# Is this racist? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 8, 2015, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-racist/709349 "2015-01-08T22:39:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2015, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-racist/709349/41 "2015-01-09T19:46:30Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > You don’t think reality TV is edited in any way? Of course I do. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2015, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-racist/709349/42 "2015-01-09T19:53:41Z")
It’s not racist at all. But do cab drivers make good money? Are they being paid for their time in addition to a free meal? I’m just wondering, because it’s nice and all, but someone’s gotta pay the rent. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2015, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-racist/709349/43 "2015-01-09T20:03:14Z")
> [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](#): > > It’s not racist at all. But do cab drivers make good money? Are they being paid for their time in addition to a free meal? > > I’m just wondering, because it’s nice and all, but someone’s gotta pay the rent. 🙂 Well, that’s why I figured they’d have to offer him something for his lost wages. I doubted he’d just take a couple of hours off work for a free meal. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2015, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-racist/709349/44 "2015-01-09T20:12:21Z")
In one of their videos they said the guy should leave the meter running. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2015, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-racist/709349/45 "2015-01-09T20:37:00Z")
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > In one of their videos they said the guy should leave the meter running. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2015, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-racist/709349/46 "2015-01-09T20:49:25Z")
How is the request to the cabbie made? If it’s made with room for a graceful, “Sorry, guys, I’m kind of busy” denial, then I think it’s fine. If it’s pushy, it’s not fine. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2015, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-racist/709349/47 "2015-01-09T21:26:52Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > How is the request to the cabbie made? If it’s made with room for a graceful, “Sorry, guys, I’m kind of busy” denial, then I think it’s fine. If it’s pushy, it’s not fine. In the video, the request was politely made with an explanation of what they were doing. They offered not only to buy his lunch but told him to keep the meter running as well, so he is actually being paid to eat a free lunch and have a conversation. The whole thing was, I agree, kind of boring but in no way was it disrespectful IMO. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2015, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-racist/709349/48 "2015-01-10T02:36:51Z")
> [@Apollon](#): > > It’s not racist, but it is annoying as hell. > I’m a 50/50 Greek Austrian living in Austria, trying my best to be as Austrian as everyone else. And then some arsehole comes along and says something along the lines of “what do you Greeks say about such and such?” With one question, he invalidates my chosen national identity and casts me into another. They don’t mean it that way, of course, and I wouldn’t say that it’s offensive… but I still want to punch them when they do that. Instead of getting mad, why don’t you just explain that you don’t think of yourself as Greek and wouldn’t have any idea what they say about such and such? ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2015, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-racist/709349/49 "2015-01-10T03:43:12Z")
> [@you\_with\_the\_face](#): > > You can ask, but it’s eye rolley if you’re using a cab driver’s ethnicity to create a video-taped adventure for yourself. I don’t know how else to get this across except to suggest putting yourselves in their shoes. They don’t exist to entertain you or teach you things about another culture, and asking them to perform in that capacity is a bit presumptuous. No. If someone is asked something in a situation where they are free to decline, it cannot be presumptuous. Someone _asking_ you if you will help them learn about another culture does not in any way assume that the person exists to teach you about another culture. If someone asks me to help them with their computer, do I assume that they think I exist just to help them fix computers? Of course not. That is an unwarranted assumption. The whole point of asking is that they are not presuming anything. You say no, they end the video and still use the service they ordered. We know because we see them do that earlier in the video. If anyone is being presumptuous, it is you. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2015, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-racist/709349/50 "2015-01-10T03:47:07Z")
It was fairly cool until they started calling him a smelly raghead and kicking him outside the restaurant. That part was pretty racist. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2015, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-racist/709349/51 "2015-01-10T04:20:11Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > I was just booing a very bad joke (the ‘reservation’ pun), though I didn’t know it came from Seinfeld. > > It was a good-natured boo… the kind of boo I like to make. Please make more bad puns so I can boo them. Not a ghost of a chance that I’ll comply with that request. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2015, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-racist/709349/52 "2015-01-10T13:43:14Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > No. If someone is asked something in a situation where they are free to decline, it cannot be presumptuous. Which is why it’s perfectly cool to ask a waitress out on a date, right? Oh wait, not it isn’t. That shit is roundly disencouraged because most reasonable people understand the awkward position that is imposed on the waitress. She’s just trying to do her job and go home. Using the moment to hit on her is obnoxious because it turns what should be a routine business transaction into an intimate, personal one. But maybe you’re the type who sees nothing wrong with that and do it all the time because you think all is fair game in a free country. And I disagree. I consider it tacky to hit on waiters when they are under monetary pressure to be nice and accommodating, and likewise, I feel it is tacky to impose personal small talk (and requests to go out dining) on a taxi driver when they are under monetary pressure to be nice and accomodating. > [@](#): > > If anyone is being presumptuous, it is you. Ha! You just can’t help yourself, can you? I always can tell when your ox has been gored. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2015, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-racist/709349/53 "2015-01-10T13:45:58Z")
> [@you\_with\_the\_face](#): > > Which is why it’s perfectly cool to ask a waitress out on a date, right? Oh wait, not it isn’t. That shit is roundly disencouraged because most reasonable people understand the awkward position that is imposed on the waitress. She’s just trying to do her job and go home. Using the moment to hit on her is obnoxious because it turns what should be a routine business transaction into a intimate, personal one. I’m the last person in the world to know about dating etiquette, so understand this is a legitimate question: is there **any** acceptable way to indicate your interest in a waitress, say, giving her your phone number? ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2015, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-racist/709349/54 "2015-01-10T13:58:07Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > I’m the last person in the world to know about dating etiquette, so understand this is a legitimate question: is there **any** acceptable way to indicate your interest in a waitress, say, giving her your phone number? Maybe hand her your card at the end of the transaction (meaning, after you’ve paid), on your way out of the door. That way, she doesn’t have to fret about how to turn you down nicely so as to ensure you won’t screw her on the tip or make an embarrassing scene, and she doesn’t have to feel self-conscious under your gaze for very long. ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2015, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-racist/709349/55 "2015-01-11T11:20:48Z")
I think they fact that they have funding from a large company to produce a show is a bit of a factor here. IMO, I think if **I** went trolling around for cab drivers I could take to restaurants it would be kind of weird and maybe a little wrong, even if I could afford the stuff the people on the show can. However, I think the fact that they’re travelling around with obvious recording equipment and approaching these things like a business transaction changes the dynamic to something different that I don’t think is directly comparable to your average social situation. I still don’t think it’d be **racist** though, just potentially annoying or lacking in social niceties. Just like asking a cashier out on a date isn’t really sexist, it’s only sexist in a broad statistical sense due to being in a cultural context where women are sexualized to an abnormal degree. By itself it’s really not any different from any other social faux pas. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-racist/709349.md?page=2)