"Playing The Race Card"?? Yeah Right!!! You Don't Know The Half!!

Ah so now you're discriminating based on income. I see. So what if these hoodies are of an expensive brand and they are sold for 400 dollars a piece. Does a hoodie then STILL say "lower social-economic" standing? No it does not but your mind likes to discriminate.

they were not discriminating, they were saying shop oweners/security do. its a fact wether you or i like it, that does not mean the person who pointed it out is discriminating.

so an old guy walks into the shop wearing a plain shirt and trousers, followed by a guy in a hood with a baseball cap underneath and baggy jeans with his underwear showing. one of them is a shoplifter and you know you cannot watch everybody, so you have to go on statisics, or the most likely candiate. the old man is black, and the hoodie guy is white, which are you going to follow?

reply to post by jerryznv

I am as white as they come...but I do not qualify for some student loan programs at my college because I am not a minority

*sigh*

You just don't understand.

reply to post by lifeform11

they were not discriminating, they were saying shop oweners/security do. its a fact wether you or i like it, that does not mean the person who pointed it out is discriminating.

Huge issue here: You take things personally.

This is the internet, this is a forum, we are exchanging ideas. I do not KNOW you personally. Anything I say is based on what you say, correct? Then why the HELL are you here telling me I'm saying other people think a way when I'm responding to what they type?

so an old guy walks into the shop wearing a plain shirt and trousers, followed by a guy in a hood with a baseball cap underneath and baggy jeans with his underwear showing. one of them is a shoplifter and you know you cannot watch everybody, so you have to go on statisics, or the most likely candiate. the old man is black, and the hoodie guy is white, which are you going to follow?

That's all bullcrap logic in 2011 since there are cameras everywhere

Originally posted by Zamini
reply to post by jerryznv

 

I am as white as they come...but I do not qualify for some student loan programs at my college because I am not a minority

*sigh*

You just don't understand.

Maybe I don't understand...so maybe you could enlighten me then...what do I not understand?

If I am wrong then I will humbly admit it and learn from you...so what do I not understand?

reply to post by ProphecyPhD


Give me a break OP!

If you go in a store dressed in street clothing and act like you did, it wouldn't matter what color you were. You're trying to create a problem where there isn't one.

reply to post by SprocketUK


So does it feel nice to be condescending towards people. I get a feeling you do it more often, but you know, not straight forward but more underhand.

Originally posted by Zamini
reply to post by lifeform11

 

they were not discriminating, they were saying shop oweners/security do. its a fact wether you or i like it, that does not mean the person who pointed it out is discriminating.

Huge issue here: You take things personally.

This is the internet, this is a forum, we are exchanging ideas. I do not KNOW you personally. Anything I say is based on what you say, correct? Then why the HELL are you here telling me I'm saying other people think a way when I'm responding to what they type?

so an old guy walks into the shop wearing a plain shirt and trousers, followed by a guy in a hood with a baseball cap underneath and baggy jeans with his underwear showing. one of them is a shoplifter and you know you cannot watch everybody, so you have to go on statisics, or the most likely candiate. the old man is black, and the hoodie guy is white, which are you going to follow?

That's all bullcrap logic in 2011 since there are cameras everywhere

you might be responding to what they typed but you missed the point of what they typed, everything they said is observational, kids in lower income area's all dress a certain way FACT, some of those kids commit crime and plague area's with anti social behaviour and theft, again FACT. a image is created, a reputation, that people wearing the types of cloths mentioned are more likely to commit a crime.

so when anybody enters a store wearing such cloths wether they are poor or middle class or rich and regardless of any skin colour they will stand out to security as the ones to keep an eye on.

that was the point of the post, they were not disciminating personally, they were pointing out the stereo types and discrimination and logic behind the security guards etc.

yes camera's are everywhere, they usually do not have every spot covered though, and does not mean that every shop has them up everywhere.

Lol its quite funny really, how he follows you around the shop haha, How can he not see you are filming behind you ? You should have made it look like you stole something then just bolted out the shop, then when they dont find anything, then you can mad play the race card haha

Originally posted by Zamini
Actually, you are very wrong. Relatively speaking the elderly shoplift WAY more.

Not in the UK. According to Home Office figures, convictions for petty theft amongst those aged 21 and under makes up over 60% of the overall total.

Originally posted by Zamini
Ah so now you're discriminating based on income. I see. So what if these hoodies are of an expensive brand and they are sold for 400 dollars a piece. Does a hoodie then STILL say "lower social-economic" standing? No it does not but your mind likes to discriminate.

Yes, I am saying that it's usually the socio-economic and sub-cultural implications of young people dressing this way which leads employers to profile and discriminate against them, not the racial factor.

As for your comment about expensive hoodies, that is why I mentioned ''certain kinds'' of these garments. In working-class, less affluent areas, the clothes the teenagers wear practically become a uniform, such is the extent of peer-pressure. Certain brand-names and styles are usually tell-tale signs of what social background they come from.

Originally posted by Zamini
That has NOTHING to do with this topic. You are projecting the chav image on the OP and that is just incredibly stupid.

It has everything to do with your reply to the topic. I never said that the two people in the video were behaving like chavs, just pointing out that it's another thing which often goes along with people who adopt this kind of clothing, and, consequently, makes shop-owners more suspicious of people who dress like this ( regardless of how fair or unfair that generalisation is ).

Originally posted by Zamini
What are you even doing here?

Pointing out, as you are seemingly too obtuse to realise, the ridiculousness of your comments which you made in your initial post. Need I remind you of them ? OK, I guess I have to:

''It does exist and the people who are telling you in this thread that you "looked" suspicious are racists themselves. How can one look suspicious? "Street" clothing? What the hell is that supposed to mean even, as if clothes define thieves(if so - they should arrest all people in suits and ties).

I hope you notice how they are bending backwards to not have their posts removed YET still make their little underhand racist comments.''

Considering that I was one of the people who was pointing out that the motivation for the manager to follow the two teenagers may have been because of how they were dressed, you were snidely and cowardly tarring me as making underhanded racist comments, despite the fact that I did no such thing.

Originally posted by Zamini
So it is okay to discriminate because you want to make money. Got it.

Of course. Businesses are invariably amorally driven, and their main priority is making money. If one demographic is more likely to commit theft than others ( such as teenagers from lower-socio economic backgrounds ), then they will tar all of them with the same brush.

Originally posted by Zamini
Three guesses as to why? It is so IGNORANT of you to compare that to the OP's post.

It has everything to do with the OP's post and your rather ill-informed, unelightened initial post in this thread.

First of all, you asked what ''street'' clothing meant, so I provide you with an image of what I would consider ''street'' clothing to mean. The fact of the matter is that, whether you like it or not, those teenagers in the photo I provided would be stereotyped as soon as they entered the shop, purely because of their look.

The video in the OP showed two teenagers in similarly attired ''street'' clothing, yet the automatic assumption was that racism was the reason why the manager chose to follow them.

I agree that there may well have been a racial motive to the manager's actions, but, then again, it may well have been because of how they were dressed, or how they were acting before the camera started rolling.

To knee-jerkly throw around terms like ''racist'' without first thinking of other reasons why something happened is not very helpful and also counterproductive, not to mention rude, insulting and slanderous to the person who you have accused without any supporting evidence.

Originally posted by Zamini
Let me make it REAL simple:

If you have NOT been discriminated against based on skin color you do NOT know what it is like. PERIOD.

I have been discriminated against on a number of occasions because of my skin colour. The thing is, I don't tend to cry about it and wallow in a sea of victimhood.

The world isn't perfect, racists will be racists, and it's not worth the time or effort getting too worked up about the thoughts of the more Neanderthalic amongst us.

Like it or not, black people, young people and people in "street clothing" do commit more crimes than the average. The OP fits in all three categories, and I believe that all three factors share some responsibility for him being followed by the manager.

On the other hand, correlation does not imply causation. The manager does not have to be a racist (believing that blacks are genetically wired that way). He may believe that it has cultural or social causes. Still, following predominantly black people is justified to prevent crime in his shop even in this case, as long as statistics point to them having higher crime rate. Is it racism, then? I dont think it would fullfill the dictionary definition.

Originally posted by Zamini
reply to post by SprocketUK

 

So does it feel nice to be condescending towards people. I get a feeling you do it more often, but you know, not straight forward but more underhand.

Condescending? Don't think so, mate. Enlighten me cos I ain't getting it.
As for the rest, leave it out, only morons are brave on forums, save your big fella act for real life.

When your part of a racial group who commits crimes at rates well above their proportion to the rest of the population these things happen. Next time your see one of your people walking down the street with sagging pants or blasting their car stereo with gangster rap you'll understand why us white people don't want to be around that #. Seriously, I see a ton of grown black men still dressing like thug teenagers....grow up.

So an employee followed them around the store. He didn't approach them, didn't accuse them, heck he didn't even spy on them. If this is what racisim has become, I'd say we're making pretty good progress from the racisim of 40 years ago.

It works both ways though, remember that. I was attacked by a black guy who attempted to steal my car. Just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. He cought me by surprise and hit me in the face with one of those extra large glass Tropicana bottles. I fought him off and ripped out a good portion of his dreadlocks. The police caught him and he was found guilty. Another man across the street witnessed the whole thing. Initially the man said he had come up to me for directions and I had called him a "n_____". The only thing I did was wait in a parking lot for my friend to eat in a Diner. He kept bringing up the race card through the whole process and court trial. Now, there are people who really suffer from racism in this world, his race and every other race, and he is basically stomping on his own people with these actions.

reply to post by ProphecyPhD


I understand what you're saying. I remember my parents preparing my sibling and myself for the world, "there will always be people who try to make you be the stereotype they have of black people, it's your job is to be you and not the stereotype". I have brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, and all have experienced at one time or another of being followed around a store or watched as if they'd steal something. Yes as some have mentioned in previous posts, stereotyping based on clothing and behavior can and do occur but that's not to negate the fact that people often look at skin coloring to sum up certain groups.

I've had experiences of being watched and followed in stores and I'm in my mid forties. I practice two things. If it's a chain store I let that store's headquarters know the employee's name (when possible) and what they did to disrupt my spending of money in their store. Then I let them know under no condition will I spend my money in their store and receive that type of treatment. The second is I find another store and give them my patronage.

Shop where you feel comfortable and you're wanted. Yes I know there are situation in which there are no other stores nearby.However, as black people we must stop spending our money with stores who think they can treat us any way and still get our money. Arguing with store managers about their behavior or the behaviors of their employees is useless, cause many of these people see no wrong in their actions. No go for the jugular and spend your dollars elsewhere.

Originally posted by canselmi
So an employee followed them around the store. He didn't approach them, didn't accuse them, heck he didn't even spy on them.

Oh so what's following him around the store, is that not spying?

If this is what racisim has become, I'd say we're making pretty good progress from the racisim of 40 years ago.

Wow what logic. Spoken like a person who've never experienced it.

Originally posted by JustinSee
It works both ways though, remember that. I was attacked by a black guy who attempted to steal my car. Just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. He cought me by surprise and hit me in the face with one of those extra large glass Tropicana bottles. I fought him off and ripped out a good portion of his dreadlocks. The police caught him and he was found guilty. Another man across the street witnessed the whole thing. Initially the man said he had come up to me for directions and I had called him a "n_____". The only thing I did was wait in a parking lot for my friend to eat in a Diner. He kept bringing up the race card through the whole process and court trial. Now, there are people who really suffer from racism in this world, his race and every other race, and he is basically stomping on his own people with these actions.

You experienced something negative true enough but how does that relates to the original posting?

A couple have mentioned student loans and scholarships . Google is your friend but it will take awhile . There are over 5,000 scholarships offered nation wide to "black only" students . There are two available for "white only" students . Black guys , don't give me that bs of you being discriminated against , racism , when it comes to scholarships and student loans .

I am a white woman and live in a city that is very racially diverse. Perhaps I should take a video camera around my city and videotape the racism that occurs....because it is rampant.

My videotape would reveal small black children glaring at me and giving me dirty looks as I stand in line behind them at a cash register. You would see black people ignoring me when I smile and say "hello" as I pass them on the street.

Do all black people do that? Certainly not. Do all white people have racist issues about blacks? Certainly not. But one thing I want to make very clear here is that I am well aware of how it feels to be subjected to racism. I can't tell you how disheartening it is to see a black child who has heard so much anti-white racial b.s. from the adults in his life that he first chooses to glare at me and give me dirty looks instead of smile. That child has no idea how many times I have called out someone who has made racial slurs against blacks. I have no tolerance for racism of any kind. It is the most senseless mindset on the planet, and I have no problem jumping down the throat of those who spew hatred in this manner.

No one can deny that the blacks have endured unbelievable atrocities at the hands of white men. It disgusts me and makes me ashamed that humanity can behave this way. But I have to say that the black community is every bit as racist as the white community.....perhaps even more so. I know this will anger some, but I'm just stating what most people know to be a fact.

All we can do is ignore these ignorant racial mindsets and continue living. Stop seeking out racism and stop anticipating it from every white person you run into. Stop dwelling on negativity. Do your thing. We all have the same opportunities.....

reply to post by ProphecyPhD


I'm none too fond of the "racist" accusations *I* have gotten. When I have been harsh in My assessment of Obama, several have tried to suggest I say these things because He's black. I always explain that the fact that Obama's not melanin deficient has nothing to do with My assessments of His behavior.

As far as I'm concerned, Humans are Humans, regardless of whether They're melanin deficient or not, and if a Human's behavior choices are poor, skin color is irrelevant..