# Jane Elliott, Educator, asks white people if they would like to be treated like a black person?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jane-elliott-educator-asks-white-people-if-they-would-like-to-be-treated-like-a-black-person/913927
**Category:** Great Debates
**Created:** [July 1, 2020, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jane-elliott-educator-asks-white-people-if-they-would-like-to-be-treated-like-a-black-person/913927 "2020-07-01T11:13:00Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 19
### Author:  [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)
#### Post date: [July 15, 2020, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jane-elliott-educator-asks-white-people-if-they-would-like-to-be-treated-like-a-black-person/913927/361 "2020-07-15T13:08:37Z")
Yeah, but you have to be treated as if you were black in all ways, that would include spending some time in custody a ticket for public drinking in circumstances where a white [person](https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/15/nyregion/sniff-test-doesnt-prove-public-drinking-judge-says.html?smid=pl-share) wouldn’t typically even get a ticket ( they might get the beverage poured out but possibly not even that) And it would also include not getting that job or scholarship because you were late to the interview because of something far more likely to happen than being shot while reaching for your wallet- the police pulled you over ( maybe legitimately ) and they treated you more harshly than you believe they would have treated a white person - maybe you got a ticket for behavior that your white friends got a warning for, or they got tickets and you got arrested. And , perhaps worse than that- you can never really be 100% sure that any one incident was racially motivated, so people constantly tell you that you are overreacting.
Is a lifetime of that worth the scholarship and jobs you think you would have gotten if only you were black ?( which BTW is very not likely to be correct - if there’s one job and a black person gets it, you might have ten white people who think they didn’t get it because of their race. But in truth , nine of them wouldn’t have gotten the job even if a white person was hired)
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### Author:  [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)
#### Post date: [July 15, 2020, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jane-elliott-educator-asks-white-people-if-they-would-like-to-be-treated-like-a-black-person/913927/362 "2020-07-15T13:30:02Z")
> [@MandaJo](#):
>
> Not change places. Be you, but treated like a black person. At any point in your life
Not the first time that question has been clarified for them, and I don’t think you will get a straight answer.
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### Author:  [@Kearsen1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kearsen1)
#### Post date: [July 15, 2020, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jane-elliott-educator-asks-white-people-if-they-would-like-to-be-treated-like-a-black-person/913927/363 "2020-07-15T13:59:09Z")
I understand it was only 30 minutes ago and just 2 boxes above the one you took, but …
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### Author:  [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)
#### Post date: [July 15, 2020, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jane-elliott-educator-asks-white-people-if-they-would-like-to-be-treated-like-a-black-person/913927/364 "2020-07-15T14:08:20Z")
> [@Kearsen1](#):
>
> for those of us who don’t treat black people any worse than the white people it is a meaningless question designed with the intent to “prove” something
That doesn’t make any sense at all.
The question isn’t ‘if everybody treated black people no worse than they treat white people, would you be willing to be treated like a black person?’
Presuming that some people in the society treat black people the same as, or even better than, they treat white people is not remotely the same thing as presuming that everybody does.
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### Author:  [@urbanredneck2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/urbanredneck2)
#### Post date: [July 15, 2020, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jane-elliott-educator-asks-white-people-if-they-would-like-to-be-treated-like-a-black-person/913927/365 "2020-07-15T14:13:24Z")
> [@Kearsen1](#):
>
> I understood the question, what I don’t understand is why the default is worse than most of the people attending these lectures.
>
> The question is meant to be a gotcha but for those of us who don’t treat black people any worse than the white people it is a meaningless question designed with the intent to “prove” something, I just haven’t figured out what it is attempting to prove.
>
> If it’s proving that in some cases black people are mistreated, by the police, by the teachers, by whomever, then yes that is a true statement. It is also true that lots of other people get the same mistreatment and I STILL would ask for specifics.
>
> If it is like you state, then sure I’d change places, me being me, except my skin tone is darker.
>
> I would not be one of the demographics I laid out earlier, and would not be mistreated due to me being me. Acting the way I act, working how I work, having kids like I have, schooling like I did.
I totally agree its a “gotcha” question made to make people feel guilty. There is no way in hell anyone would raise their hand. Then her going on telling people "well your aware of racism but you are NOT doing anything about it is all crap and NOT true. She isnt “proving” anything. It only makes a good soundbite and quote.
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### Author:  [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)
#### Post date: [July 15, 2020, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jane-elliott-educator-asks-white-people-if-they-would-like-to-be-treated-like-a-black-person/913927/366 "2020-07-15T14:20:23Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#):
>
> The question isn’t ‘if everybody treated black people no worse than they treat white people, would you be willing to be treated like a black person?’
Arguably, that’s the underlying question - “have you noticed that society at large (not necessarily you personally, but society at large) treats Black people differently and usually worse than society at large treats White people?”
(Again, not a question about Oprah. There are 45million+ African Americans - exactly one of them is Oprah. Why some people rush straight to her is kind of bizarre.)
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### Author:  [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)
#### Post date: [July 15, 2020, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jane-elliott-educator-asks-white-people-if-they-would-like-to-be-treated-like-a-black-person/913927/367 "2020-07-15T14:28:43Z")
> [@amarinth](#):
>
> Arguably, that’s the underlying question - “have you noticed that society at large (not necessarily you personally, but society at large) treats Black people differently and usually worse than society at large treats White people?”
Yes. The implication IMO is more ‘you have noticed this, I want you to start this conversation by acknowledging that you know this.’
(Presumably your reference to Oprah has to do with somebody else’s post, not with one of mine.)
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### Author:  [@urbanredneck2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/urbanredneck2)
#### Post date: [July 15, 2020, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jane-elliott-educator-asks-white-people-if-they-would-like-to-be-treated-like-a-black-person/913927/368 "2020-07-15T14:34:48Z")
BTW, does any of this “training” actually work? Does she change anyones minds or lead to any major changes?
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### Author:  [@urbanredneck2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/urbanredneck2)
#### Post date: [July 15, 2020, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jane-elliott-educator-asks-white-people-if-they-would-like-to-be-treated-like-a-black-person/913927/369 "2020-07-15T14:47:00Z")
[Why Diversity Training Programs Fail](https://hbr.org/2016/07/why-diversity-programs-fail) is an article about why suich training really has no lasting good and often backfires. Basically when people go to such training they will answer questions on a test (which then the presenters and the company can pat themselves on the back and say “well done”) but later, nothing. In fact some of this pisses people off and brings up racial stereotypes and makes people even less likely to want to hire a black person.
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### Author:  [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)
#### Post date: [July 15, 2020, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jane-elliott-educator-asks-white-people-if-they-would-like-to-be-treated-like-a-black-person/913927/370 "2020-07-15T15:14:24Z")
IMHO, training is a CYA move more than anything else. If a person has been taught what asshat behavior looks like and they decide to act like an asshat in the office, then the employer can fire such an employee for not only being an asshat but also for being an idiot.
Diversity training also lets victims of harassment and insensitivity know their complaints will be taken seriously, which is another CYA move for an employer.
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### Author:  [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)
#### Post date: [July 15, 2020, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jane-elliott-educator-asks-white-people-if-they-would-like-to-be-treated-like-a-black-person/913927/371 "2020-07-15T16:08:33Z")
> [@Kearsen1](#):
>
> I understand it was only 30 minutes ago and just 2 boxes above the one you took, but …
You put so many conditions on the question you turned it into “If I had all the advantages I have received during my lifetime would I mind if my skin color changed?”
No, you did _not_ answer the question that was asked-You asked and answered your own question.
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### Author:  [@Kearsen1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kearsen1)
#### Post date: [July 15, 2020, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jane-elliott-educator-asks-white-people-if-they-would-like-to-be-treated-like-a-black-person/913927/372 "2020-07-15T16:11:07Z")
I did answer it but per the norm here, I didn’t answer it like YOU wanted (general you)
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### Author:  [@Kearsen1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kearsen1)
#### Post date: [July 15, 2020, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jane-elliott-educator-asks-white-people-if-they-would-like-to-be-treated-like-a-black-person/913927/373 "2020-07-15T16:14:38Z")
This probably explains why the white population fights on this issue. YOU (again general you) are attributing something to me that may or may not be the case due to my skin color.
Isn’t that the actual definition of racism?
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### Author:  [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)
#### Post date: [July 15, 2020, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jane-elliott-educator-asks-white-people-if-they-would-like-to-be-treated-like-a-black-person/913927/374 "2020-07-15T16:19:15Z")
The “You guys are the _real_ racists!” gambit.
🙄
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### Author:  [@Kearsen1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kearsen1)
#### Post date: [July 15, 2020, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jane-elliott-educator-asks-white-people-if-they-would-like-to-be-treated-like-a-black-person/913927/375 "2020-07-15T16:45:05Z")
I wish you’d actually respond to what I say, not the made up things you hear in your head.
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### Author:  [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)
#### Post date: [July 15, 2020, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jane-elliott-educator-asks-white-people-if-they-would-like-to-be-treated-like-a-black-person/913927/376 "2020-07-15T17:12:37Z")
> [@Kearsen1](#):
>
> This probably explains why the white population fights on this issue. YOU (again general you) are attributing something to me that may or may not be the case due to my skin color.
>
> Isn’t that the actual definition of racism?
The question in this thread is not ‘are you personally a racist?’
The question is ‘do you recognize that racism exists?’
And you are fighting that question really, really hard.
– Much of the white population isn’t fighting that question at all. Kindly don’t stereotype all white people into your own set of opinions.
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### Author:  [@Kearsen1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kearsen1)
#### Post date: [July 15, 2020, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jane-elliott-educator-asks-white-people-if-they-would-like-to-be-treated-like-a-black-person/913927/377 "2020-07-15T17:38:32Z")
Meanwhile you disregard the context and what I was replying to. This happens all to often.
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### Author:  [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)
#### Post date: [July 15, 2020, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jane-elliott-educator-asks-white-people-if-they-would-like-to-be-treated-like-a-black-person/913927/378 "2020-07-15T18:45:38Z")
So who, precisely, is attributing what, exactly, to you specifically, because of your skin color?
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### Author:  [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)
#### Post date: [July 15, 2020, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jane-elliott-educator-asks-white-people-if-they-would-like-to-be-treated-like-a-black-person/913927/379 "2020-07-15T19:20:48Z")
> [@Kearsen1](#):
>
> I would not be one of the demographics I laid out earlier, and would not be mistreated due to me being me. Acting the way I act, working how I work, having kids like I have, schooling like I did.
Can you clarify? Are you suggesting that a black person who acts like you would not experience any mistreatment?
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### Author:  [@Kearsen1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kearsen1)
#### Post date: [July 15, 2020, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jane-elliott-educator-asks-white-people-if-they-would-like-to-be-treated-like-a-black-person/913927/380 "2020-07-15T19:23:55Z")
You guys please get together and figure out what the question is supposed to be asking, instead of having me clarify, to multiple people who all have a different understanding of the question.
Then, I’ll answer that one.
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