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Airbnb host must pay $5,000 for canceling reservation based on race

latimes.com

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Re: Airbnb host must pay $5,000 for canceling reservation based on race

#101

Post by TallGuyShort »

sqeaky wrote: post #91
TallGuyShort wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Percentage of voting age population that even voted at all was lower than that, and percentage of registered voters was not much higher. Be wary of thinking "48% of America" => "I will not allow this country to be told what to do by foreigners". It's not that different than thinking any Democrat will go off on you for assuming their gender. What I find more alarming is the percentage of people who really feel like th…

But when you have president that is a rallying point for racism and actively says a major existential threat to humanity is "a chinese hoax", it is hard not to view that person as a threat and enemy. He has demonstrated a stunning immunity to logic and willingness to harm American interests. He ignores open dialog. He and his who can't be talked to (which are most I have talked to) are the enemy. They represent and e…

>> They often can't be reasoned with. They often seem will to deploy violence. They are doing real harm.

You... do understand that many conservatives think exactly that of liberals and that's what I think is more dangerous than either one alone, right?

Re: Airbnb host must pay $5,000 for canceling reservation based on race

#102

Post by eregorn »

justboxing wrote: post #17

> In the video, Suh shows screen shots of the exchange, including a message from Barker saying, “It’s is why we have Trump” and, “I will not allow this country to be told what to do by foreigners.” Conservatively considering 45% to 48% of the registered Voters voted for Trump, what %age of those voters think like this? => “I will not allow this country to be told what to do by foreigners.” Alarming.

Considering the terrible turnout the country has, you're looking more at 25%~ of registered voters voting for Trump.

Re: Airbnb host must pay $5,000 for canceling reservation based on race

#103

Post by rdiddly »

anotherbrownguy wrote: post #66
rdiddly wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Citation needed? Where'd you find all that? Not being a pain in the ass, I just want to read it.

Message transcript and full story here: https://www.everipedia.com/tami-barker-airbnb-host/ I agree with OP. The woman was stupid enough to use racist remarks but the reasons she cancelled the reservation was definitely not racist.

That link says the host agreed to the extra people etc., leaving only racism and forgetfulness as reasons for welching on the agreement.

Re: Airbnb host must pay $5,000 for canceling reservation based on race

#104

Post by ebfd »

eric_h wrote: post #25
whatok wrote: post #13

I do not see what forcing a class on someone like this (especially at their age) will accomplish. Does anyone really think a semester long course is going to make her go "well, gee whiz, guess I shouldn't discriminate against those Asians anymore"?

Honestly I think it's better than nothing. Discrimination like this is usually based on complete ignorance/lack of exposure to different cultures. A course on Asian cultures may actually have some effect of humanizing the asian people for this particular bigot.

>Discrimination like this is usually based on complete ignorance/lack of exposure to different cultures.

Do people from heavily black areas (e.g. Memphis, TN or Birmingham, AL) tend to be less racist than those from homogeneously white areas? (e.g. Portland, OR or Montpelier, VT)?

Re: Airbnb host must pay $5,000 for canceling reservation based on race

#105

Post by mikestew »

throwaway7312 wrote: post #95
mikestew wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

All well and good, none of which is relevant to the story. What is relevant is that the host documented that she doesn’t want to rent to Asians. That’s why the host ended up paying $5K, not because the guest was a pain in the ass. Yes, if she’d just said, “you’re a pain in the ass, I’m not renting to you”, all would be well. But some people just can’t help themselves, I guess (I’m picturing the host as some letters-t…

The host rented to the guest knowing she was Asian from the start. She didn't have a problem with her race at that point. Things only got nasty once they got nasty. If you had a nasty fight with someone, and it ended with that person saying, "Well, it's because you're white (or Indian or whatever you are). That's why," would you immediately assume this person hated everyone of your race? Or would you assume you'd got…

But in this case, it looks like a nasty fight between two women

That's where I think my responders are missing my point. If this were just some fight between random women on the street, or two close friends, or neighbors, your description would be accurate. It would neither surprise me, nor give me reason to think much about it. This is not, however, just "between two women". It's a business relationship. That makes things a little different, including entire legal frameworks are built around business relationships. AFAIK, no laws exist that dictate my relationships with personal friends.

Suppose a similar conversation, with similar closing comments, took place at work? Still think it's a fight between two women? Would you get upset if someone got marched down to HR for a little re-education?

Look, I get what y'all are saying; I wouldn't rent to her, either, for the good reasons already outlined. But when we ask ourselves who opened this can of worms, the host is standing there with a dirty can opener. Had the host just cancelled, we probably wouldn't be reading about because nearly everyone would be on the side of the host. But the host just had to bring race into it in a fit of temper. Now all those good reasons go out the window. If you can't keep your temper, and keep your mouth under control, maybe being an AirBnb host isn't for you.

Re: Airbnb host must pay $5,000 for canceling reservation based on race

#106

Post by ebfd »

chickenfries wrote: post #92
throwaway7312 wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Exposure to other races, however, has the opposite effect (decreased tolerance toward other races), regardless how much education (or reeducation) an individual has undergone. [1]-[19] Which begs the question: can we ever achieve a society that is both multicultural and welcoming to all races? All the science suggests no; we can either have our cake, or eat it. We must choose. [1] http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/1…

[1]-[19] Let's see some proper citations that actual prove your ridiculous claim instead of just dumping a bunch of links and saying that this proves your pseudo scientific claim. No wonder you made a throwaway.

What would proper citations look like?

Re: Airbnb host must pay $5,000 for canceling reservation based on race

#107

Post by rdiddly »

djtriptych wrote: post #49
giantwolf2017 wrote: post #18

This is an interesting article. It makes no mention of the controversy leading up to these comments. People generally aren't racist when it comes to money. The host was triggered into a racist tirade after being informed the renter was bringing 2 extra people and 2 extra dogs. The guest informed her hosts while on route in a snowstorm. It's well within the hosts rights to declare the contractual reservation null and…

For the record, it IS legal to refuse to rent to a lawyer.

Yep, they're not a protected class. I guess the assumption is they can take care of themselves.

Re: Airbnb host must pay $5,000 for canceling reservation based on race

#108

Post by anotherbrownguy »

rdiddly wrote: post #103
anotherbrownguy wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Message transcript and full story here: https://www.everipedia.com/tami-barker-airbnb-host/ I agree with OP. The woman was stupid enough to use racist remarks but the reasons she cancelled the reservation was definitely not racist.

That link says the host agreed to the extra people etc., leaving only racism and forgetfulness as reasons for welching on the agreement.

It is missing some messages right before the racist remarks.

Re: Airbnb host must pay $5,000 for canceling reservation based on race

#109

Post by anotherbrownguy »

sqeaky wrote: post #98
anotherbrownguy wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

She had approved knowing the race of the person so the reason she cancelled was definitely not racist. I think she was just stupid enough to make those remarks and I hope she is being punished for that. Otherwise, this is wrong.

You are presuming people or racism is logical. It is common for someone to say one thing then mean another, it is so common we even have words for it. It is also entirely possible the racist person did this intentionally to maximize the inconvenience to the renter. There are hundred other ways to explain this. Some racist and some not racist, but dropping phrases as overtly racist as hers has a way of sounding truthf…

>dropping phrases as overtly racist as hers

Which "words" are we talking about? Had she avoided saying "one word: Asian", this would not have been a story.

Re: Airbnb host must pay $5,000 for canceling reservation based on race

#110

Post by mikestew »

xxSparkleSxx wrote: post #99
mikestew wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

All well and good, none of which is relevant to the story. What is relevant is that the host documented that she doesn’t want to rent to Asians. That’s why the host ended up paying $5K, not because the guest was a pain in the ass. Yes, if she’d just said, “you’re a pain in the ass, I’m not renting to you”, all would be well. But some people just can’t help themselves, I guess (I’m picturing the host as some letters-t…

Does making racist comments you don't believe make you a racist? Does giving compliments you don't believe make you a nice person? I seriously don't know. I want to say yes, but maybe not? I was thinking about this in another context today. When people piss you off, many people (including myself) want to say things to them that will illicit a negative reaction. Often, offensive words seem like a good choice to accomp…

I guess I just wonder if there is a relatively easy and sure-fire way to piss people off without being offensive?

I'll assume we've gone beyond the topic at hand, as I wonder who would wonder how to piss people off as an AirBnB host? :-)

Frankly, I find racial insults to be cheap and unimaginative. Oh, so I'm a $RACIAL_EPITAPH? Well, can't help how I was born. Nice try, though. No points for effort, though. "Maybe you wouldn't have that problem if you'd grow up, learn to accept responsibility, and quit blaming your problems on the actions of others. That failed business? That's wasn't a market problem, an employee problem, that was a you problem."? Oooh, well, that kind of hits close to home.

Never go for the easy insult. Take a few extra moments, find that weak spot, and give that knife a good twist if you're genuinely intending to communicate insult.

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