# 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:** 63
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2018, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1243 "2018-10-30T16:33:59Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > I know this is clickbait but it is so infuriating. > > [What Unfolded Inside Taco Bell After A Tired Soldier Was Approached By 2 Suspicious Figures Made Him A Real Life Hero - NewsD](https://newsd.co/unfolded-inside-taco-bell-tired-soldier-approached-2-suspicious-figures-made-real-life-hero/?utm_campaign=taco-sol-m-g&utm_medium=m&utm_source=gemini&k=y6324&utm_term=NEWS_US&utm_content=1&sp=2) > > Here’s the story: a solider goes into a Taco Bell. A nine year old and a 13 year old ask him if he wants to support a church bake sale. Soldier instead buys the kids some tacos. That’s it. > > Put that in the hands of the Internet, and you get “(White) Army hero saves the futures of two hooded thugs.” > > Give me a fucking break. Also, infuriating is the poor grammar: > [@](#): > > They knew if it is anything dangerous than they’ve to take an action but their inner common man wasn’t really in a mood of it. Huh? 😕 Some of the presumptions: > [@](#): > > Taco Bell is the favorite of every other person across the U.S. and hence their restaurants are always full of customers from their opening time until its time to close the restaurant. Wait, what? :dubious: And the picture on [this page just creeps me out.](https://newsd.co/unfolded-inside-taco-bell-tired-soldier-approached-2-suspicious-figures-made-real-life-hero/11/?k=y6324&sp=2) ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2018, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1244 "2018-10-30T17:08:35Z")
I got the impression that if those two highly trained american heroes, with catlike reflexes and eagle eyes, had taken out the invading intruders with 4 shots to the head the moment they opened the door, it would have been justifiable self defense. Also, If the Taco Bell was creepily deserted who was it who took the cell phone video. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2018, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1245 "2018-10-30T17:22:44Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > And the picture on [this page just creeps me out.](https://newsd.co/unfolded-inside-taco-bell-tired-soldier-approached-2-suspicious-figures-made-real-life-hero/11/?k=y6324&sp=2) And they call Joe Biden weird. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2018, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1246 "2018-11-13T21:15:38Z")
A security guard’s uniform is no protection: [Police Fatally Shoot Black Security Guard Who Detained Shooting Suspect](https://www.npr.org/2018/11/13/667252788/police-fatally-shoot-black-security-guard-who-detained-suspected-shooter) One bystander’s observation: "Everybody was screaming out ‘Security!’ " Harris told WGN. “And they still did their job, and saw a black man with a gun, and basically killed him.” ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2018, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1247 "2018-11-13T21:25:24Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > A security guard’s uniform is no protection: > > [Police Fatally Shoot Black Security Guard Who Detained Shooting Suspect](https://www.npr.org/2018/11/13/667252788/police-fatally-shoot-black-security-guard-who-detained-suspected-shooter) > > One bystander’s observation: "Everybody was screaming out ‘Security!’ " Harris told WGN. “And they still did their job, and saw a black man with a gun, and basically killed him.” And there will be no accountability. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2018, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1248 "2018-11-13T23:32:23Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > And there will be no accountability. It is being investigated by the county sheriff and city police departments. No problem there! Cook County is famous for its justice for black people. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2018, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1249 "2018-11-14T00:05:24Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > And there will be no accountability. C’mon man. It was a black man, with a gun. That’s more accountable than they usually are. They often shoot the black man because they think that he might have a gun, or because he told them that he is a gun owner, or because his cell phone kinda sorta under the right lighting looks like a gun, or he was carrying a BB gun around in a store that sells BB guns. This guy actually had a gun, and even had it out, in his hand, and pointed at someone. Now, the cop could have taken some time to suss out the situation before cavalierly ending someone’s life, he could have listened to the crowd, all shouting instructions at him\* not to kill this man. But, there was a black guy, with a gun, and so the cop was in fear for his life. Case closed. \*Speaking of which, does this not demonstrate that shouting instructions in a high tension situation is not the most useful thing to do. If even a cop cannot manage to keep himself calm enough to listen to the people shouting instructions at him, how is it that the cops are expecting a civilian without training or awareness that he is about to be thrust into a life and death situation to do what they themselves are demonstrably incapable of doing? ---
**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:** [November 29, 2018, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1250 "2018-11-29T19:48:08Z")
I don’t know that this deserves its own thread: [‘Lynch them all’: Shockingly racist rant from North Carolina high schoolers goes viral](https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/racist-rant-north-carolina-high-schoolers-goes-viral-leaving-students-deal-racial-tension-school-theyre-actually-fearful-right-now-005929471.html). That title pretty much sums up the situation, although the way the video came to light is an interesting and convoluted thing. The merest of punishments for the two young men in the video was even further reduced, apparently. There is a link to the video in the article. I couldn’t watch more than about 15 seconds before I had to turn it off. This is what black people (and other minorities) have to deal with all the fucking time. It sickens and disgusts me. ---
**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:** [December 3, 2018, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1251 "2018-12-03T20:21:01Z")
[Florida sheriff arrests US citizen, turns him over to ICE to be deported to Jamaica.](https://www.aclu.org/blog/immigrants-rights/ice-and-border-patrol-abuses/florida-sheriff-worked-ice-illegally-jail-and) > [@](#): > > Peter Sean Brown is a U.S. citizen who lives in the Florida Keys. He was born in Philadelphia and has lived in Florida for 10 years. Before this year, he had never heard of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, or ICE. > > That changed abruptly last April, when the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office held him in jail so that ICE could try to deport him — even though he’s a U.S. citizen. The ACLU, the ACLU of Florida, the Southern Poverty Law Center, and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP filed a lawsuit today against the sheriff’s office for violating Peter’s Fourth Amendment rights. His experience — being locked in jail away from his family, friends, and job to facilitate an illegal deportation — is a stark example of what can go wrong when local law enforcement does ICE’s bidding. > > … > > In recent years, ICE has asked local jails to hold hundreds (if not thousands) of U.S. citizens for deportation. Each one probably felt the same panic as Peter. Study after study has documented this troubling pattern of targeting U.S. citizens with ICE detainers. Oh yeah, he was black. ---
**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:** [December 27, 2018, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1252 "2018-12-27T03:01:08Z")
Oregon hotel calls cops on black guest talking to his mom in lobby: > [@](#): > > “They asked me if I had personal items in my room (which of course I did) and asked me to go retrieve them,” he continued. “They told me that since the hotel requested me to leave, that if I didn’t I would be considered a trespasser and would be thrown in jail. I complied and cooperated and was not issued a refund for my room. I packed my stuff and went to another hotel.” [https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/422874-oregon-hotel-calls-cops-on-black-guest-talking-to-his-mom-in](https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/422874-oregon-hotel-calls-cops-on-black-guest-talking-to-his-mom-in) ---
**Author:** ![Huey\_Freeman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/huey_freeman/32/251_2.png) [@Huey\_Freeman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Huey_Freeman)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2018, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1253 "2018-12-27T05:15:58Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Oregon hotel calls cops on black guest talking to his mom in lobby: > [https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/422874-oregon-hotel-calls-cops-on-black-guest-talking-to-his-mom-in](https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/422874-oregon-hotel-calls-cops-on-black-guest-talking-to-his-mom-in) That one was particularly depressing and scary to watch. The security guard was contemptuous and treated the black guest as if he were both invisible and visible at the same time. The guard treated him like an animal, didn’t even bother to articulate a reason why the cops were being called to throw him out of the lobby. This is what the country has become. It is my belief white people call the cops to self-deputize (and often anonyomize) themselves in order to to show that the police - the military arm of white supremacy - really work for _white people_. It is a tool to shame, inconvenience, and to exact punishment on people of color for disrupting their white fragility. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2018, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1254 "2018-12-27T06:20:24Z")
**Hewey** , I’ll concede that there is a disproportionate amount of shit that black people have to deal with on any given day. And I admit that, as a white male, the odds of my experiencing anything even remotely close to the injustices that the black population of America are so miniscule as to be essentially non-existent. I would, however, request that you acknowledge that not every white person thinks or acts in the manner of the links provided. I’ve seen a few times in this thread where, probably in an effort to get your thoughts out before they disappear, you’ve attributed the motivation of the racist idiots to the entire collective of white people. By painting us all with that broad brush, you’re engaging in the same type of activity that you find disgusting and oppressive and racist. In other words, it’s not all of us who think and act like the people noted in the links. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2018, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1255 "2018-12-27T07:25:25Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Oregon hotel calls cops on black guest talking to his mom in lobby: > > [https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/422874-oregon-hotel-calls-cops-on-black-guest-talking-to-his-mom-in](https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/422874-oregon-hotel-calls-cops-on-black-guest-talking-to-his-mom-in) From the linked article: > [@](#): > > This unfortunate incident is likely the result of a misunderstanding between our hotel and guest. What could possibly be “a misunderstanding”? That the fool didn’t realize he had to stay in the colored lobby? Jesus! Unfortunately, I know far too many racists to believe it was anything but that. ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2018, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1256 "2018-12-27T07:26:58Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > **Hewey** , I’ll concede that there is a disproportionate amount of shit that black people have to deal with on any given day. And I admit that, as a white male, the odds of my experiencing anything even remotely close to the injustices that the black population of America are so miniscule as to be essentially non-existent. > > I would, however, request that you acknowledge that not every white person thinks or acts in the manner of the links provided. I’ve seen a few times in this thread where, probably in an effort to get your thoughts out before they disappear, you’ve attributed the motivation of the racist idiots to the entire collective of white people. By painting us all with that broad brush, you’re engaging in the same type of activity that you find disgusting and oppressive and racist. > > In other words, it’s not all of us who think and act like the people noted in the links. …#notallwhitepeople ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2018, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1257 "2018-12-27T15:49:01Z")
> [@Banquet\_Bear](#): > > …#notallwhitepeople Hey, some white people are tall. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2018, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1258 "2018-12-27T16:53:22Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > **Hewey** , I’ll concede that there is a disproportionate amount of shit that black people have to deal with on any given day. And I admit that, as a white male, the odds of my experiencing anything even remotely close to the injustices that the black population of America are so miniscule as to be essentially non-existent. > > I would, however, request that you acknowledge that not every white person thinks or acts in the manner of the links provided. I’ve seen a few times in this thread where, probably in an effort to get your thoughts out before they disappear, you’ve attributed the motivation of the racist idiots to the entire collective of white people. By painting us all with that broad brush, you’re engaging in the same type of activity that you find disgusting and oppressive and racist. > > In other words, it’s not all of us who think and act like the people noted in the links. I think this post unwittingly proves his point. American culture is about making sure white people never feel uncomfortable. Of all the injustices in America, white liberals being made to feel a twinge of guilt is pretty far down the list. Maybe we white folk should just shut up and stop controlling and constraining the conversation? ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2018, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1259 "2018-12-27T17:37:24Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > I think this post unwittingly proves his point. American culture is about making sure white people never feel uncomfortable. Of all the injustices in America, white liberals being made to feel a twinge of guilt is pretty far down the list. Maybe we white folk should just shut up and stop controlling and constraining the conversation? But if we don’t tell minorities how they are making us uncomfortable, then they might do something that upsets us, like kneeling before a football game or something, or talk to their mother in the lobby of the hotel they are paying to stay at. There is a distinct possibility that there was a white person who felt uncomfortable about having to share a hotel lobby with a black person, that is intolerable, and it is right to put a black person who has enough terimity to think that he has an equal right to share a public space with a white person back into his place. ---
**Author:** ![EscAlaMike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/escalamike/32/4177_2.png) [@EscAlaMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EscAlaMike)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2018, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1260 "2018-12-27T17:48:57Z")
I don’t think it’s an issue of making anyone uncomfortable. It’s just ignorant to lump people into “racial” categories. “White people think X, black people think Y”. It’s pure ignorance and doesn’t belong in the SDMB. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2018, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1261 "2018-12-27T18:10:23Z")
Context is important. Logic isn’t always primary. You have to be able to hold two contradictory thoughts at the same time. There was a time when the above sentences were anathema to me. I think I am learning. ---
**Author:** ![Huey\_Freeman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/huey_freeman/32/251_2.png) [@Huey\_Freeman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Huey_Freeman)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2018, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1262 "2018-12-27T18:16:59Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > **Hewey** , I’ll concede that there is a disproportionate amount of shit that black people have to deal with on any given day. And I admit that, as a white male, the odds of my experiencing anything even remotely close to the injustices that the black population of America are so miniscule as to be essentially non-existent. > > I would, however,\*\* request that you acknowledge\*\* that not every white person thinks or acts in the manner of the links provided. I’ve seen a few times in this thread where, probably in an effort to get your thoughts out before they disappear, you’ve attributed the motivation of the racist idiots to the entire collective of white people. By painting us all with that broad brush, you’re engaging in the same type of activity that you find disgusting and oppressive and racist. > > In other words, it’s not all of us who think and act like the people noted in the links. (emphasis mine) No. The driving difference between the white liberal and white conservatives is analogous to the difference between the bystander and the bully. Being non-racist\* isn’t good enough because you (the white liberals) end up as a bystander when while the bully is thrashing his victim; both white liberals and white conservatives cover their eyes and ears and refusing to acknowledge what the victim (of racism) is telling you is happening to them, thus keeping the status quo in place. The white liberal and white conservative are the two sides of the same coin - one side wolf, the other side fox. The problem is that if you haven’t been a victim you cannot fully understand being a victim. If you haven’t experienced the pervasiveness and constancy of negative bias both coming from other groups and even influencing your own view of yourself – then you will never completely comprehend. So in one respect a white person cannot truly say, “I get it.” Neither can you ever do enough to win a gold star and say you’ve done “enough” as long as racism exists. It’s should be like Talmudic maxim: “You will never finish perfecting the world, but you are never free to stop trying.” White reject this kind of commitment and instead unfurled a “Mission Accomplished” banner in 1964. White folks have declared victory every since. \*Your requested acknowledgement. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611.md?page=62) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611.md?page=64)