Indigenous man explains racism problem using Woolworths items

It might look like a trolley full of groceries, but each item has been used to demonstrate an Australian problem in a powerful video.

An Indigenous man has explained the Black Lives Matter problem in this country using groceries and a shopping trolley in Woolworths.

Race and unconscious bias towards people of colour has been a hot issue since footage of black Minneapolis man George Floyd’s death went viral earlier this month.

Attention has been focused towards the US where outrage over Mr Floyd’s death sparked the Black Lives Matter protests.

However countries around the world have been affected by the issue for generations, including Australia.

Now TikTok user @pnuks, who is maori and lives in Sydney, has created a simple yet incredibly powerful video to highlight the unconscious bias towards the Indigenous community – and it has garnered a huge response.

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An Indigenous man has explained the Black Lives Matter problem in Australia using groceries and a shopping trolley in Woolworths. Picture: TikTok/@pnuks

The grocery items each represent a different part of the Indigenous culture. Picture: TikTok/@pnuks

He begins by addressing a common misconception made by non-Indigenous Australians: “But Indigenous people get free things from the Government.”

Using various grocery items found in a Woolworths supermarket placed inside a trolley, he explains each product represents a different part of the Aboriginal culture.

A loaf of bread stands for “language” while a bottle of milk is the Indigenous “way of life”. The steak represents “culture” and he adds in a packet of flavoured pumpkin rice which he says is “ability to dance”.

But before he can head to the checkout, a white customer interrupts him, pulls his trolley away and says: “Mate, that’s ours.”

As @pnuks tries to reason with him, saying, “What do you mean, we’ve been here ages before you,” the other shopper – who represents the Australian Government in the scenario – continues to take the shopping items from him and then asks for the slides on his feet.

“You can’t take these, this is like family, these are my babies, part of a whole generation, what do you mean?”

The white man pushes ahead, saying: “It doesn’t matter, hand them over, but I’ll give you this instead.”

At this point, he hands over a Woolies basket which contains some lower quality produce such as powdered milk, cereal and a tin of spam – all items @pnuks didn’t want.

“What, what am I supposed to do with this? How am I going to pay for it?” he asks.

“I’ll pay for it,” the white guy replies, gesturing in a way that implies he’s doing @pnuks a favour.

In a final blow, another shopper then walks past with @pnuks’s original trolley, coldly stating: “You get everything paid for by the Government.”

“But I didn’t even ask for this,” he replies, exasperated by the situation.

But another customer, who represents the Government, takes his trolley away and even his shoes. Picture: TikTok/@pnuks

He instead replaces it with a basket filled with items he doesn’t want as a shopper walks past, scoffing that the ‘Government pays for everything’. Picture: TikTok/@pnuks

The video titled, “Notice how she ended up with my trolley” has been viewed more than 85,000 times since it was shared on Friday and received thousands of comments.

“Sad that you even need to simplify it so much,” one said.

“Yes! I’m sick of being told that Aboriginals get a free ride,” another wrote.

“Ladies and gentlemen, he’s nailed it,” one woman commented.

Another said they would be using the video to help educate their family.

“This was so informative, thank you so much. Hopefully using this same analogy I can get my family to understand too.”

“This is definitely an eye-opener for me … I love how you’re explaining everything to make it easier for us who don’t understand properly,” another wrote.

Some people disagreed, saying they didn’t believe there was “inequality in Australia today” – which prompted a fierce clap back.

“Guys, the Aboriginal ppl never asked for our ‘help’ doesn’t matter if we ‘gave them technology’ when they were doing fine on there (sic) own,” one said.

“This comment section, so sad how people don’t get something so simple,” another agreed.

There have been Black Lives Matter protests all over the world following the death of George Floyd. Picture: Isabel Infantes/AFP

Australia has held multiple Black Lives Matter protests across the country in recent weeks, leading Prime Minister Scott Morrison to called for future protesters in Australia to be charged for breaching COVID-19 health orders.

However, during his plea he made a declaration that there was “no slavery in Australia” – and faced fierce backlash, which he later apologised for.

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