# What were you THINKING? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 13, 2023, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532 "2023-10-13T19:36:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 355
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2026, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/7471 "2026-07-08T23:43:08Z")
And when the race of the caller, the person of interest, and the police are all the same, then what kind of piece of shit is the caller? ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2026, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/7472 "2026-07-08T23:44:15Z")
I think it depends on the actual circumstances. Do you live down a deserted road, were you burglarized in the past, is your ex known for stalking, etc. I certainly don’t see racism at play here. ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2026, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/7473 "2026-07-08T23:45:04Z")
Has anyone considered the possibility of, like, walking up to the car and asking what’s up? ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2026, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/7474 "2026-07-08T23:45:08Z")
In this situation, there was a person in their car directly across the street overnight for many nights in a row. This was not a person just wandering around one time. The gender/race/heritage of the person didn’t seem to enter into it at all. Inserting that into the equation is just bizarre. Now if it was me, I probably wouldn’t worry about it. If I saw them on my walk, I’d probably strike up a conversation and see what the deal was. ---
**Author:** ![mjmartin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3d9bf3/32.png) [@mjmartin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mjmartin)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2026, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/7475 "2026-07-08T23:46:11Z")
Thats 100% not what happens. As a middle aged white guy with a nicer car, if im sitting in your neighborhood, people come out and ask if everything is ok. When a middle aged black man does the same thing, the police are called. Sorry you’re too naive to understand this basic fact. ---
**Author:** ![mjmartin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3d9bf3/32.png) [@mjmartin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mjmartin)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2026, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/7476 "2026-07-08T23:47:52Z")
I’m mystified at the level of naivety in this board. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2026, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/7477 "2026-07-08T23:52:17Z")
My reading comprehension is shit, apparently, because I didn’t see where **wolfpup** said it was a Black guy. My bad. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2026, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/7478 "2026-07-08T23:53:26Z")
> [@mjmartin](#): > > I’m mystified at the level of naivety in this board. How am I being naive. I am quite aware of racial inequality in the US (as an observer). The OP isn’t in the US and the heritage of the man in the car wasn’t mentioned. Are you making the assumption that the person in the car wasn’t white? ---
**Author:** ![mjmartin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3d9bf3/32.png) [@mjmartin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mjmartin)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2026, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/7479 "2026-07-08T23:53:40Z")
Oh, the racist didnt advertise that he was racist. Weird. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2026, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/7480 "2026-07-08T23:55:45Z")
Okay, so if someone doesn’t advertise that they’re a racist, then they _have_ to be a racist because racists always hide being racist. I’m so glad that I frequent these boards, because I learn so many interesting things. ---
**Author:** ![mjmartin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3d9bf3/32.png) [@mjmartin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mjmartin)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2026, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/7481 "2026-07-08T23:57:43Z")
Do you honestly think the police would be called on you if you sat in a residential neighboorhood in your car for an hour or two? Of course not. This whole conversation exists because of the way people of color are viewed in white suburanan neighborhoods. ---
**Author:** ![mjmartin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3d9bf3/32.png) [@mjmartin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mjmartin)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2026, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/7482 "2026-07-08T23:58:38Z")
No dipshit. But just because someone doesnt ADMIT to being racist, doesnt mean they didnt act in a racist way. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2026, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/7483 "2026-07-08T23:59:48Z")
I agree that a POC would be much more likely to be treated worse than a white person in that similar situation in the US. wolfpup isn’t in the US and we don’t know that the person in his anecdote is a POC. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2026, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/7484 "2026-07-09T00:03:36Z")
> [@mjmartin](#): > > But just because someone doesnt ADMIT to being racist, doesnt mean they didnt act in a racist way. You’re manufacturing race in this situation. You’re literally making it up. It’s a fantasy that you conjured on your own to justify your intentional shit-stirring, your pathetic and transparent need to engage in recreational outrage. It’s outing you as a worthless contributor. If you had any kind of reputation on these boards (I don’t recall you having one either way), you’ve just shat all over it. If you had confined it to nothing more than saying that a person is being a busybody by calling police on a person who isn’t engaged in anything illegal, I’m sure you’d have some supporters here. Hell, even I’d probably agree with you to an extent. But now you’re making something up; you are inventing something completely without merit and trying to turn it into something it isn’t, and it is hilariously inept. ---
**Author:** ![mjmartin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3d9bf3/32.png) [@mjmartin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mjmartin)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2026, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/7485 "2026-07-09T00:04:07Z")
You’re correct. He may have not been a racist. But his behavior sure as hell looks a lot like the behavior that racists frequently exhibit. ---
**Author:** ![mjmartin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3d9bf3/32.png) [@mjmartin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mjmartin)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2026, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/7486 "2026-07-09T00:06:00Z")
Oh, well now i am just terribly disheartened that people that would justify this type of behavior think less of me. Truly devasted. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2026, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/7487 "2026-07-09T00:08:07Z")
> [@mjmartin](#): > > Oh, well now i am just terribly disheartened that people that would justify this type of behavior think less of me. It’s like somebody saying they attended their niece’s birthday party, and out of nowhere you call them a pedophile. And when attacked for it, you smugly say that you’re proud that people who defend pedophilia are your enemies. Out of seriousness, are you drunk? You are posting like a person who is drunk or under the influence of something. We have posters that do that (some regularly), and you really do seem like that right now. ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2026, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/7488 "2026-07-09T00:11:14Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > In this situation, there was a person in their car directly across the street overnight for many nights in a row. Sounds like someone living in their car to me. Being unhoused shouldn’t be a crime. ---
**Author:** ![mjmartin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3d9bf3/32.png) [@mjmartin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mjmartin)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2026, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/7489 "2026-07-09T00:11:42Z")
You’re basic lack of understanding of a very, very well know situation is completely pathetic. If this isnt clear enough, let me make it explicit. I dont give a shit about your opinion. You’re very welcome to disengage if you dont think its woth your time. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2026, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/7490 "2026-07-09T00:12:39Z")
> [@ASL\_v2.0](#): > > Sounds like someone living in their car to me. Being unhoused shouldn’t be a crime. No. It was a person keeping an eye on the construction project that was going on across the street. Of course it was the cops who ascertained that. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532.md?page=354) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532.md?page=356)