Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Is the shared economy racist?

2drew3.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

71–80 of 171 posts

Re: Is the shared economy racist?

#71

Post by ggchappell »

joesmo wrote: post #12

I don't think any of this is specific to AirBnb or Uber. What is described here is just plain racism, something that's blatant all over America (some might say, it's what defines America), especially in regards towards black people. The black friend in the story knew this and wasn't surprised. It's only surprising to people who think this is something of the past, as if somehow people have improved and this shouldn't…

> racism, something that's blatant all over America (some might say, it's what defines America)

A number of replies on this, but some have, I think, understated the issue.

In all honestly, I would say the U.S. is just about the least racist country on earth. If racism is not seen to be a problem elsewhere, then it's largely because of ethnic homogeneity, not lack of racism.

EDIT: It looks like I'm being misinterpreted here. Obviously, there is racism in the U.S. It is a huge problem. We all know this.

But the reason it might seem to be a larger problem than elsewhere is because of our unusually ethnically diverse population, not because of unusually high levels of racism. Also things like our incarceration rate -- the highest in the world, by far.

To a large extent, the political boundaries of the world are drawn along ethnic lines. Where this doesn't happen: former colonies in Africa, much of Eastern Europe after the world wars, etc., etc., you often get people killing each other. Look at the Rwandan genocide, or the mess that Yugoslavia turned into when it stopped being just Yugoslavia, or the decades of troubles between India and Pakistan, or any number of other examples, to see the result.

And then note that these kinds of things are not happening in the U.S. -- not to that extent, anyway.

Re: Is the shared economy racist?

#72

Post by notastartup »

This is sickening, but more so because it shows you that African Americans still receive downright discrimination in the United States. If anything, these sharing apps reveal that crowd managed sharing apps cast spotlight on the problem.

To combat this, they would need to enforce a strict rule that highlights that you cannot refuse someone based on their color, gender, orientation. Of course this only works in an ideal world.

Re: Is the shared economy racist?

#73

Post by cwaniak »

interpares wrote: post #65
cwaniak wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Right, because if media portrayed Asians as living in slums, not working and dealing drugs, the public would just buy it in a second.

No not in a second, but certainly over time and with the help of confirmation bias. Absolutely.

And if the media portrayed Africa as rich, prosperous, democratic Continent and Asia as a corrupted war zone with 30yrs + longevity rates, we would believe it too, right?

Re: Is the shared economy racist?

#74

Post by wavefunction »

cwaniak wrote: post #56
wavefunction wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Individuals don't care about the long term, they care about their personal experience while they are alive. Just another point against Friendman and his "understanding" of the world.

Right, Lenin or Stalin made everyone equal really fast, what's wrong with you Obama?

This is why you're silly. Because a post critical of Milton Friedman launches you into Leninist/Stalinist diatribe. There are more than 2 sides to an issue.

Re: Is the shared economy racist?

#75

Post by cwaniak »

wavefunction wrote: post #74
cwaniak wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Right, Lenin or Stalin made everyone equal really fast, what's wrong with you Obama?

This is why you're silly. Because a post critical of Milton Friedman launches you into Leninist/Stalinist diatribe. There are more than 2 sides to an issue.

Yeah, like from Red to Pink is all yours, and I take the truth.

Re: Is the shared economy racist?

#76

Post by jfc »

learc83 wrote: post #30

This isn't limited to white hosts either. My brother stayed with a black couple during an internship in DC last summer (he's white). They told him that after several bad experiences they no longer host black guests.

What do you suppose they hoped to convey to your brother with that statement?

It's quite possible that their experience with black guests was negative. But by telling your brother of those negative experiences (which he had no need to know), weren't they, at least in some sense, effectively differentiating themselves from another, negative category of blacks?

Re: Is the shared economy racist?

#77

Post by interpares »

ggchappell wrote: post #71
joesmo wrote: post #12

I don't think any of this is specific to AirBnb or Uber. What is described here is just plain racism, something that's blatant all over America (some might say, it's what defines America), especially in regards towards black people. The black friend in the story knew this and wasn't surprised. It's only surprising to people who think this is something of the past, as if somehow people have improved and this shouldn't…

> racism, something that's blatant all over America (some might say, it's what defines America) A number of replies on this, but some have, I think, understated the issue. In all honestly, I would say the U.S. is just about the least racist country on earth. If racism is not seen to be a problem elsewhere, then it's largely because of ethnic homogeneity, not lack of racism. EDIT: It looks like I'm being misinterprete…

>In all honestly, I would say the U.S. is just about the least racist country on earth.

Even given the institutional racism evident in things like incarceration rates and educational outcomes?

Re: Is the shared economy racist?

#78

Post by runarberg »

From my experience YES!

Before I start, I'd like to note that I am a young white, non-handicapped male.

Most of my participation in the shared economy comes from hitchhiking, and I've done a lot of it. Only once has a car stopped that had a black passenger in it. I don't think that black people are racist towards white hitchhikers, but I think there is a deep barrier of trust at issue. Black people do experience racism at so many levels of society, that when it comes to shearing excess resource with some white opportunists.. HELL NO!, I wouldn't do it.

I'm not saying that black drivers are racist towards white hitchhikers. I'm trying to demonstrate that there is a huge racial gap in our societal battery. White people are privilege enough to be able to trust a fellow citizen. Normally, experience tells black people not to.

ps. The same can be said about women, handicapped, and the homeless. But definitely the case of black discrimination is one of the most severe there.

pps. The pattern I described seems to brake with anarchist and charity groups. I've done food-not-bombs, homes-not-jails, occupy, and there blacks, whites, women, etc. participate together in a shared ecosystem. I wonder why?

Re: Is the shared economy racist?

#79

Post by richardjordan »

wyager wrote: post #23
joesmo wrote: post #12

I don't think any of this is specific to AirBnb or Uber. What is described here is just plain racism, something that's blatant all over America (some might say, it's what defines America), especially in regards towards black people. The black friend in the story knew this and wasn't surprised. It's only surprising to people who think this is something of the past, as if somehow people have improved and this shouldn't…

> plain racism, something that's blatant all over America (some might say, it's what defines America) Have you ever lived in any continental European country? As someone who has spent about half their life in northern and western Europe and the other half in America, I can tell you with 100% confidence that Europeans are, in general, more xenophobic and racist than Americans.

Having grown up in the UK, lived in many countries around the world, and now been in the US for 15 years I dispute that.

To fight anecdote with anecdote...

Moving from the UK to the US I was shocked by the pernicious levels of institutionalized racism and the undercurrent of subtle racism. It's everywhere.

There's certainly more of a veneer of tolerance here, which covers up a deep seated pathological racism, which is missing in parts of Europe, so when you experience racism in Europe it's more blatant and obvious.

What you do get a lot in Europe is a lot of discomfort with the muslim minorities - whether white, or of color - which is often falsely equated with racism (because racists are often also Islamophobic too). However it's a mistake to conflate the two. With the religious issues it's mostly a stance on the totalitarian nature of the religion and the cultural practices that adherents look to bring, which are often incompatible with accepted norms and values in those countries (particularly regarding the treatment of women).

Re: Is the shared economy racist?

#80

Post by interpares »

cwaniak wrote: post #73
interpares wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No not in a second, but certainly over time and with the help of confirmation bias. Absolutely.

And if the media portrayed Africa as rich, prosperous, democratic Continent and Asia as a corrupted war zone with 30yrs + longevity rates, we would believe it too, right?

I'm not sure what your point is, other than trolling. I'll leave you to it.
Post reply on HN