A Pennsylvania man is being hailed as a hero, after a viral video showed him kicking a man and a woman out of his Lyft after they called him a ‘n***** lover’ and threatened to punch him in the face.
The video, which was originally posted to Facebook by the Lyft driver, James W. Bode on Friday, shows Bode – a white man – sitting in the drivers’ seat of his car as a white woman enters.
He proceeds to confirm that the Lyft is for a ‘Jackie,’ to which she responds: ‘Wow, you’re like a white guy.’
Bode asks her to repeat herself, to which Jackie says: ‘You’re like a normal guy. Like you speak English.’
She then proceeds to apologize to Bode, and pats him on the shoulder, but he just replies: ‘No you can get out of the car.’
The woman – who was later identified as bar owner Jackie Harford by Morning Call – then seems shocked.
‘That’s completely inappropriate,’ Bode responds in the video.
What he said next is hard to hear, but Jackie replies, ‘Are you serious?’ as Bode tells a man off-screen: ‘She said “Wow, you’re a white guy.”‘
They then appear to get into the car, to which Bode says, ‘That’s OK I’m not going to take the ride, you guys can get out.
‘It was completely inappropriate.’
A viral video shows a woman named ‘Jackie’ enter a Lyft and being surprised that the driver, James Bode, is white
Bode repeatedly asks the woman to repeat herself, and tells her her comments are ‘inappropriate,’ but she tries to apologize and touch his shoulder
Eventually he tells the woman, and a man she was with off-screen that he is not driving them
As they leave, the man threatens Bode that he would punch him in the face and called him a ‘n***** lover’ – despite Bode telling them he is recording the incident
Bode posted about the incident on Facebook writing that he had filed a police report due to the apparent threat
But the unknown man Harford is with seems to get upset with that as he calls Bode a ‘f****** a******.’
At that point, Bode decides to make sure they are aware that he is recording the entire exchange, even as the man says ‘I could punch you in the f****** face.’
‘That’s assault,’ Bode tells the man, ‘Cause you guys are racist f****’
‘You’re a f****** a******,’ the man then repeats before calling him a ‘f****** n***** lover.’
Bode could then be seen unfastening his seat belt as the man tells him to ‘Get the f*** out of here.’
‘No,’ Bode replies. ‘I’m calling the cops on you man, it’s all on camera. It’s all on camera.’
He then decides to ask the couple if they own the biker bar Fossil’s Last Stand in Catasauqua, to which they apparently nod.
‘That’s great, everyone’s gonna know,’ Bode replies.
He later posted about the exchange on Facebook, writing that he had filed a report with the police due to the threat of assault, and writing: ‘If you make me feel uncomfortable, I will absolutely do the same especially in my car or property.’
The woman was later identified as Jackie Harford, the owner of Fossils Last Stand in Catasauqua, Pennsylvania (pictured)
After the video went viral, several people gave the biker bar a one-star review, calling the owners racist
In the aftermath, Fossil’s Last Stand started receiving several one-star reviews on Yelp.
Fabiola S., for example wrote, ‘Owners are racist, do not spend ANY money here.
‘Yelp thrives as a community space that empowers, this restaurant and the owners are a total contradiction,’ she added. ‘Racists are not welcomed.’
Flava N. also urged people not to spend their money there, writing: ‘This business needs to be shut down.’
And Gina P. wrote: ‘The owners recently served up a steaming heap of blatant racist anger, with a side of pure ignorance.’
Morning Call reports that Harford ahs now shut down the bar’s website and Facebook page, and deleted her own Facebook page as well.
Meanwhile, Bode was being hailed online for his work, with people thanking him for standing up to racism and publicly calling it out.
Some even went as far to call him a ‘hero’ noting that it is difficult to take a stand in a situation like that.
But Bode wrote on Facebook following the incident: ‘For everyone reaching out and showing support, thank you. I appreciate it, truly.
‘But this is the way it should be everywhere, every time.
‘I shouldn’t be “the guy” who did it or said it… we should all be that person.
‘Speak up if you’re uncomfortable with it, because it makes them uncomfortable as they should be,’ he added. ‘F*** racism.’