
Is the shared economy racist? - 2drew3
http://www.2drew3.com/is-the-shared-economy-racist
======
greendata
This is so depressing and even though sample size is small it rings 100% true.
I think it's just a symptom of an inherently racist and unfair world and is
not Uber or Airbnb's fault. The same thing happens with names at the resume
level and on and on.

That said I think there's a new market here. If the average Airbnb listing is
rejecting applicants of color maybe there could be a special "diversity
friendly" designation on Airbnb or other sites. Perhaps users could add some
flair, something similar to the LGBT pride flag that some business add to
their windows, to their profiles to signify they sincerely welcome all
applicants. Hopefully this doesn't sound too ignorant.

If mass rejection of specific groups is occurring, there's some money to be
made here by sending out the right signals. Just think of the profit made by
some gay/lesbian bars in the 1970s and 80s.

~~~
Jun8
"...even though sample size is small it rings 100% true"

I just want to point attention to the (perhaps ironic) fact this sort of
reasoning is _exactly the same_ one used by the (allegedly) racist hosts and
drivers in the story, i.e. people are much more prone to accept what they are
told (mostly in sample size = 1 cases or anecdotal generalizations) if it
aligns well with their beliefs (e.g. "another BnB host told me a black guy
thrashed his house", "we all know that girls can't code").

A (very) rough characterization of the process, I think, would be:

1\. _Creation_ : For this or that reason an a priori belief is formed, e.g.
"world is inherently racist" or "blacks are much more probable to be
criminals".

2\. _Filtering_ : The facts that are reported are filtered using a selection
bias (usually, mostly subconsciously) so that facts that strongly agree with
the belief are remembered more. (The fact that news items generally report on
low-probability, high-standard deviation items, a la man biting the dog, makes
this effect even stronger)

3\. _Update_ The belief is then updated by the facts with their relative
weights determined in (2)

The above (well known and documented, e.g. _Blink_ EDIT: Sorry, wrong
reference, see below) process is not a bad thing! AFAIK, it's default brain
operation. It takes quite a bit of control and patience to push back the
default process at all thee levels.

Note that I'm not arguing that racism, etc. does not exist; however, before
jumping to conclusions, like the OP and his/her friend did ("AirBnB doesn't
work for black people"), we need to be a bit more careful.

~~~
jfc
Speaking of irony...

Doesn't _Blink_ posit that a person's extensive experience in an area can lead
them to a quick, gut reaction that is, in fact, correct, even before they are
able to verify it?

It seems that Andrew's friend probably has had a fair amount of experience
with being mistreated due to his skin color. His reaction to being denied a
room 3 out of 3 times was perhaps hyperbolic, but certainly applicable to his
experience with the service. (Andrew noted his friend's interactions with the
driver, so it wasn't all his friend's imagination).

You could use the ideas noted in _Blink_ to look at this scenario from a
variety of perspectives, not just confirmation bias.

~~~
zorpner
Exactly correct. Additionally, his friend had previously stated that AirBnB
didn't work for him, so this "small sample" we're looking at is just Andrew's
experience with the issue at this point in time.

It's always disturbing to me how much commentary in threads of this type on HN
is devoted to asserting that the individual who's actually experiencing the
problem is misinterpreting it. I love data, but demands for data/citations in
situations where the problem is experiential are too often used to dismiss
people's real, upsetting experiences with privilege and prejudice.

~~~
Jun8
"... asserting that the individual who's actually experiencing the problem is
misinterpreting it"

Note that may main point was about the generalization of the top level comment
in this thread, _based on this post only_ , this doesn't mean that the
statement in that comment was not correct.

------
rayiner
There's a really simple explanatory mechanism, which is that even if an AirBnB
host is bound by the same anti-discrimination provisions of the Civil Rights
Act as a Hyatt, which is probably true, holding individual service providers
accountable at that level is basically impossible. And to the extent that the
"sharing economy" involves more individuals rather than businesses that can be
sued, you will see more discrimination.

This issue also strikes to the heart of some of the libertarian ethos around
the sharing economy generally and Uber/AirBnB in particular. People are really
racist.[1] Just getting the racism to the levels experienced by Andrew's
friend experienced involved a century of the federal government beating the
states over the head with troops, court orders, etc. The elimination of overt
racial discrimination in private businesses is actually a wonderful example of
concerted government action addressing a problem that according to free market
theories shouldn't even have existed in the first place.

[1] I think Americans are much less racist than almost anyone else. I'm
Bengali by ethnicity, and my observation is that people on the subcontinent
are racist enough to make a south Georgia redneck blush. But even then
sometimes I look around at maps like this:
[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f1/Racial_Di...](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f1/Racial_Divide_Detroit_MI.png)
(race map of Detroit with black areas in blue and white areas in red), and
think we'd still have legal segregation if the courts hadn't forced it down
peoples' throats.

~~~
jsonne
"The elimination of overt racial discrimination in private businesses is
actually a wonderful example of concerted government action addressing a
problem that according to free market theories shouldn't even have existed in
the first place."

Just to clarify Milton Friedman (A champion of free market economics) readily
acknowledges racism. His argument is more along the lines of "in the long term
racist businesses will lose business to more accepting and diverse ones."

~~~
rayiner
I like Friedman, but this is one of his more hand-wavey arguments. It ignores
the fact that discrimination might be a positive marketing characteristic for
a business. If the customers are themselves racist, a business might lose a
lot more revenue by serving minority customers than it gains from those
customers. Indeed, even if all the business owners are not racist, as long as
most of the customers are, they face a collective action problem. The first
business to serve minority customers would quickly lose most of its customers
to the competing businesses. And that seems to be precisely what was happening
in the U.S. until Congress broke the cycle by making such discrimination
illegal.

~~~
jiggy2011
Do you think that many Americans (outside of the hardcore) are racist enough
to literally boycott a business that doesn't refuse to do business with
blacks?

~~~
rayiner
I think in 1950, enough Americans were racist enough that many they'd simply
head to a different neighborhood restaurant if a particular business had an
appreciable number of black patrons. Maybe that's generous: in the 1950's the
majority of Americans in many states were racist enough to try and ban
interracial marriage...

Without the federal crackdown on discrimination in the 1950's and 1960's,
housing, employment, public places, education, marriage, etc, would have
remained segregated. In the background of that segregation, how long do you
think it would have taken to get from "typical American circa 1950" to
"typical American circa 2014?" Laws create social norms, and laws banning
discrimination allowed a couple of generations of Americans to grow up in an
at least somewhat integrated world, which led to the America of today where
you can see people boycotting a business for serving blacks as something
difficult to believe.

------
k-mcgrady
Very interesting however they could have easily provided some more conclusive
proof. The author should have tried booking one of the places that turned
Brandon down on the same dates. If he had been offered the place it would
haave been more clear racism was in play. I'm not denying racism was in play
(although the UberX example seems quite silly - personally I'd be happy to get
a driver that didn't talk to me and the one time I've used Uber the driver
wasn't very talkative) but I'd like to see the author try my suggestion and
follow up the post.

~~~
2drew3
I should have done this. But I didn't have this experience to prove a point.
Truthfully, I was mostly embarrassed that my suggestion wasn't working and
immediately kicked into "find my friend an alternate place" mode. This entire
post is not proof and completely anecdotal. I'm the first to admit that. But I
hope this audience of entrepreneurs will think about issues like this.

~~~
k-mcgrady
Totally understand and I'm glad you wrote it. I'd like to see someone take on
the challenge and come back with some proof. It seems from your account that
Brandon had just set up a new AirBnb account - is it possible he was rejected
because he had no history?

~~~
2drew3
Possible. However, I recommended AirBnB to several Asian and Caucasian friends
who never heard of it before (I'm from GA). Few just showed up in SF and
booked same day with no problems. Not one bad experience, except this time.
Fully acknowledge it's a limited sample. I'd like to see someone take the same
challenge. I'd also like AirBnB data scientists to take a tough look.

------
beat
This reminds me of a sad old joke.

In the south, whites don't mind if blacks are around, so long as they aren't
uppity. In the north, whites don't mind if blacks are uppity, as long as
they're not around.

Having spent time among both southern rednecks and northern intellectuals, it
rings painfully true.

------
joesmo
I don't think any of this is specific to AirBnb or Uber. What is described
here is just plain racism, something that's blatant all over America (some
might say, it's what _defines_ America), especially in regards towards black
people. The black friend in the story knew this and wasn't surprised. It's
only surprising to people who think this is something of the past, as if
somehow people have improved and this shouldn't exist. The idea that people as
a whole change, improve, and become less racist, while romantically appealing,
couldn't be further from the truth.

~~~
ggchappell
> racism, something that's blatant all over America (some might say, it's what
> defines America)

A number of replies on this, but some have, I think, understated the issue.

In all honestly, I would say the U.S. is just about the least racist country
on earth. If racism is not _seen to be a problem_ elsewhere, then it's largely
because of ethnic homogeneity, not lack of racism.

EDIT: It looks like I'm being misinterpreted here. Obviously, there is racism
in the U.S. It is a huge problem. We all know this.

But the reason it might seem to be a larger problem than elsewhere is because
of our unusually ethnically diverse population, not because of unusually high
levels of racism. Also things like our incarceration rate -- the highest in
the world, by far.

To a large extent, the political boundaries of the world are drawn along
ethnic lines. Where this doesn't happen: former colonies in Africa, much of
Eastern Europe after the world wars, etc., etc., you often get people killing
each other. Look at the Rwandan genocide, or the mess that Yugoslavia turned
into when it stopped being just Yugoslavia, or the decades of troubles between
India and Pakistan, or any number of other examples, to see the result.

And then note that these kinds of things are not happening in the U.S. -- not
to that extent, anyway.

~~~
richardjordan
How can anyone possibly believe this? Not just attacking you but genuinely I
find this incomprehensible.

America is a deeply racist society. It's built on the genocide of the Native
Americans who are still largely kept in poverty in virtual prison camps we
insultingly call reservations, by racist policies.

The legacy of racism against African Americans is still deep and real - have
you any experience as a black person in the Southern states? If so then I'll
respect your opinion on that topic, but as a White person who came to the US
from a different country, and then lived in Texas for a few years, the levels
of racism are disgraceful.

The entire hispanic ag-business-driven immigration problem hinges on
institutionalized racism.

Then we don't even touch on disparities like over-concentration of poverty in
minority communities, incarceration rates, under-representation in positions
of power and seniority etc.

~~~
ggchappell
Yes, there is racism in America. No, I have largely not been on the receiving
end of it.

But I can see that African Americans often have a tough time here.

I can also see the plight of Koreans in Japan, and Muslims in much of India,
and Turks in Germany, and Kurds in Iraq, even though I am not part of any of
those groups, either. Racism is everywhere. All of it is disgusting, some of
it is horrifying, and much of it is significantly worse than what we see in
the U.S.

~~~
richardjordan
Those examples are somewhat extreme and don't support the premise that the US
is the least racist society anywhere. You also need to separate out
complicated ethnic conflicts that are largely geopolitical in nature than
racist in a conventional sense.

Also muslims in India isn't racism it's inter-religious conflict which is a
fundamentally different thing.

------
2drew3
I'm not saying the shared economy is racist by design. Nor am I accusing
mentioned companies as being racist. But as companies build trust through
profiles and links to social networks, they should be wary of the unintended
consequence.

~~~
badman_ting
OK, but as dublinben points out, one must consider the businesses these
services are meant to replace. He mentions taxicabs which are notoriously
racist, do you suppose Bed and Breakfast owners might have different answers
about vacancy depending on who asks?

If the goal is to observe racism as it functions in our society, cool. If the
goal is guilt-driven self-flagellation about the distinction between startups'
marketing copy and the reality of the situation, less cool.

~~~
jiggy2011
I haven't used either of these services, but perhaps it is possible that these
apps provide more information about the customer in advance than a traditional
B&B or taxi driver would have access to. You can't necessarily tell somebody's
race over the phone.

~~~
theorique
Uber certainly does this - it provides my photo to the driver, and provides me
a photo of an African or Arab guy.

------
learc83
This isn't limited to white hosts either. My brother stayed with a black
couple during an internship in DC last summer (he's white).

They told him that after several bad experiences they no longer host black
guests.

~~~
jfc
What do you suppose they hoped to convey to your brother with that statement?

It's quite possible that their experience with black guests was negative. But
by telling your brother of those negative experiences (which he had no need to
know), weren't they, at least in some sense, effectively differentiating
themselves from another, negative category of blacks?

~~~
learc83
> which he had no need to know

They told him this after he was there for a while and got to know them, and he
said it came up in normal conversation.

I suppose they could have been trying to differentiate themselves, or, they
could have been attempting to bond with him over their (perceived on my
brother's part) mutual dislike of lower class black people.

But given the situation, I think it's more likely that they had no ulterior
motive. They had a few bad experiences with black guests, and decided to use
race as a heuristic for determining suitability as a guest.

This is how nearly all racism starts, it's unfair and we should strive to
eliminate it, but people are always going to make generalizations.

------
trysomething
What we are seeing here brings to light an inconvenient truth: you simply
cannot legislate away obnoxious social behavior. As long as I remember,
Craigslist has prohibited discriminatory _advertising_ to ensure listings
comply with the fair housing act. Does this really stop a prejudiced landlord?
When it gets down to the level of individuals dealing consensually with
individuals, there isn't much that the state can do (unless it's a tyrannical
state).

Black comedians have _always_ joked about being passed over by cabs, well
before Uber, Lyft etc. In the long run, I think these services actually
_improve_ things .. On the curb, all a racist cab driver sees is how someone
looks .. but now everyone can develop a reputation that goes well beyond
appearances. In addition, by taking care of payment, prejudiced drivers don't
have to worry that some groups are less likely to pay at the end of the ride.
Eventually, they will realize that the color of one's skin is a terrible
predictor of character and (hopefully) become less racist.

So, the "sharing economy" is not itself racist, but due to its peer to peer
nature it _exposes_ the lingering prejudices in our Society. But, since
prejudice requires a lack of reason or evidence, the sharing economy also
provides a _way forward_. Through AirBnB, for example, we can not only see
what someone looks like, but we get information about the _content of their
character_. Granted, it's not perfect (nothing ever will be), but it's a
_start._

------
dublinben
This is pretty clearly an example of individual people being racist, not
companies. Traditional taxi drivers are notoriously racist, I'm not surprised
their app-summoned alternatives are any different.

~~~
thenmar
Did you read the article? That's exactly what the author says. It's a short
article, you can probably read it in 2 or 3 minutes...

~~~
GFK_of_xmaspast
Whenever there's an article about racism or sexism it's very important to jump
in and start posting your opinions without reading any more than the headline.

------
hipsterelitist
I can say I've had similar experiences all across California with AirBnB.

~~~
omonra
That was probably just a case of hipsterphobia.

------
runarberg
From my experience YES!

Before I start, I'd like to note that I am a young white, non-handicapped
male.

Most of my participation in the shared economy comes from hitchhiking, and
I've done a lot of it. Only once has a car stopped that had a black passenger
in it. I don't think that black people are racist towards white hitchhikers,
but I think there is a deep barrier of trust at issue. Black people _do_
experience racism at so many levels of society, that when it comes to shearing
excess resource with some white opportunists.. HELL NO!, I wouldn't do it.

I'm not saying that black drivers are racist towards white hitchhikers. I'm
trying to demonstrate that there is a huge racial gap in our societal battery.
White people are privilege enough to be able to trust a fellow citizen.
Normally, experience tells black people not to.

ps. The same can be said about women, handicapped, and the homeless. But
definitely the case of black discrimination is one of the most severe there.

pps. The pattern I described seems to brake with anarchist and charity groups.
I've done food-not-bombs, homes-not-jails, occupy, and there blacks, whites,
women, etc. participate together in a shared ecosystem. I wonder why?

~~~
richardjordan
I think there's an alternative explanation to your anecdotal suggestion black
drivers don't pick up white hitch-hikers. Picking up hitch-hikers is
inherently risky. Given that in any altercation or conflict the establishment
and authorities will pretty much always view the black participant with
suspicion and the white participant with favor, as experienced on a regular
basis in day-to-day life by said driver, I think caution in not putting
themselves in such a situation is warranted.

~~~
jack-r-abbit
It is kind of interesting to hear it explained in that way. Because it also
sounds like a stereotype. Black driver has experienced, day-to-day, that white
people have mistreated him and no longer trusts them and thus will not put
himself into that situation by picking up white hitch-hikers. My step mother
was a bit racist. It sickened me. But my dad would justify by explaining that
she grew up in a bad area and she was often mistreated by her black peers. It
still made no sense to me as a young teen. But that is almost exactly what you
describe in the black driver not picking up white hitch-hikers. How many
experiences like that does one need to have to make it socially acceptable to
do that?

------
brudgers
These are businesses built to operate outside established regulations and
inevitablely have features of grey and black markets. In some ways this is
like complaining about racism among chop shops or the guy selling electronics
that fell off the back of a truck. The lack of full accountability is what
makes it possible to provide a deal.

------
Crake
This would have been far more convincing if he tried to book the same dates as
his friend and was accepted after they said they didn't have anything
available on that date. As it is, it's just one of many possible reasons his
friend had trouble finding a reservation.

------
here
This strikes me as naturally similar to many human marketplaces, such as
craigslist roommates, hiring practices, where to go grab a drink -- which have
long been reflective of similar biases. In my anecdotal experience, the scales
on airbnb/couchsurf/craigslist roommates/similar are even further tipped in a
sexist? manner, dramatically favoring females.

There is little surprising or special about the sharing economy resonating
these patterns. However, It does provide an excellent venue for study and
potentially creative mitigation.

------
gojomo
I can believe racism was a factor.

However, there's also a bias against _new_ guests (with no history).

And, there seems to have been a big increase in the percentage of marginal
listings that are not-really-available. (Perhaps, far more people are casually
listing places without real intent to rent or diligence in checking requests
and updating calendar availability. Or perhaps with higher usage, those are
the only kinds of listings that are left in the last few days.)

My experience: the first few times I used AirBnb, even as a last-minute
booking, availability was accurate, most hosts got back to me right away,
booking was quick and easy.

The last few times I've used AirBnb, in New York, Berlin, and Portland, I've
had a positive feedback history and there are more listings showing as
available than ever. _But,_ many hosts take over a day to respond if at all,
and often then tell me the spot isn't available. I've had to send ~10+
inquiries, instead of ~2, to achieve one booking. So a few 'sorrys' in a row,
on a booking a few days in advance, doesn't seem _that_ suspicious.

Because the host gets to perform a 'social/internet x-ray' on a prospective
guest, you always wonder if the real reason for the 'sorry' is that you're
just not to their liking: by race, gender, age, coolness, politics, career,
whatever. You never know for sure. That's both a strength and weakness of the
AirBnb system: people can meet and host others they're most comfortable or
interested in... or express longstanding and unfair prejudicies.

------
bsgreenb
If anything, shouldn't apps that involve ratings and profiles reduce racism,
because they allow you to judge the person by their behavior as opposed to
just their appearance? Compare Lyft to taxis, for example.

In the case of taxis the driver only sees appearance-based characteristics
when they choose whether to pick someone up. In the case of Lyft the user has
a long history of ratings which indicate whether they're a good person to
drive around.

------
Aloisius
Doesn't the digital sharing economy actually make bigotry incredibly easy to
detect and verify?

All you have to do is try booking the same place on a different dates
(assuming you have an account in good standing/positive reviews/etc). If they
keep rejecting you, then not only are you sure you have a bigot on your hand,
you have a paper trail with enough proof to go after them with a lawyer.

This is something that isn't even possible in other environments (like say,
cabs that just conveniently don't see you standing there hailing them). If
anything, the digital sharing economy can be a huge help to fighting bigotry.

------
facepalm
I'm not sure how these services operate, but I wonder if a difference to
traditional hotels is that they get applications, rather than reservations on
a first come, first served basis?

If AirBnB landlords receive applications, maybe they just wait for an
attractive one (ie a single male landlord could prefer to rent to attractive
women).

I'm not trying to defend racism, just wondering how to alleviate the problem.
I suppose traditional hotels don't get to look at a profile of the people who
book with them. At most they could infer something from their name.

~~~
tommorris
No, at the hotels, you have to wait until you attempt to check in before they
discriminate against you.

[http://www.gaynz.com/articles/publish/2/article_13302.php](http://www.gaynz.com/articles/publish/2/article_13302.php)

[http://www.queerty.com/gay-couple-told-theres-no-room-at-
the...](http://www.queerty.com/gay-couple-told-theres-no-room-at-the-inn-at-
london-hotel-20130226/)

[http://www.advocate.com/news/2007/03/30/gay-couple-turned-
aw...](http://www.advocate.com/news/2007/03/30/gay-couple-turned-away-sc-
hotel)

------
teddyh
Black Utopia Fantasy Story:
[http://sinfest.net/archive_page.php?comicID=4900](http://sinfest.net/archive_page.php?comicID=4900)

------
omonra
I think the headline is a bit misleading.

Racist would mean that hosts don't want to rent their apartment to people of
_other_ races (ie whites only wanting to rent to other whites). Here it seems
that hosts are making a judgement call about the renter and using race as a
parameter. They appear to have no problem renting to Asians or Indians, just
have an issue with one particular ethnicity.

Wouldn't a more accurate headline be - 'Airbnb hosts don't want to rent to
black customers' (even if it's highly anecdotal)?

~~~
vishaldpatel
Racial discrimination is when someone is discriminated on the basis of their
race. It doesn't matter how friendly the perpetrator is to people of other
races.

~~~
omonra
Right - but you appreciate the difference between someone

a) disliking all races different from one's own b) using one's life experience
to form opinions about people and grouping them by - age / race / occupation /
ethnicity / etc.

I think that using _same_ word is wrong - as they are completely different
phenomena.

~~~
lhc-
I dont think its really that different of a phenomenon. Item a) is a lot
extrapolating item b) to everyone who doesn't share your race. Also, its
completely possible to be racist against members of your own race, which still
qualifies as racist behavior.

Basically, the general definition of racism is more about prejudice against
one or more races, rather than about uplifting one specific race above
everything else.

------
cllns
White supremacy is an oppressive institution that reaches throughout all of
society. Unless it is actively fought against, it will prevail.

~~~
wyager
>White Supremacy is an oppressive institution that reaches throughout all of
society. Unless it is actively fought against, it will prevail.

Or, you know, we could just educate people and get rid of racism in a way that
doesn't swap one bad thing for another (like racist policies intended to favor
non-whites, which I assume you're referring to).

~~~
cllns
I'm referring to white supremacy (racism) as a societal institution, not
merely the actions and beliefs of individuals.

I wouldn't call policies which _lessen_ the power of the white supremacy
'racist'.

 _Racism is an insidious cultural disease. It is so insidious that it doesn’t
care if you are a white person who likes black people; it’s still going to
find a way to infect how you deal with people who don’t look like you. Yes,
racism looks like hate, but hate is just one manifestation. Privilege is
another. Access is another. Ignorance is another. Apathy is another. And so
on. So while I agree with people who say no one is born racist, it remains a
powerful system that we’re immediately born into. It’s like being born into
air: you take it in as soon as you breathe. It’s not a cold that you can get
over. There is no anti-racist certification class. It’s a set of socioeconomic
traps and cultural values that are fired up every time we interact with the
world. It is a thing you have to keep scooping out of the boat of your life to
keep from drowning in it. I know it’s hard work, but it’s the price you pay
for owning everything._

\- Scott Woods
([http://scottwoodsmakeslists.wordpress.com/2014/01/03/5-thing...](http://scottwoodsmakeslists.wordpress.com/2014/01/03/5-things-
no-one-is-actually-saying-about-ani-difranco-or-plantations/))

------
viggity
i've never used abnb, how would the host know that brandon was black? do
renters have avatars/profile pics?

------
interpares
So unfortunate, and also a reflection of the wider national context. Maybe
time to add a few more to this list of "21 Things Black People Can't Do in
America":

[http://m.motherjones.com/politics/2014/02/21-things-you-
cant...](http://m.motherjones.com/politics/2014/02/21-things-you-cant-do-
while-black)

~~~
wyager
Jesus, that article is so full of shit. It's literally a list of misleading
headlines.

Equivalent:

"21 things white people can't do in Germany: Be the nation's leader while
having a tootbrush mustache"

~~~
interpares
Quite right. Historical baggage and preconceptions make some things rather
difficult in certain countries if you look a certain way. In your example,
shaving would do the trick. In the well-documented and numerous examples of
blacks being routinely harassed, arrested or killed for unfounded
suspicions...?

~~~
wyager
That's not what's happening in the article at all. They're saying "Black
people can't even drink Arizona tea", when in reality it was some guy drinking
canned tea and knowingly trespassing so he could get arrested and cash in on
the whole "Trayvon Martin had an Arizona tea" thing.

~~~
interpares
Step 1: Take issue with the sensational language of the original article,
which is actually a collection of links to other news stories

Step 2: Take one news story from said article and offer your own made-up
explanation that's even more sensational.

Ok then.

~~~
jack-r-abbit
_a collection of links to other news stories_

You seem to be focused a lot on _just_ the links and not the sensational
language used as anchor text. Some of those stories _are_ tragic. Others not
so much. But if the point of that article was to list 21 times a black person
was done wrong, they just as well could have given the actual article headline
and not editorialized them. (If MotherJones was HN, those titles would have
been moderated back to the original.) But that wasn't the point of the
article. The list isn't quite as emotional without things like "can't wear a
hoodie" and "can't play music at a gas station"

------
notastartup
This is sickening, but more so because it shows you that African Americans
still receive downright discrimination in the United States. If anything,
these sharing apps reveal that crowd managed sharing apps cast spotlight on
the problem.

To combat this, they would need to enforce a strict rule that highlights that
you cannot refuse someone based on their color, gender, orientation. Of course
this only works in an ideal world.

------
cwaniak
This is so depressing to make AirBnb or Uber responsible for the image of
Black people that the Black people worked so long and hard to achieve and
maintain.

~~~
interpares
Right, because blacks are the ones responsible for how they're portrayed in
the media.

~~~
cwaniak
Right, because if media portrayed Asians as living in slums, not working and
dealing drugs, the public would just buy it in a second.

~~~
interpares
No not in a second, but certainly over time and with the help of confirmation
bias. Absolutely.

~~~
cwaniak
And if the media portrayed Africa as rich, prosperous, democratic Continent
and Asia as a corrupted war zone with 30yrs + longevity rates, we would
believe it too, right?

~~~
interpares
I'm not sure what your point is, other than trolling. I'll leave you to it.

~~~
cwaniak
How convenient...

------
altero
So what? Asians and whites are discriminated by government agencies,
universities and large corporations. Last time HR manager screamed at me
because I insisted my race is 'slavic' not 'white'.

