The Whole 9 Yards

I absolutely love HomeGoods. I love their candles, their cheesy little mugs, their random stuff that you never knew you needed. It’s my happy place. But back in 2022, I had one experience that made me boycott them for a while.

At the time, I was living in a predominantly white city in Orange County. It was my first apartment, a two-bedroom with a cute little patio. To me, that place was perfect. It felt like the start of my adult life.

About two weeks after giving birth, I decided to treat myself and go on a HomeGoods run.

The store was packed that day. The line stretched through the aisles. I filled my cart with the most random things — a few candles, a shelf for those candles, and a little side table (which was lowkey for the candles as well). I was in there alone, making my way through each section, while my partner was in the car with our newborn. I had a really good time, and I remember thinking, wow, I may just be myself again.

After my little retail therapy, I finally decided that what I had in my cart was everything I could ever want that day. I then made my way to the register.

Like any regular store, after you pay, you walk out. So, I did the same. But as I was walking toward the exit, a HomeGoods employee suddenly stopped me. She asked, “Have you paid for those?”

No one was stopped by the door the entire time I was in that store. I was even in line for a while because of how much people were in there that day.

It was obvious that I’d just come from the register. How could I possibly get those HomeGoods plastic bags from behind the counter and put my candles in them? I don’t know what kind of mental gymnastics that lasy in her head to conclude that a woman walking straight from the register would walk out of the store without paying.

Also, I wouldn’t have gotten away with a shelf and side table in my cart. Can you imagine how big those are? Not even HomeGoods police could miss that. To get it over with, I sternly said yes. But she didn’t seem convinced. She looked me up and down and said, “Can I see your receipt?”

Holy sh…… Against my will, I took the receipt out of my bag and stuck it in her face because she probably couldn’t see clearly for asking the obvious. She said thanks, and I walked out without a word.

I glanced behind me. I saw the older white woman who was right before me in line walk straight out the door without being stopped. No questions, no receipt check.

What the fuck? That racist bitch.

Now, what happened afterward? Well, I exclusively shop at Macy’s now for my random home needs. Just kidding, I still hit HomeGoods every now and then.

The anger toward HomeGoods disappeared over time, but that experience is etched in my brain. I never forget. And to note, that’s not even the worst I’ve encountered when it comes to discrimination.

I feel sorry for those who have ever faced discrimination. But I feel even more sorry for those who do it. Targeting someone for their skin color, sexuality, or gender. How empty must you be inside to get satisfaction from that? How pathetic to feel superior by tearing someone else down, using nothing but blind bias as your reason. Ew.

In today’s political climate, that kind of behavior seems to be encouraged by these radical beliefs floating around online. And as an immigrant, I came to this country almost ignorant of that culture. My thinking was: racism is an American problem. But as time passed, I realized it is my problem, because as an immigrant, America is also my home.

This HomeGoods incident isn’t my only encounter with discrimination, but it’s the one that shows how deeply rooted such behavior is in this country’s history.

Sometimes racism doesn’t scream. It shows up quietly, in moments like this — subtle enough for others to miss, but loud enough to stay with you long after you’ve left the store.