Tattoo studio owner who filmed the video says it was about “unacceptable behavior, not identity” as the clip goes viral and fuels online anti-Indian backlash.
In a shocking video emerging from Plano, Texas, an employee at an Indian restaurant was caught peeing right outside his restaurant – on a public street. The indecent act that has been going viral since was caught on camera by Ryan Dawson, who owns a tattoo studio right above Mumtaz Indian Restaurant in Plano, Texas.
In the video circulating online, Dawson can be seen confronting the man. When Dawson asks him, “You sit here, you work here and you piss right here?” The guy replies, “I couldn’t stop, hold it.” On being asked, if there was no bathroom there, the man replies that the door was locked. But, seconds later, the man walks towards his restaurant and the door opens, prompting Dawson to ask “now it’s open all of a sudden.”
Dawson posted the video online on his Instagram page to expose this unacceptable behavior.
The American Bazaar asked Dawson whether he knew the restaurant owner, as their businesses are located near each other. Dawson said his only interactions with the man were when he had previously purchased food from the restaurant and during a separate incident involving parking. He said he did not personally know the owner or his name.
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Dawson said he spoke out because he found the incident, which took place on the morning of March 21, deeply troubling. “I have worked extremely hard to get where I am. I spent seven years in the state penitentiary and turned my life around. It made me extremely upset for a multitude of reasons. This is unacceptable behavior, and I won’t tolerate it in or around my business.”
Dawson also reported the incident to local police. “I spoke with the officer and showed her the video I had. She told me there wasn’t much that could be done. She also thanked me for looking out, and said she would give him verbal warning,” he told The American Bazaar.
Many videos have been emerging online in the recent times where Indians, particularly in the Texas area, have been shown displaying a lack of civic sense or in some cases as many called out “creating public nuisance.” Videos have gone viral showing Indian carrying out loud festive processions on public streets or littering at public spaces, especially after a festive celebrations or Indian movie screenings. This latest incident involving an Indian eatery is bound to raise eyebrows once again, especially for a community already under scrutiny and facing significant online backlash.
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However, Dawson stresses that it did not matter what the guy’s origin was. He said, “I would like everyone to know, it had nothing to do with him being Indian or not. It was about him being there and what he was doing and not about who he happens to be. What matters at the end of the day is the behavior and that is what I am disgusted with. Not with a group of people.”
After Dawson exposed the guy in public, people came to him with stories about how this restaurant employee might have been a repeat offender. He said, “I have multiple people contact me saying that they have seen him peeing throughout the years dating as far back as 2019.”
The comments online show how incidents of isolated absurdity such as this one can lead to racist vitriol in the age of social media. A user commented, “He forgot, he wasn’t in India, where this is normal.”