# 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:** 9
**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 11, 2018, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/161 "2018-07-11T12:50:43Z")
One good thing I can see in that story about the police officer drawing his gun on the kids: Their parents are doing an excellent job of raising them. Don’t respond to violence with more violence: Respond to violence with truth. That’s how the Good Guys are going to win in the end, even if it takes far longer than it should: With the truth. And modern technology is making it easier and easier for the truth to get out. ---
**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 11, 2018, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/162 "2018-07-11T13:19:42Z")
Oh, as an aside, does the thread title have _West Side Story_ running through anyone else’s head? _Living while black in America Shot in the back in America Bottom of the sack in America All that we lack in America_ ---
**Author:** ![ZPG\_Zealot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e47c2d/32.png) [@ZPG\_Zealot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZPG_Zealot)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2018, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/163 "2018-07-11T13:35:01Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > Hey, they could be taking a nap to rest up for their robbery and murder spree. Or more common scenario, they could be another student’s “functional” junkie friend whose currently between living spaces who steals whatever is convenient before leaving the dorm in the morning. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2018, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/164 "2018-07-11T13:36:21Z")
> [@ZPG\_Zealot](#): > > Or more common scenario Perhaps where you’re from, but this took place in the real world. ---
**Author:** ![ZPG\_Zealot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e47c2d/32.png) [@ZPG\_Zealot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZPG_Zealot)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2018, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/165 "2018-07-11T13:43:50Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > Perhaps where you’re from, but this took place in the real world. On university campuses crimes of opportunity are rather common. The most common form of theft result from leaving something unattended (usually textbooks or electronics) or a dorm room door unlocked. Some morons will even leave their wallets in an an unlocked dorm room. If Ms. Sleeping Student had been assaulted or robbed by a dorm visitor while she was sleeping in the common area she would probably immediately demand stricter security measures. ---
**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 11, 2018, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/166 "2018-07-11T13:47:04Z")
Imagine what would happen if a dorm visitor tried to shake her hand!!! She’d be calling for 24 hour dorm patrols! ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2018, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/167 "2018-07-11T13:49:13Z")
ZPG, I had no idea you were this stupid. ---
**Author:** ![ZPG\_Zealot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e47c2d/32.png) [@ZPG\_Zealot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZPG_Zealot)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2018, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/168 "2018-07-11T13:52:08Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > ZPG, I had no idea you were this stupid. I had no idea you were this naive. Seriously, petty thieves love knowing people like you still exist. It makes their jobs so much easier. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2018, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/169 "2018-07-11T14:02:57Z")
Being a grown-assed _man_, 20yo sleeping females don’t ping my threat assessment radar. They didn’t even when I was a kid. Don’t know what frightened your ass, but your arguments are stupid and, frankly, emasculating. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2018, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/170 "2018-07-11T14:26:50Z")
> [@ZPG\_Zealot](#): > > Or more common scenario, they could be another student’s “functional” junkie friend whose currently between living spaces who steals whatever is convenient before leaving the dorm in the morning. A far more common scenario: a resident nods off while studying, reading, or watching TV. And another thing to keep in mind – by choosing to call the police on a young black person who may not have done anything wrong, you could be seriously endangering their life. Doesn’t seem worth it to me when the likelihood is very high that they’ve done nothing wrong. ---
**Author:** ![ZPG\_Zealot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e47c2d/32.png) [@ZPG\_Zealot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZPG_Zealot)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2018, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/171 "2018-07-11T14:51:25Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > A far more common scenario: a resident nods off while studying, reading, or watching TV. And another thing to keep in mind – by choosing to call the police on a young black person who may not have done anything wrong, you could be seriously endangering their life. Doesn’t seem worth it to me when the likelihood is very high that they’ve done nothing wrong. Get burglarized a few times or assaulted and your opinion may change. By choosing to sleep in the common area rather than in their dorm bedroom, the student put themselves at risk for having a police officer called on them. Being asked for identification in a dorm at 1:30 a.m. in the morning is fairly standard safety precaution. And as if I have said before if Ms. Sleeping Student had been assaulted or robbed (or had penises drawn on her face with a Sharpie, a common prank on some campuses) by a non-dorm resident that someone else had let into the building, she would no doubt be demanding increased security measures. ---
**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:** [July 11, 2018, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/172 "2018-07-11T14:56:01Z")
> [@ZPG\_Zealot](#): > > Get burglarized a few times or assaulted and your opinion may change. By choosing to sleep in the common area rather than in their dorm bedroom, the student put themselves at risk for having a police officer called on them. Being asked for identification in a dorm at 1:30 a.m. in the morning is fairly standard safety precaution. And as if I have said before if Ms. Sleeping Student had been assaulted or robbed (or had penises drawn on her face with a Sharpie, a common prank on some campuses) by a non-dorm resident that someone else had let into the building, she would no doubt be demanding increased security measures. This might be one of the dumbest posts I’ve read on this website. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2018, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/173 "2018-07-11T15:05:45Z")
> [@WillFarnaby](#): > > Still no answer. > > It is a simple question: Who is Black? Where do you modern day racialists draw that line? I’ve heard of the “one drop rule” and the “paper bag test”. Are these still current in the literature? Gosh, you’re just so erudite and. . ._existentialist_. . .about it all. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2018, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/174 "2018-07-11T15:09:29Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > ZPG, I had no idea you were this stupid. Not familiar with her stance on handshake rape? ---
**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 11, 2018, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/175 "2018-07-11T15:53:01Z")
[Woman calls cops on black 12-year-old boy delivering newspapers in Ohio neighborhood](http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/ny-news-ohio-child-police-delivering-newspapers-20180710-story.html#) From that story: “First day of paper route and we are pulled over by the police” I find that quote incredibly sad ☹ ---
**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 11, 2018, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/176 "2018-07-11T15:58:12Z")
> [@WillFarnaby](#): > > Still no answer. > > It is a simple question: Who is Black? Where do you modern day racialists draw that line? I’ve heard of the “one drop rule” and the “paper bag test”. Are these still current in the literature? I posted this in the thread you just started but I’ll repeat it here. White people are people who get treated like white people. Black people are people who get treated like black people. If you think that white people and black people get treated the same, you’re living in that delusion. ---
**Author:** ![Toxgoddess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Toxgoddess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxgoddess)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2018, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/177 "2018-07-11T16:12:47Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Oh, as an aside, does the thread title have _West Side Story_ running through anyone else’s head? > > _Living while black in America > Shot in the back in America > Bottom of the sack in America > All that we lack in America_ Well, NOW it does! ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2018, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/178 "2018-07-11T17:27:22Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Navajo Nation citizen threatened with deportation by a security guard. > [Former Miss Indian New Mexico was told she'd be 'deported' by security guard](https://www.indianz.com/News/2018/07/06/former-miss-indian-new-mexico-was-told-s.asp) Awesome. Ask mister jenious security guard where she would be deported to. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2018, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/179 "2018-07-11T17:29:17Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > [Woman calls cops on black 12-year-old boy delivering newspapers in Ohio neighborhood](http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/ny-news-ohio-child-police-delivering-newspapers-20180710-story.html#) > > From that story: “First day of paper route and we are pulled over by the police” > > I find that quote incredibly sad ☹ If my neighbor sees someone drive up to my house, approach it empty-handed, and return to the vehicle holding something, I hope they call the police. ---
**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 11, 2018, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/180 "2018-07-11T17:42:05Z")
> [@Ruken](#): > > If my neighbor sees someone drive up to my house, approach it empty-handed, and return to the vehicle holding something, I hope they call the police. You ever send a return via UPS or Fed Ex? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611.md?page=10)