMA-trained and having the likes of Chuck Lidell and Conor McGregor under his training. "You're talking to LA's finest," he goes on before saying the guy in the light blue t-shirt probably has a "gang background" based on the man's tattoos. The man then pulls out what appears to be his badge and screams, "I'm wearing baggy clothes but this is 200 pounds of iron!"
'I Speak About Five Languages'
"You don't wanna know what these eyes have seen," he continues in the final part of the video series before reiterating how 343 of his colleagues died in the Sept 11, 2001 attack.
He then diverts his attention to another Walmart employee, complaining about how a trillion-dollar company like Walmart employs someone who can't speak English, before bragging about how he speaks five different languages and being involved in 25,000 emergencies as a firefighter.
The videos have amassed more than 6 million views in total and thousands of comments with some users pointing out that English is not America's official language while others praised the TikTok user for standing up for the Walmart employee.
