Home Depot donates $1 million, citing George Floyd

At my store, I am surrounded by racists and it is exhausting. When I speak out against these people, I am shunned, and nothing is done to correct it. I am so torn because I love my co-workers despite their horrifically offensive beliefs. Corporate is different, I'm sure, but the store associates are the face of the company, and I feel like you should know that your experience is vastly different than the experience of those working the floor every single day.

Suddenly my Twitter feed has blown up with people that I follow--a lot of them indigenous artists--flinging insults at white people left and right just for existing. A lot of it seems to be related to taking an interest in native cultures, which I've been fascinated by since I was a little girl reading books about herbs and their uses. Seeing this kind of reaction pains me so much. As a sales/customer service associate, I worry about at what point this might bleed into my work life. Am I allowed to study Cherokee anymore? Am I allowed to read cookbooks by prominent black women, or is that offensive? I agree, it seems like you can't say anything either way. If I say that I agree with everything happening right now, I would be lying. If I don't say anything at all, I am a complacent POS, apparently.

I've spent a lot of my life escaping from my family's traditionally conservative beliefs. I'm now being told that my quiet method of changing minds with love and respect is stupid and wrong. For the past week, I've just felt blank and confused. I don't understand what is happening right now or how I fit into it.

So, I think it's good that Home Depot is donating money, I guess, since money is money, but I don't think that means THD is not a company that fosters harmful beliefs just because you haven't personally noticed it. If these protests continue to escalate, I'll probably take a leave of absence, because I know the kind of racist beliefs that the company I work for represents, and I don't want to be associated with them any more than I have to be in order to make a living.

Working for THD has been illuminating from a cultural standpoint, honestly.

P.S. My opinions regarding the response to the coronavirus stand completely separate from this comment.

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