Differences in reactions of park-goers when a white, then black man attempt to "steal" a bike.

[Poll_Blind]

Run time: 06:35 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrOSL85ZMck   Posted on YouTube: May 15, 2010 By YouTube Member: TheDesperateHodges Views on YouTube: 158261   Posted on DU: November 12, 2010 By DU Member: Poll_Blind Views on DU: 532

 
So first, this video doesn't necessarily prove anything anything beyond what you actually see in it. But it is interesting.

The set-up: A bicycle was locked to a sign in a park and two men, dressed and mannered almost identically, act as though they're stealing the bike. First the white man, then the black man. This is from the show "What would you do?" and they wanted to find out if there would be any difference in the reactions to the men's actions based on the color of their skin- all other things (dress, demeanor, tone) being equal.

What is "White Privilege" and why might this be an example of it?

From Wikipedia:

white privilege is a way of conceptualizing racial inequalities that focuses as much on the advantages that white people accrue from society as on the disadvantages that people of color experience. White privilege differs from conditions of overt racism or prejudice, in which a dominant group actively seeks to oppress or suppress other racial groups for its own advantage. Instead, theories of white privilege suggest that whites view their social, cultural, and economic experiences as a norm that everyone should experience, rather than as an advantaged position that must be maintained at the expense of others.

White Privlege isn't necessarily something whites solely participate in. One of the most challenging aspects of the concept is that blacks or other people of color can also unconsciously perpetuate the privilege process.

The concept of White Privilege is a controversial subject at the moment, with some rejecting its existence outright. However, we are all familiar with unconscious privileges afforded to those with better dress, more articulate speech or other superficial factors and White Privilege is no different.

Further reading: White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack by Peggy McIntosh.

PB

[MineralMan]

1. Very interesting, isn't it?

I'd have called the cops on both of them, but from a safe distance. I don't mess with crooks up close. I'd have stayed within view, but would have dialed 911 in both cases.

[Poll_Blind]

2. See, I live in a very, very white part of the country and honestly...

...the few blacks who live in my area, and the much larger Latino population (but especially the African-Americans) get a lot of scrutiny. I love riding the bus, ride the bus almost anywhere I go, and just watching the reactions of some of the white people on the bus when a perfectly-dressed and groomed 14 year old black girl gets on the bus...well, it kind of rocks me back on my heels a bit.

At least where I live, I believe just about every person of color is aware of this scrutiny and behaves accordingly. I can't imagine what that's got to be like. Anyway, back to the scrutiny: It's definitely not always the case but most of the people of color who get on the bus wind up behaving in a much more controlled (?) manner than the majority of whites on the bus.

I don't chalk this up to some core differences between whites versus blacks but minority versus majority, especially when the differences between them are as easy to spot as skin color.

I remember a ride on the Paris subway once where I felt (maybe for being white, maybe for speaking English) as scrutinized as some of my neighbors as they get on our bus heading downtown.

I agree with you about calling the cops from a safe distance. There are a large number of meth-heads where I live, which also dictates that I'm typically not going to get too close to that crazy.

PB

[alphafemale]

3. I've seen episodes of that show where the race of the "thief" wasn't a factor

I think one of the main issues here was that the black guy was much smaller than the the white guy and not very intimidating.

It seems that either nobody reacts to confront a thief or one person does and then it is a mob mentality.

And to be honest if someone was that unskilled as a a bike thief I would assume they had lost the lock and it was their bike. I wouldn't have questioned either of them.

[ZombieHorde]

4. Extremely interesting. Looks like white privilege to me. Recommended. nt

[mzteris]

5. No - no racism here.Move along. Nothing to see.

:cry: :banghead: :cry: :cry: :banghead: :cry: :cry: :banghead: :cry:

[Poll_Blind]

6. I think the difference here, between racism and white privilege is that...

...it's not about the black man being persecuted (which he should have been), it's the (apparent) extra slack that the white man was given, performing the same act. Now, I mean I think it could go round and round about defining this as either a racism or privilege issue and I think when it comes to racism studies I think it does.

But on the face of it, again, it's not so much (IMO) about the black man being unfairly persecuted for anything because of the color of his skin, as much as it is about the assumptions we find ourselves making about a white man doing the same thing.

If that makes any sense.

Now, even the white man is confronted and interrogated by passers-by- just not as thoroughly as the black man. But, at 2:30 two African-American females who view the white man talk about their assumptions about what he's probably up to, and share their belief that a black man, when doing the same thing, will receive a much stronger response.

Which he does.

PB

[mzteris]

8. for all your attempts at rationalization - it's racism.

RACISM.

White privilege is the coin by which racism is enjoyed.

[Poll_Blind]

7. And now, for BONUS points (as they say), a pretty girl stealing a bike:

What Would You Do? Pretty Girl Stealing Bike

Here's the point, we are infused with all types of biases. We'd like to think we're not biased, but we are. It's not our fault, we've done nothing wrong. But we have filters which we are not aware of, and those filters can radically change how we view an event.

Understanding that we can have biases and still be good, decent people who don't want to be biased is an important recognition which can help us work to remove those biases or at least recognize them.

PB