Vail Daily letter: I was a guest, not an employee

I am Hispanic and yesterday I experienced the most humiliating thing in my life. My husband came up on Thursday with our daughter to spend some time at a friends condo in Avon and I came up on Friday in a seperate car to join them.

Yesterday I wanted to do some shopping in Edwards and we decided to all meet in Beaver Creek to get lunch.

When I pulled up to the “security gate” at the base of Beaver Creek, the middle-aged white lady at the gate immediately said, “All employees need to park at the Elk Lot and take the shuttle.” I was flabbergasted! When I told her that I wasn’t an employee and I was meeting my husband, she said “you people are always trying that trick. I’m taking your license number and I’m going to have you booted if you park in public parking.” I was so shaken and upset.

She was so nasty and mean. I pulled off the road and called my husband in tears. He came down and we left immediately.

I know I have brown skin and a bit of an accent as I was born in Mexico. I know that lots of the employees in Beaver Creek have brown skin and accents. I know I don’t drive the nicest car. I also know that I don’t deserve to be treated that way. Ever!

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My husband, my daughter and myself will never come back to Beaver Creek.

We will strongly encourage everyone that we know not to go to Beaver Creek. It isn’t worth an overpriced lunch to be treated so poorly and judged so quickly by a Beaver Creek employee whose only power in life is running a front gate at a resort.

It makes me wonder how many other people that are not white and don’t look wealthy employees have been treated that way by Beaver Creek employees. I sincerely hope that profiling isn’t a Beaver Creek policy and it is just this one woman.

Dawn Ramirez

Aurora