A hijab clad Virginia woman was told she has 'no right to be in this country' in a diner

 A Virginia woman who posts on TikTok as @politicallypali, also called Pali, said she was waiting to be seated for lunch at a diner when another customer spoke to her after seeing her hijab. According to The Nerd Stash, Pali said the woman looked her in the eye and told her to “go home.”

Pali said she recorded the exchange. She stated that when she confronted the woman on camera, the woman acted as if she did not know what Pali was talking about and tried to shame her for recording. Pali said she asked, “Why did you feel like you had to tell me to go home?” She said the woman’s husband then moved his wife toward the exit.

In her video caption, Pali said her hijab “does not make me a stranger” and that she will never feel “ashamed” for who she is. She also thanked the diner for “not putting up with it.” The TikTok video is no longer available.

The dispute moved from the diner floor to the parking lot

In the video, Pali said she was not willing to drop the matter. She called the woman a “racist piece of [expletive].” She said the husband kept walking his wife out and closed the door on her. Pali said the two sides kept arguing outside the diner. She stated that the woman then said, “You have no right to be in this country. Because you’re an American hater.”

She said the husband got in her face and yelled for her to “GO!” and leave them alone. She said he kept pulling his wife toward their vehicle. Such public confrontations over identity have occurred elsewhere, as a Pennsylvania woman was told on a bus to go back to Haiti. 

Pali said the woman kept talking anyway and told her she was “proud” of how she felt toward Pali and others who share her background. Pali said she kept calling the woman “racist” until the woman was in the vehicle with the door closed. 

Viewers who commented on the post expressed support for Pali and criticized the other customer. One commenter wrote that the couple should lose their jobs if they work, saying, “Him and her need to be fired from their jobs if they even work he think the same way she do.” Other commenters joked that the pair probably do not work because of how “old and decrepit” they looked. Some framed the incident in political terms. 

One commenter wrote, “Racists should NEVER feel comfortable EVER!!” Public confrontations over perceived slights have occurred elsewhere, such as when a Virginia woman confronted a Food Lion manager over a racial slur.