That is exactly what two elderly women were doing when they boarded an Amtrak train with their small dog in tow.
The elderly Black women were kicked off the train after their dog defecated on the ground.
A TikTok account called Bellskunk posted a video captioned, “Riding Amtrak while Black” to share the heartbreaking experience of two Black women who simply wanted to get from one place to another. The video doesn’t show the event leading up to the confrontation, but it opens with an officer standing over the two women and telling them, “They want you off the train, for whatever reason, they want you off the train.” RELATED: Overprotective Cop Arrests His Daughter & Her Boyfriend Then Threatens To ‘Make Up’ Charges After Tracking Her An unidentified male passenger is recording the incident, and he steps in. He says, “Sir, I was a witness to this. They are mistreating them and the dog.” The man explains that there should be a policy involving dogs on trains and lets the officer know that the women cleaned up the poop right away. The cop, seemingly annoyed by the man’s advocacy, waved him off and tells the women, “Here’s the thing… If they want you off the train, you need to get off the train.” The male passenger asks, “Because they’re Black? You want them off the train because they’re Black?” The annoyed officer doesn’t respond but looks at the man before turning back to the ladies. Still, the do-gooder persists, insisting that “this is not right.” He asks the officer if he is going to ditch the women in Greenfield, Colorado because “their little doggy had to take a poo-poo.” The officer continues to insist that the women deboard the train while the man recording implores them to stay on the train. He says, “You have a right to stay right where you’re at.” The ladies look at one another, uncertain of what to do as other passengers pretend not to see or hear the tense encounter. RELATED: Mom Says She Was Told To Watch Her Kids’ School Play ‘Through The Window’ Because Of Her Face Tattoos
The police officer threatened to take the bystander off the train if he kept intervening.
The man continues to demand that the women be left alone until the police officer warns him that if he continues to intervene, he will be put off the train as well. The man threatens a lawsuit but decides to comply with the request that he be quiet. A female officer advises that he can continue recording but needs to stop interfering and he agrees. Eventually, the women take their belongings and solemnly exit the train without incident. The man recording offers them a final word of support, saying, “Don’t let this ruin your holiday, sweeties.” At the end of the video, he films the distraught women standing outside the train in the cold with their Pomeranian and quips, “God, look how harmful that dog is. He was gonna just terrorize the train.” As the filming ends, he explains that the dog had “pooped” on the floor and although the women cleaned it up immediately, a white male passenger insisted on calling the police and having them removed. According to Amtrak policy, dogs and cats up to 20 pounds can travel on trips that are up to seven hours long as long as they are in a carrier. It is unclear whether or not the women had their pet in a carrier. However, in another video, the advocate accused the conductor of professional misconduct and demanded that Amtrak and the Colorado Police Department perform internal investigations. RELATED: White Texas Teacher Caught On Video Telling Black Students ‘My Race Is The Superior One’
The bystander continued to advocate for the Black women and attempted to get to the bottom of it.
A final video, entitled “Help the ladies get home” was shared. The TikToker walks up to an Amtrak employee and asks how he feels about the women being removed and gets “no comment.” The poster continues to bicker with defensive employees who say they have no comment but offer their own opinions like, “do you know the whole situation?” Eventually, one worker starts threatening to call the police and demanding that the man leave. He is skeptical about the story asking, “Why would he do that? Did he do that for fun?” in reference to the conductor. The worker claims that a dog having a bowel movement on a train is a justifiable reason to kick the owners off. The TikToker is incensed by this and continues to ask for clarification and is again threatened with calling the police. It appears the worker is doing just that, but there is no update on the outcome. However, the man has since set up a GoFundMe page for the two women to get home to be with their families for the holidays. On Amtrak’s part, they have issued no statements regarding the incident. RELATED: The Reality Of Racism In The Mental Health Industry — Insights From A Black Psychologist NyRee Ausler is a writer from Seattle, Washington, and author of seven books. She covers lifestyle and entertainment and news, as well as navigating the workplace and social issues.
