# Living while black in America **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 9, 2018, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611 "2018-07-09T21:17:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2018, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/221 "2018-07-12T16:42:39Z")
> [@Ruken](#): > > As for the Yale dorm, I’ve been in that dorm. Totally normal for people to fall asleep wherever. Although I don’t believe I ever slept in that one. This thread made me curious about what happened with that Yale student. It turns out she’s feeling all sorry for herself on Twitter now – > [@](#): > > I mean, I was going to save the world, but what’s that compared to an uptick in readership or clicks? > > … > > Yay!!! Everyone made money off of the destruction of my life!!! Good for you, assholes!!! > > … > > Of course, no one cares if they drive an innocent #humanandcivilrightsactivist to #suicide, as long as they #profit off of it. But, that’s just the way the world works, right? > > … > > Especially one who had devoted her life to #socialjustice work. Great job! > > … > > I’m so happy that millions of people were able to #profit off of the #destruction of an #innocent #humanrights and #civilrights #activist’s life. > > … > > I won’t hold my breath waiting for anyone to apologize to me. > > … > > So, the moral of the story is – don’t bother trying to be a good person. The world will condemn and destroy your life anyway. > … > > I chose to move to #France and sit for days in offices with #African #women #immigrants and their #children to make sure that they wouldn’t be discriminated against during the #visa process. And, now, I’m condemned as some kind of #PolPot figure. That’s what being good gets you > > … > > I could have done anything with my life. I could have been an #ElonMusk figure and started an engineering company. I could have made millions. I could have been a hot shot #attorney at a big NYC law firm. But, what did I choose to do with my life? I chose to . . . ---
**Author:** ![mistymage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mistymage/32/459_2.png) [@mistymage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mistymage)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2018, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/222 "2018-07-12T16:49:49Z")
Trashing a Federal Refuge, burning down Federal land or pointing guns at Feds is perfectly OK if you are White. You might even get a Presidential Pardon and released from prison if you do actually get sentenced for your crime. If you are Native look forward to being brutalized by rent-a-cops, cops and National Guardsmen and then bend over because you will be prosecuted: [WPLC Fights for Water Protectors | The Circle News](http://thecirclenews.org/cover-story/wplc-fights-for-water-protectors/) And don’t try to better yourself while being Red because you look different and are quiet: [https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/04/us/colorado-state-university-racial-profiling-trnd/index.html](https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/04/us/colorado-state-university-racial-profiling-trnd/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Economist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c89c15/32.png) [@Evil\_Economist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Economist)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2018, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/223 "2018-07-12T20:08:05Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Random white guy blocks the gate to a gated community where a black doctor has lived for eight years, until she provides him with proof that she lives there. > [https://twitter.com/TalbertSwan/status/1017069244918456320](https://twitter.com/TalbertSwan/status/1017069244918456320) This is infuriating. Also infuriating is that she didn’t get a better shot of his face, to make it easier to identify him. She should also have taken a clear shot of his license plate. Then let the millions of people on the internet figure out and circulate his identity. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2018, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/224 "2018-07-12T20:16:19Z")
[A bus rider tells a woman in a head scarf ‘ICE should take her kids away’](https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/12/us/mta-bus-racial-incident-trnd/index.html) Article includes a 30-second video recorded during the incident. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2018, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/225 "2018-07-12T21:05:19Z")
> [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](#): > > It looks like this cop now resigned. All I have see on this though is a post from reporter David Begnaud. > > [Redirecting...](https://www.facebook.com/108679513654/photos/a.10152159686718655.1073741828.108679513654/10155923142568655/?type=3) Felony hate crime for the motherfucker, well the abusive motherfucker, not the do-nothing cop motherfucker. [http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-met-viral-video-hate-crime-charge-forest-preserve-20180712-story.html](http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-met-viral-video-hate-crime-charge-forest-preserve-20180712-story.html) ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2018, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/226 "2018-07-12T21:10:15Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > Felony hate crime for the motherfucker, well the abusive motherfucker, not the do-nothing cop motherfucker. > [Hate crime charges filed against man caught on video confronting woman over Puerto Rico shirt – Chicago Tribune](http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-met-viral-video-hate-crime-charge-forest-preserve-20180712-story.html) I was a little surprised to see that. Not disappointed but surprised nonetheless. I wonder if they’re looking to have him plead out to something less. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2018, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/227 "2018-07-12T21:39:45Z")
> [@Evil\_Economist](#): > > This is infuriating. Also infuriating is that she didn’t get a better shot of his face, to make it easier to identify him\*. She should also have taken a clear shot of his license plate.\* Then let the millions of people on the internet figure out and circulate his identity. (emphasis added) She did, but it was blurred in the linked video. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2018, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/228 "2018-07-12T23:10:15Z")
[Biscayne Park, Fl police told to pin crimes on black people, probe found](http://amp.miamiherald.com/news/local/crime/article213647764.html) ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2018, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/229 "2018-07-12T23:22:50Z")
[Cop pulls gun on black kids after 911 caller falsely reports they are armed.](https://www.theroot.com/cop-pulls-gun-on-children-after-911-caller-falsely-repo-1827524223) ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2018, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/230 "2018-07-13T00:20:03Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > That’s why the lady was right when she wanted to see the business license of the kid selling candy. If you see kids, especially black kids, doing stuff in the middle of the day, the most likely scenario is that they are committing some crime. > > Remain Vigilant! Say what the fuck?! Look, a person going up to houses empty-handed and walking away with stuff - that’s inherently suspicious. Selling candy isn’t. That’s why calling the cops on a black kid doing the former isn’t necessarily racist, but calling the cops on a black kid selling candy IS. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2018, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/231 "2018-07-13T00:38:58Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > Say what the fuck?! > > Look, a person going up to houses empty-handed and walking away with stuff - that’s inherently suspicious. Selling candy isn’t. That’s why calling the cops on a black kid doing the former isn’t necessarily racist, but calling the cops on a black kid selling candy IS. Selling candy without your business license prominently displayed is suspicious. She was right to call the cops. Just like selling lemonade or loose cigarettes. If black people want to sell things, they need to follow the established business rules. If not, they deserved the cops called on them. I have started being vigilant in my neighborhood and calling the cops whenever a black person looks suspicious, like being black or selling lemonade. Of course, since I’m the only white person in my neighborhood, I make a lot of phone calls. But hey, we whiteys have to stick together lest black children steal my doorbell button or whatever. ---
**Author:** ![xenophon41](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xenophon41/32/253_2.png) [@xenophon41](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xenophon41)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2018, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/232 "2018-07-13T01:06:31Z")
I realize people want to be clever and ironic and all that cool stuff, but you, **manson1972** , seem to have reached a point where your satirical style is… counterproductively obtuse. IMO ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2018, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/233 "2018-07-13T01:08:14Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > The flip side is, if they’re stealing something, now they know they’ve been noticed, and they can split while you’re calling the cops. If some white kid went up to multiple doorsteps and came back with stuff each time, you bet I’m calling the cops. Sure. _Multiple doorsteps. Not the case here._ ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2018, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/234 "2018-07-13T01:15:20Z")
> [@xenophon41](#): > > I realize people want to be clever and ironic and all that cool stuff, but you, **manson1972** , seem to have reached a point where your satirical style is… counterproductively obtuse. IMO I don’t think so, but thanks for your opinion. Perhaps you can offer an example of what someone could steal from a doorstep in the middle of the day? And perhaps you can explain why someone wouldn’t default to “I’m sure they are doing something legal” when they see such a thing? ---
**Author:** ![xenophon41](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xenophon41/32/253_2.png) [@xenophon41](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xenophon41)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2018, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/235 "2018-07-13T01:51:09Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > I don’t think so, but thanks for your opinion. You’re quite welcome. I’ll just contrast your post here with your previous post. There’s a major difference that I see, can you see it too? (It has to do with the presence in one of overly heavy irony, and the blessed absence of that in the other.) > [@](#): > > Perhaps you can offer an example of what someone could steal from a doorstep in the middle of the day? There’s this new business called Amazon. Only been around a few minutes, you probably never heard of it, but they leave merchandise that people order from them on doorsteps all the time. It’s a year round activity, but particularly attractive for thieves around Christmas time to go and collect other people’s packages. > [@](#): > > And perhaps you can explain why someone wouldn’t default to “I’m sure they are doing something legal” when they see such a thing? Nah. I’d like to help, but my contract says I’m only allowed to explain one situation to any given poster per week without applying an exorbitant “clue fee.” (There’s a lot of consumption of explanations lately.) You’ve reached your quota already. Now, if you’d like to ask why they _would_ default to “I’d better call the cops” when they see such a thing, that’s a fair and more complex question. One I can’t answer actually, because it kind of depends on some contextual elements that I don’t know. It would be reasonable in some neighborhoods at some times, and unreasonable in other places and times. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2018, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/236 "2018-07-13T02:06:38Z")
> [@xenophon41](#): > > You’re quite welcome. I’ll just contrast your post here with your previous post. There’s a major difference that I see, can you see it too? (It has to do with the presence in one of overly heavy irony, and the blessed absence of that in the other.) You didn’t quote the posts to which you are referring so I don’t know. > [@](#): > > There’s this new business called Amazon. Only been around a few minutes, you probably never heard of it, but they leave merchandise that people order from them on doorsteps all the time. It’s a year round activity, but particularly attractive for thieves around Christmas time to go and collect other people’s packages I might have heard of that. What I haven’t heard of is thieves driving around a neighborhood dropping their kid off to walk up to a house in broad daylight, stealing a package, and then getting back in their car to go to the very next house. Perhaps you can link to some news stories where that has happened? > [@](#): > > Nah. I’d like to help, but my contract says I’m only allowed to explain one situation to any given poster per week without applying an exorbitant “clue fee.” (There’s a lot of consumption of explanations lately.) You’ve reached your quota already Damn. I’ll check back on Sunday then. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2018, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/237 "2018-07-13T02:49:31Z")
People are remarkably ignorant concerning their country. I’m referring to the guy who didn’t know that residents of Puerto Rico are US citizens. But I can go one better. I had a friend go to the Texas DMV to get a new license, as she and her husband had just been transferred from Fairbanks, Alaska. The clerk at the DMV wouldn’t honor her Alaskan license, saying they didn’t take licenses from foreign countries. A guy I know who used to be a travel agent said folks asked him about changing their money when they wanted to take a vacation in Hawaii. ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2018, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/238 "2018-07-13T03:12:19Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > People are remarkably ignorant concerning their country. I’m referring to the guy who didn’t know that residents of Puerto Rico are US citizens. > > But I can go one better. I had a friend go to the Texas DMV to get a new license, as she and her husband had just been transferred from Fairbanks, Alaska. The clerk at the DMV wouldn’t honor her Alaskan license, saying they didn’t take licenses from foreign countries. > > A guy I know who used to be a travel agent said folks asked him about changing their money when they wanted to take a vacation in Hawaii. …jeebus. I mean, I used to get that after moving from New Mexico to Norf Cackalacky, but Alaska? Hawaii?? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2018, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/239 "2018-07-13T03:21:29Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > People are remarkably ignorant concerning their country. I’m referring to the guy who didn’t know that residents of Puerto Rico are US citizens. > > But I can go one better. I had a friend go to the Texas DMV to get a new license, as she and her husband had just been transferred from Fairbanks, Alaska. The clerk at the DMV wouldn’t honor her Alaskan license, saying they didn’t take licenses from foreign countries. > > A guy I know who used to be a travel agent said folks asked him about changing their money when they wanted to take a vacation in Hawaii. I don’t think this is exactly ignorance. Ignorance is when you just don’t know something. If you showed me something written in Sanskrit, I couldn’t read a word of it; I am completely ignorant of that language. But it’s because I never learned how to read Sanskrit. I don’t feel like that makes me particularly stupid. Stupidity is when you do know something but you just can’t apply your knowledge. If you had asked these people “What country owns Hawaii?” I bet most of them probably could have told you “America”. But somehow, when it came to actually using a piece of knowledge that was there inside their brain, they couldn’t do it. That’s stupidity not ignorance. If you have somebody who’s ignorant, you can teach them. But there’s no cure for stupidity. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2018, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/240 "2018-07-13T12:14:32Z")
And then there are people who _would_ have said that Hawaii is part of the US, if you had led off with that, but if you asked them after they’d just made that mistake, they’d insist it was Japan, because it’s impossible that they could have been wrong. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611.md?page=11) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611.md?page=13)