# 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:** 16
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2018, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/301 "2018-07-18T20:36:40Z")
> [@](#): > > They were waiting for the rest of their party to arrive, something that (white) people do all the time. I worked for the Census Bureau just before the 2010 census (checking addresses manually to make sure that the census bureau’s records were correct that they were actually dwellings), and I had a team of people working for me that I had to keep track of. I would hold meetings at four different Starbucks every day (there were no Census Bureau offices to hold meetings in), and not a single Starbucks employee asked us to move along. ---
**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 18, 2018, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/302 "2018-07-18T21:06:29Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > According to the article, there is a map that says that that area is off limits to charcoal, but, not only do (white) people use charcoal in that area all the time, there are permanent charcoal grills installed by the park services in those areas. > > True, they didn’t have a permit. Does your (white) neighbor’s kid get a permit before he bangs on your door selling candy for his school fundraiser? > > If he was asking everyone to show their ID, and she refused, that would be a point. She was singled out for needing to be ID’d, while other (white) people around her were not. > > They were waiting for the rest of their party to arrive, something that (white) people do all the time. > > The coupon was real. The clerk did not call the police on other (white) people who use real coupons. You’re preaching to the choir. I’m not trying to defend the actions of the officious white jackasses. The question that was asked was why the cops have to show up if no crime took place, and I’m highlighting the reason the cops bothered to show up in each case. The fact that the officious white jackass in each case escalated the situation to the point of calling the cops (or even initiated a confrontation at all) is indeed ludicrous. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2018, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/303 "2018-07-20T01:00:04Z")
[Customer stiffs restaurant server, leaves note: “We don’t tip terrorist.”](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/customer-who-left-we-dont-tip-terrorist-message-banned-from-texas-restaurant/?ftag=CNM-00-10aag7e) > [@](#): > > A Texas steakhouse has banned a customer who left a server with no tip and a racist message on a $108 bill last weekend, according to local reports. The story gained national attention after Khalil Cavil, a 20-year-old server for Saltgrass Steak House in Odessa, Texas, posted an image of the receipt left for him on July 14. > > The customer had circled Khalil’s name and scrawled the words, “we don’t tip terrorist.” ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2018, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/304 "2018-07-20T07:53:47Z")
I have no idea what the severity was in this case, but I would hesitate to endorse the notion that there is no flagrant foul conceivable that could justify a criminal complaint. ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2018, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/305 "2018-07-20T08:45:04Z")
> **[Tug-of-Love: Immigrant Mom Loses Effort to Regain Son Given to US Parents](https://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/immigrant-mom-loses-effort-regain-son-us-parents/story?id=16803067)** > > In a controversial case that involved the rights of illegal immigrants and their young children, a Guatemalan mother lost her effort today to get back the five-year old son who was taken away from her after her arrest on immigration charges and put... We are literally stealing people’s children. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2018, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/306 "2018-07-21T18:21:10Z")
Dollar General clerk calls the police on a black woman for using too many coupons. > **[Dollar General cashier calls police on black woman trying to use store coupons](https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/dollar-general-cashier-calls-police-black-woman-trying-use-store-coupons-204747050.html)** > > The cashier says the teacher is "trying to take advantage of the system," while she uses coupons from the store's app. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2018, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/307 "2018-07-22T00:16:43Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Dollar General clerk calls the police on a black woman for using too many coupons. > [Dollar General employee calls police on black woman](https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/dollar-general-cashier-calls-police-black-woman-trying-use-store-coupons-204747050.html) Looks to me like it was for recording without his consent, although as the article points out NY is a one-party consent state. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2018, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/308 "2018-07-22T01:12:47Z")
Here’s a feel-good story: > > [@](#): > > Someone complained to the city of Minneapolis about 13-year-old Jaequan Faulkner’s hot dog stand. > > Instead of shutting him down, the Health Department helped him meet its standards and pass health inspection, and inspectors paid for his food permit. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2018, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/309 "2018-07-22T20:13:54Z")
Cops in San Francisco called on black man opening the door to his own business. > **[Black owner of SF lemonade stand has police called on him while trying to...](https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Black-owner-of-SF-lemonade-police-Gourmonade-13094735.php)** > > Viktor Stevenson, the owner Gourmonade, said that the cops were called on him while he... ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2018, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/310 "2018-07-28T12:35:28Z")
[Police hold actor Ving Rhames at gunpoint after neighbor reports “a large black man” is breaking in.](https://blavity.com/police-held-ving-rhames-at-gunpoint-in-his-own-home-after-a-neighbor-told-911-a-large-black-man-had-broken-in) > [@](#): > > “I open the door and there is a red dot pointed at my face from a 9-mm. They say put up your hands, literally. I just walked and opened up the door…Then they said ‘open the front screen door.’ They say do it with one hand so then I have to do it with one hand. My hands are up and they have me outside,” Rhames says. > > The chief of police recognized Rhames, and had the officers stand down. The officers revealed a neighbor called 911, telling the operator a “large black man” had broken into a home. When Rhames and the officers visited the person who made the call, that person denied it. ---
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2018, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/311 "2018-07-28T13:15:31Z")
That neighbor had better keep his mouth shut, or Ving’s gonna send over a couple of hard, pipe-hittin’ n\*\*\*as to go to work on the homes with a pair of pliers and a blowtorch. ---
**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 28, 2018, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/312 "2018-07-28T14:49:49Z")
> [@DoctorJ](#): > > That neighbor had better keep his mouth shut, or Ving’s gonna send over a couple of hard, pipe-hittin’ n\*\*\*as to go to work on the homes with a pair of pliers and a blowtorch. Given the circumstances, this doesn’t seem to be very funny. ---
**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 28, 2018, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/313 "2018-07-28T15:49:33Z")
> [@DoctorJ](#): > > That neighbor had better keep his mouth shut, or Ving’s gonna send over a couple of hard, pipe-hittin’ n\*\*\*as to go to work on the homes with a pair of pliers and a blowtorch. I don’t think Rhames would go that far. But I doubt he’d take a bullet for him either. ---
**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 30, 2018, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/314 "2018-07-30T14:37:32Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Given the circumstances, this doesn’t seem to be very funny. The Mission Impossible franchise is pretty bereft of humor, so he had to choose between a Pulp Fiction joke or an Arby’s joke; I think he did OK. Black people with police guns drawn and aimed at them have a pretty short life expectancy. Frankly if I was Rhames, I would have been terrified during the incident, and more than a little angry afterward at the neighbor. Presumably he walked in through an open door, as opposed to kicking the door in or crawling in through a broken window. I can’t imagine what would make a neighbor think “breaking and entering” as opposed to just “entering.” ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2018, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/315 "2018-07-30T14:42:52Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > I can’t imagine what would make a neighbor think “breaking and entering” as opposed to just “entering.” I can’t believe someone lives next door to Ving Rhames and doesn’t know he lives next door to Ving Rhames. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2018, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/316 "2018-07-30T15:06:55Z")
This is horrific. Neighbors see black and think ‘thief’ and ‘criminal’ and not ‘neighbor’ or ‘guest’ or ‘property owner’. Our assumptions reveal our racism. ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2018, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/317 "2018-07-30T15:53:29Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > [Customer stiffs restaurant server, leaves note: “We don’t tip terrorist.”](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/customer-who-left-we-dont-tip-terrorist-message-banned-from-texas-restaurant/?ftag=CNM-00-10aag7e) Unfortunately, that is fake news. But why wait for proof before acting on an accusation? > **[Server faked ‘we don’t tip terrorist’ note, Texas restaurant says](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2018/07/23/server-faked-we-dont-tip-terrorist-note/824027002/)** > > A server at a Texas steakhouse who went viral for sharing what appeared to be a racist message from a customer lied about what happened, his employer said. ---
**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 30, 2018, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/318 "2018-07-30T16:10:00Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > Unfortunately, that is fake news. But why wait for proof before acting on an accusation? > > [Server faked ‘we don’t tip terrorist’ note, Texas restaurant says](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2018/07/23/server-faked-we-dont-tip-terrorist-note/824027002/) Wouldn’t the receipt and the server’s story be “proof”? ---
**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 30, 2018, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/319 "2018-07-30T16:53:36Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I can’t believe someone lives next door to Ving Rhames and doesn’t know he lives next door to Ving Rhames. It’s not hard for me to imagine an elderly recluse (doesn’t know neighbors well at all) who is out of touch with pop culture (and so wouldn’t know Ving Rhames on sight/sound). ISTM that older folks are more likely to be suspicious of black people too. Haven’t heard any details about Rhames’ neighbor, but wouldn’t be surprised if they fit that profile. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2018, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/320 "2018-07-30T16:56:28Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > Wouldn’t the receipt and the server’s story be “proof”? The server has already recanted the story and admitted that he faked the receipt, so no. Regards, Shodan [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611.md?page=15) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611.md?page=17)