# I do not share your racism. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 14, 2011, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-do-not-share-your-racism/599588 "2011-10-14T00:57:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2011, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-do-not-share-your-racism/599588/1 "2011-10-14T00:57:05Z")
Today I was walking down the street, blithely feeding my iPhone addiction when I get called over by a pedestrian. For some background, I live in a gentrifying area of DC. Five years ago, this would have been a rough place. Now it’s got elements of that, but also a lot of Howard college students and a new influx of yuppies like me. It’s still pretty rough around the edges, but it’s not a horrible place. But yes, most people in the area are black. And that has a lot of history behind it. So she explains that she is from the neighborhood watch, and warns me that there have been a lot of robberies in the area lately, and I should probably keep my iPhone under wraps. I appreciate the heads up- I walk this area pretty late, and I can be a little distracted at times. The she tells me, voice a bit lower, “You know how it is. _They_ are robbing, uh, white people.” Fuck you. “They” are mostly robbing people who have good stuff to steal, which in a gentrifying neighborhood like this probably does mean white people. But I feel like if there was a clueless Chinese dude or young black woman waving their gadgets around, they’d end up robbed just as fast. Anyway, we all know what the demographics and income spread of this neighborhood is. It’s not some kind of surprise that white people end up robbed a lot. There is no reason, none at all, to bring this up. I am not your sister in racism. I am not your ally in it. We do not have a special white person bond. I despise your casual, utterly unnecessary, really badly placed racism. Do not share it with me. ---
**Author:** ![Scylla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Scylla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scylla)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2011, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-do-not-share-your-racism/599588/2 "2011-10-14T01:07:00Z")
This is the kind of thing where some people are likely to argue that this lady isn’t necessarily racist. From what you wrote, it might have been an innocent faux pas. However, you were there, and in these things a lot of meaning is conveyed by tone and inflection, so if yo say it was racist I’m sure it was. That said, I feel your pain. Apparently, I am the sort of person that when a racist sees me they say “Hey look, another Klansman!” or something. Now, I’ll make a confession, I am more offended that a racist would think that I share their racism, than I am at the racism itself. ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2011, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-do-not-share-your-racism/599588/3 "2011-10-14T01:11:57Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > Today I was walking down the street, blithely feeding my iPhone addiction when I get called over by a pedestrian. For some background, I live in a gentrifying area of DC. Five years ago, this would have been a rough place. Now it’s got elements of that, but also a lot of Howard college students and a new influx of yuppies like me. It’s still pretty rough around the edges, but it’s not a horrible place. But yes, most people in the area are black. And that has a lot of history behind it. > > So she explains that she is from the neighborhood watch, and warns me that there have been a lot of robberies in the area lately, and I should probably keep my iPhone under wraps. I appreciate the heads up- I walk this area pretty late, and I can be a little distracted at times. > > The she tells me, voice a bit lower, “You know how it is. _They_ are robbing, uh, white people.” > > Fuck you. “They” are mostly robbing people who have good stuff to steal, which in a gentrifying neighborhood like this probably does mean white people. But I feel like if there was a clueless Chinese dude or young black woman waving their gadgets around, they’d end up robbed just as fast. Anyway, we all know what the demographics and income spread of this neighborhood is. It’s not some kind of surprise that white people end up robbed a lot. There is no reason, none at all, to bring this up. > > I am not your sister in racism. I am not your ally in it. We do not have a special white person bond. I despise your casual, utterly unnecessary, really badly placed racism. Do not share it with me. Oh, chill out. Someone was doing you a favor. Your description of the area and the situation supports the set of facts she presented. Just because something is focused around race doesn’t mean that it’s “RACIST!”. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2011, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-do-not-share-your-racism/599588/4 "2011-10-14T01:17:35Z")
Support OP’s rant. Do not support subsequent apologist for racist iPhone safety crusader. Edit: Singular, not plural. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2011, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-do-not-share-your-racism/599588/5 "2011-10-14T01:21:13Z")
So, even sven, let’s assume it is actually the case that non-white people are targeting white people in your neighborhood. Is what she said still racist? Scylla and magellan, I doubt even sven is using an intelligent and rational definition of racism (e.g., a belief that the members of at least one race are inherently and irredeemably inferior to oneself). She appears to be using the standard SDMB liberal douche definition of racism, which is basically just the acknowledgment that some people look different than other people. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2011, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-do-not-share-your-racism/599588/6 "2011-10-14T01:22:11Z")
Knowing the neighborhod watch lady’s age would temper my reaction. ---
**Author:** ![Hyperelastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Hyperelastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hyperelastic)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2011, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-do-not-share-your-racism/599588/7 "2011-10-14T01:25:15Z")
Did you tell her you thought her comment was racist? Why or why not? ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2011, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-do-not-share-your-racism/599588/8 "2011-10-14T01:35:58Z")
It’s just that there was no reason to bring race up at all. None, whatsoever. For every twenty people I see on the street, 19 are black people (of all income spectrums) and one is a white person with one of those $800 baby strollers. The racial dynamics of _anything_ don’t really need to be stated. There are tensions, but it’s not some kind of great mystery. The only reason to bring race into it all would be to make some cute little aside, to try to bond with me over how _we_ have to deal with _them_ and the trials of being an urban homesteader in such a _colorful_ neighborhood. Sorry, I’m not on that boat with you. I’m here because I wanted to find a place with a sense of community and really cheap rent. I’m grateful for the safety tip, but no, I’m not going to commiserate with you that I as a conspicuously well off person who moved into a poor neighborhood and _gasp_ I’m a target for crime. She was in her late 30s, early 40s. Southern accent, pearls and heels. The whole interaction ended before I realized what was setting me off about it, but I wish I had been thinking a bit quicker. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2011, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-do-not-share-your-racism/599588/9 "2011-10-14T01:44:25Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > It’s just that there was no reason to bring race up at all. None, whatsoever. It could have been a factually accurate statement. If it was factually accurate, do you think it is still racist? ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2011, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-do-not-share-your-racism/599588/10 "2011-10-14T01:48:05Z")
Would like to amend my previous statement to now make it plural again. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2011, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-do-not-share-your-racism/599588/11 "2011-10-14T01:53:29Z")
So I’m a racist apologist? How do you figure that? ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2011, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-do-not-share-your-racism/599588/12 "2011-10-14T02:00:22Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > It could have been a factually accurate statement. If it was factually accurate, do you think it is still racist? I think the statement that ‘they’ are targeting white people, instead of, you know, people with expensive shit, is ridiculous enough that the burden of proof is on you to show that there are people in the DC area robbing white people because they are white. Also, the ‘they’ is clearly not white people, or the statement makes no sense. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2011, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-do-not-share-your-racism/599588/13 "2011-10-14T02:08:36Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > It could have been a factually accurate statement. If it was factually accurate, do you think it is still racist? I’m sure it is factually accurate. Picture that you buy a house in the deep in a very very black part of South Central LA (my block is 91% black, the neighborhood around 70%). You walk around flashing your Rolex, a first full of diamond rings, and wads of hundreds in your back pocket. Someone says “Be careful, they rob _white_ people, you know.” Well, yeah. I’m sure “they” do. But there is no additional information being conveyed to you by the fact that some proportion of victims are white. If what you say isn’t conveying information, then what is it doing? Why say it? ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2011, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-do-not-share-your-racism/599588/14 "2011-10-14T02:14:02Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > I’m sure it is factually accurate. OK. So what’s your definition of “racism”? ETA: Let me phrase that more betterly: When you say that a person is a “racist,” what exactly are you saying about that person? Or what is it about that person that makes you say that? ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2011, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-do-not-share-your-racism/599588/15 "2011-10-14T02:15:50Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > So I’m a racist apologist? How do you figure that? How interesting that you would assume my pluralization applies to you. I mean, yeah, it totally does. But you didn’t _know_ that, now, did you? ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2011, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-do-not-share-your-racism/599588/16 "2011-10-14T02:20:11Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > How interesting that you would assume my pluralization applies to you. > > I mean, yeah, it totally does. But you didn’t _know_ that, now, did you? Well, I assumed it based entirely on post order. But go ahead and think you’ve won a point or something if these are the straws you must grasp at at this point. Care to answer the question (i.e., explain why you believe I’m an apologist for racists)? ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2011, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-do-not-share-your-racism/599588/17 "2011-10-14T02:22:57Z")
Yay! I won a point! Also, since apparently you require this in full-sentence format: I, **MsWhatsit** , believe that you, **Rand Rover** , are a racist apologist because you are making apologies for racists. Happy to clear that up. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2011, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-do-not-share-your-racism/599588/18 "2011-10-14T02:24:58Z")
Oh. I see what we’re dealing with here. Have a good one. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2011, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-do-not-share-your-racism/599588/19 "2011-10-14T02:39:44Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > OK. So what’s your definition of “racism”? > > ETA: Let me phrase that more betterly: When you say that a person is a “racist,” what exactly are you saying about that person? Or what is it about that person that makes you say that? Probably not what you think it means. Just hazarding a guess here. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2011, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-do-not-share-your-racism/599588/20 "2011-10-14T02:46:44Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > So, even sven, let’s assume it is actually the case that non-white people are targeting white people in your neighborhood. Why on earth would it make any sense to assume that? Are you imagining that if a Chinese-American yuppie walked down **sven** ’s street blithely waving a fistful of Benjamins, the local members of the mugging profession would say to themselves “Whoops, not a white person, never mind” and leave them alone? That’s ridiculous. If **sven** were living in a neighborhood plagued specifically by anti-white **hate** crimes, then it would make sense to worry about the criminals “targeting white people” as opposed to anyone of any other race. But what we’re talking about here is theft, not hate crime. The only color that muggers, burglars, etc. are “targeting” is green. And it was clear that even the Clueless Neighborhood Watch Lady on some level was aware of that. Because when she saw **sven** walking down the street, she didn’t say to her “Better keep your white ass indoors, girl”; what she said was “Better not flash your iPhone.” IOW, on some level CNWLady knew perfectly well that what the neighborhood’s (black) muggers are actually after is not the experience of bothering white people, but rather the chance to steal something expensive. Therefore, dragging the fact that **sven** is white into the conversation is completely pointless from any non-racist perspective. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-do-not-share-your-racism/599588.md?page=2)