I got linked to this blog post which claims that a black friend of the author, visiting San Francisco, got rejected from 4 separate AirBNBs, claiming calendar mixups or scheduling conflicts. This is the kind of reason that can occur but fairly rarely (in my experience, maybe 5 - 10% of the time) so having it happen 4 times in a row stretches the bounds of plausibility.
The reason why this is so shocking to me is that, if you’re in a position to be AirBNBing out places in the Financial District or Embarcadero area of San Francisco, that means that you’re most likely a well educated, upper middle class working professional who is incredibly liberal and PC. These are the people who are a part of my social circle and every one of them would probably be horrified to be accused of racism.
Now, obviously a single anecdote is very different from data and it’s not verified that any of these bookings were denied for actual racist reasons but it does make me curious. For people from traditionally oppressed minorities, how many people do you meet that you feel are genuinely, completely non-racist? Do you think it’s the majority of people and you assume that someone is non-racist unless they do something specifically racist? Or do you think most people are racist and only a few (or no) people are capable of being non-racist?
Also, it would help to include where you are and what kind of social circles you’re observing.
If something fails 10% of the time, then 1 of 10,000 trails of four will be all fails.* I suspect many more then 10,000 people have tried this so the fact that someone got four consecutive fails is not at all surprising. Blacks are about 15% of the US population; they probably represent a small fraction of those using this service. But the chance that some Black was unable to find accommodations four times in a row is not particularly surprising.
OTOH, the evidence is suspicious and running a test case would certainly be justified, I’d think.
*This assume independence, which is likely not true. If one facility fills up others are more likely to be filled as well.
I have no idea. I have never thought about it that much, and answering the question requires having some insight that I’m probably lacking. Whenever a situation goes awry, I typically blame myself for either causing it or blowing it out of proportion.
That said, I’m inclined to agree with the blogger’s opinion.
My one and only experience with AirBnB was shitty. On the other hand, the times I’ve Couch Surfed have been fine, maybe because I wasn’t paying so anything above “hellhole” was just a bonus. But for what I paid, I really wished I had just gotten a hotel room.
I haven’t used AirBnB, but I’m a little surprised that the renter and rentee are aware of each other’s races before the deal is consumated. How does this work exactly?
You get to see each other’s photos, reviews and facebook profiles before you decide whether to accept so you can decide, based on their reputation, whether to accept or not.
It’s a common phrase in the US and often the preferred terminology when discussing race relations vs a term like “non-white.” (And, as the article indicates, the phrase has its genesis from civil rights leaders and racial justice activists.)
It should also be noted that while “people of color” is considered okay, if not preferred, in American English, “colored people” is generally regarded as antiquated, at best, and not politically correct. Also, they don’t refer to the same thing. “People of color” refers to non-white people, while “colored people” refers to African-Americans. The phrase still lives on in the organizational name NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People), but otherwise is not really used when discussing racial issues.
If I can reverse it, as a white person, I have experienced racism in non-white countries. Indeed, as someone with an English accent I have experienced anti-English racism in Scotland.
Does being aware of proclivities of specific races, and acting thereon make one racist ? ?
If you see 50 dobermans running toward you, 2 of them may want belly-rubs, but the other 48 want lunch, and this statement is meant to emphasize the way things are, not the way we would like them to be . . .
If you keep your head stuck in the sand, you’re not going to be able to see who kicks your butt . . .
**"If I see 50 black guys coming my way, two might want to shake my hand and offer to buy me lunch but the other 48 really want to shoot me and steal my watch or wallet.
This is just the way things are. Be on the defense when seeing black people, ignoring them in the name of being politically correct doesn’t decrease their threat…"**
