# Thought experiment for white people regarding race. **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [July 20, 2011, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thought-experiment-for-white-people-regarding-race/589652 "2011-07-20T00:50:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2011, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thought-experiment-for-white-people-regarding-race/589652/81 "2011-07-22T16:06:20Z")
> [@scamartistry](#): > > well you have an opinion. .interested in a cite that more innocent “blacks” are arrested than other races.that would be an argument. You think the police arrest blacks for murder and armed robbery but ignore whites who commit those crimes? ---
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2011, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thought-experiment-for-white-people-regarding-race/589652/82 "2011-07-22T17:36:19Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > No preference. If five guys are hanging out in a dark alley, the reason they’re there is likely equally dodgy regardless of color. Anyway, why am I walking through a dark alley unless I’m looking to score? My man! 🙂 OK. Who would you rather score from then? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2011, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thought-experiment-for-white-people-regarding-race/589652/83 "2011-07-22T18:01:27Z")
> [@What\_the](#): > > OK. Who would you rather score from then? No preference – there’s no knowing, based on color, who’ll have the better shit. Of course, certain other problems might arise . . . > [@Lou Reed/Velvet Underground](#): > > Hey, white boy, what you doin’ uptown? > Hey, white boy, you chasin’ our women around? > Oh pardon me sir, it’s the furthest from my mind > I’m just lookin’ for a dear, dear friend of mine > I’m waiting for my man ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2011, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thought-experiment-for-white-people-regarding-race/589652/84 "2011-07-22T18:04:48Z")
> [@Ibn\_Warraq](#): > > You think the police arrest blacks for murder and armed robbery but ignore whites who commit those crimes? Time was that **was** often the case. I recall a quote from the 1960s, from a Southern sheriff: “If a nigger kills a white man, that’s murder. If a white man kills a nigger, that’s justifiable homicide. If a nigger kills a nigger, that’s one less nigger.” ---
**Author:** ![Zeriel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/58956e/32.png) [@Zeriel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeriel)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2011, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thought-experiment-for-white-people-regarding-race/589652/85 "2011-07-23T02:06:54Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Time was that **was** often the case. > > I recall a quote from the 1960s, from a Southern sheriff: “If a nigger kills a white man, that’s murder. If a white man kills a nigger, that’s justifiable homicide. If a nigger kills a nigger, that’s one less nigger.” These people are fewer now, but they still exist, exactly the same way that my grandfather-in-law, god bless him, still yells “Go back to Africa!” at Nelson Mandela when he’s on the news. ---
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2011, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thought-experiment-for-white-people-regarding-race/589652/86 "2011-07-23T13:09:15Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > No preference – there’s no knowing, based on color, who’ll have the better shit. > > Of course, certain other problems might arise . . . C’mon… you don’t have any preconceived ideas about who would have the better stuff or be less likely to rip you off? If you did, would you use those experiences or would you feel the need to try to score in a color-blind fashion? ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2011, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thought-experiment-for-white-people-regarding-race/589652/87 "2011-07-24T09:24:25Z")
I’m more likely to know the black males from my classroom days. I am less frightened of them. Even though there were a few whites in the school where I taught, they were from a probably more dangerous neighborhood. You just have to get to know people to know who’s cool and who’s not. ---
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thought-experiment-for-white-people-regarding-race/589652/88 "2011-07-25T04:23:28Z")
I judge people on what they’re wearing. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thought-experiment-for-white-people-regarding-race/589652/89 "2011-07-25T04:31:51Z")
> [@Ibn\_Warraq](#): > > You think the police arrest blacks for murder and armed robbery but ignore whites who commit those crimes? Or they find a black guy to blame for it. ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thought-experiment-for-white-people-regarding-race/589652/90 "2011-07-25T06:18:23Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Or they find a black guy to blame for it. So then you think that police do ignore robberies and murders committed by whites? What makes you think that? ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thought-experiment-for-white-people-regarding-race/589652/91 "2011-07-25T06:25:02Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Or they find a black guy to blame for it. By the way, on the other thread, when I asked why you were afraid of getting attacked and beaten up, murdered, having you property vandalized or otherwise tormented because you’re an atheist you claimed that such things regularly happened in the US. [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=14053297&postcount=72](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=14053297&postcount=72) I pointed out that if this was true you should have no problem linking me to instances of white middle class atheists being beaten up or murdered in the US for being atheists. You didn’t do so on that thread. Please do so now or admit that you made a statement with no foundation. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thought-experiment-for-white-people-regarding-race/589652/92 "2011-07-25T07:38:36Z")
> [@scamartistry](#): > > Hmm while I was aware this would be an inflammatory question. A stupid question? yes pherhaps depends on who you ask. for me it was an interesting one. Though i fail to understand why it would be a hard one to answer.The variables are given in the OP very very clearly. > > from what I gathered , this was an offensive question, …I should have given more variables such as clothing etc etc…well yes that would have been possible but by opening that door my question would have been impossible to formualte. > > And with regards to people asking me “what about us non-whites” all I can say is that you should fell free to open up a new thread. I wasn’t interested in that aspect, But you have my blessings to open a new one > > I was looking for hypocricy by asking this question…glad i was proven wrong by the wonderful people answering my question. > > Now..what would I choose, the OP? -white males. You haven’t framed the question adequately to be able to differentiate hypocrisy in the responses from all the confounding factors. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thought-experiment-for-white-people-regarding-race/589652/93 "2011-07-25T08:23:39Z")
> [@scamartistry](#): > > Great way to NOT answer a super EASY question…my god…so your answer is??? ps…stuck up people like you.hmm..not my favorite…😉 Why are you upset??? Avoiding obvious TRAPS is what INTELLIGENT people do… ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thought-experiment-for-white-people-regarding-race/589652/94 "2011-07-25T22:29:31Z")
> [@Ibn\_Warraq](#): > > What is the OP’s definition of “black people” and what is the OP’s definition of “white people”? [Black man.](http://www.virginmedia.com/images/Carlton_Fresh_Prince_of_Bel_Air_290x400.jpg) [White man.](http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp94/satansfarm/CharlesManson.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thought-experiment-for-white-people-regarding-race/589652/95 "2011-07-25T23:13:09Z")
I’m white. The white guys. Now, this is based on the fact that I don’t know them, or anything about them except their skin color, it’s dark (when violent crimes are more likely). And yes, I believe that statistically speaking, blacks (at least in the US) commit disproportionately more crimes than whites). Now, if the choice was five black guys that I know and trust versus 5 white guys that I don’t know, I’d pick the guys I know. I know at least 5 black men that I’d be willing to meet with after dark. One is a preacher, one is a doctor, one is a teacher, two are engineers. Obviously, this is just going by statistical/actuarial data and doesn’t conclusively determine anyone’s intent, white or black. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thought-experiment-for-white-people-regarding-race/589652/96 "2011-07-25T23:23:58Z")
And, the choice of city, or even the neighborhood, can be important. If the city is NYC, DC, Philly, Baltimore, LA, Chicago, or another big city with infamous “hoods”, then I’d be more wary of the black guys, again, from a statistical standpoint, than if I was in, say, a city such as Lancaster, PA or Champain/Urbana, IL. And the neighborhood does matter. When in DC, I’d rather bump into 5 black guys in an alley in Tenleytown or Dupont Circle than in Trinidad or Anacostia. ---
**Author:** ![R.P.McMurphy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7993a0/32.png) [@R.P.McMurphy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R.P.McMurphy)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thought-experiment-for-white-people-regarding-race/589652/97 "2011-07-26T05:32:38Z")
A really stupid OP. Yet, I will supply an anecdote: I have live in several big cities and have not been mugged. I do a lot of walking and a lot of miles on public transit but I don’t invite trouble. Thankfully, over all those years and all those miles I haven’t been mugged. I hope that I have developed some “street smarts”. Yet, the one time I felt that I was about to be mugged was in a very affluent area. There were a number of young white youths around an intersection. A couple of them were females. My street smart sense told me that I was being targeted and there were lookouts on each corner. What I did was look at each one of them as though I was going to identify them in a lineup. There were some signals between them and I walked through the intersection and was not harmed. Does this prove anything, no. It was a sense. The point being is that a dangerous situation can occur in the least likely of scenarios. Be aware and keep yourself safe as best you can. Plan an escape and don’t act as though you are oblivious to what is going on around you. Typically, women don’t prey on men but they will act as facilitators. Just because its a woman doesn’t mean that she not out to do harm. So again, the OP is ridiculous. It’s about a common sense approach to personal safety, not demographics. ---
**Author:** ![SimonMoon5](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@SimonMoon5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SimonMoon5)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thought-experiment-for-white-people-regarding-race/589652/98 "2011-07-26T13:57:10Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Folks walking down dark alleys at night are also disproportionately likely to commit crimes. And if I’m one of these folk walking down a dark alley at night… I guess, I might be disproportionately likely to commit a crime. And if I’m looking to commit a crime, would I rather commit this crime against five white guys or five black guys? Hmmm… Probably white guys so my attack on them wouldn’t get me charged with a hate crime. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thought-experiment-for-white-people-regarding-race/589652/99 "2011-07-26T14:56:56Z")
What are the two groups wearing? You’d be far more likely to see that first and it’s far more important to judge your risk factor here. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thought-experiment-for-white-people-regarding-race/589652/100 "2011-07-26T14:59:45Z")
> [@R.P.McMurphy](#): > > Yet, the one time I felt that I was about to be mugged was in a very affluent area. There were a number of young white youths around an intersection. I feel the unsafest in neighborhoods without anyone around at all, no matter what the race. Once I booked a reservation at a Ft Lee, VA motel online, before I had a chance to see the sort of neighborhood it was in. When arriving there, it seemed like the average suburban neighborhood, so I checked in. Afterward I decided to walk to the Dairy Queen for some eats. No one (cars nor people) were on the street at all, on a saturday night. Except for one person standing on a street corner, in a hoodie, in July. I turned around and back into my motel – no matter who that person was he didn’t seem like he was up to any good. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thought-experiment-for-white-people-regarding-race/589652.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thought-experiment-for-white-people-regarding-race/589652.md?page=6)