It matters who is stealing the bike

[Q]

Just watch this video and tell me when your jaw drops:

+ YouTube Video

It's a pretty amazing sight to see how ingrained racial profiling and sexism is in society. My jaw dropped when the older black lady tells how she was giving the first (white) actor the benefit of the doubt because "first impressions matter". Quite amazing.

[Vanilla]

I saw that a little while back. The man who was trying to get the black kid to stop was pissing me off, even though he felt he was doing the right thing. It was frustrating to see all those people trust the white kid but then assume the black kid was stealing. It was an eye-opening video and it should be shown to people who think that racism doesn't exist (coincidentally, those people are generally white )

[Brutus]

This is sadly true.

[Skyhilist]

My friend showed this to me a bit ago... sadly not really surprising.
The problem I think is a combination of factors. One is that capitalism tends to breed prejudice regardless of who's in what position.
Another is that capitalism also breeds poverty; and at disproportionate levels for different races. A non-white is more likely to be born into poverty. Since poverty tends to breed crime, non-whites on the average are more likely to commit a crime, not because they're horrible people or intrinsically evil but because they tend to be more economically disadvantaged on the average under capitalism. Most people recognize this difference in crime although unfortunately few recognize the reason for it. As a result people tend to subconsciously exaggerate this difference in crime, thinking (whether they want to or not) that blacks tend to be criminals and whites (especially hot, innocent looking female ones in this case) tend to not... which is of course not true, but is a perpetuation of a stereotype created by the material conditions of capitalism.

[Brandon's Impotent Rage]

Yeah, I'll admit that I've been guilty of this myself.

It's the residue of the segregation days. Non-whites were, for so long, like this strange 'other' that existed outside of the boundaries of the 'realm'. This gave an air of menace to them. Like they were barbarians camped outside of the wall, threatening to invade at any time.

Shit like that doesn't go away very easily. You have to actively catch yourself on it, and then try to correct it.

Thing is, racial prejudice is not inborne. It's a learned behavior, whether from family or just from circumstances.

[RedSonRising]

We have prejudices ingrained in us due to a blend of social conditioning and the unequal realities stemming from the material consequences of capitalism. That is the sad truth.

But it's quite another thing to do what some of those people were doing, fucking descending on the black kid like wolves, absolutely outraged when it's not even their bike. He even gave a half-descent reason, which, even if doesn't justify him for taking the bike, shows his intentions were not theft but recovery of an unwanted thing left their for days. And still that man talks to him like a maligned criminal.

[Capitalist Octopus]

This video is weird because, it is obviously made for white people... People of colour are already well aware of everything put across in this video. They don't need a television program to tell them...

[Zaza]

Very sad how the "that black guy stole my bike" prejudice still exists.

[Q]

This video is weird because, it is obviously made for white people... People of colour are already well aware of everything put across in this video. They don't need a television program to tell them...

Really? Then how does that explain the responses of the black women on 1:22 and further?

But besides the racial stereotyping, I find the reactions towards the last actor possibly even more stunning: Because it is an attractive woman, males at least are even pro-actively helping the thief!

[BIXX]

But besides the racial stereotyping, I find the reactions towards the last actor possibly even more stunning: Because it is an attractive woman, males at least are even pro-actively helping the thief!

Oh god that bothered me the most. Like, oh my god. I can't believe that these guys are willing to help her specifically because she has a nice body and a vagina and they have a penis. I find it incredibly stupid.

[Zostrianos]

There's still racism everywhere. They had made another experiment (also in the US), where people would call different ads to rent apartments, to apply for jobs, etc. and they found that if the person sounded white, they had the greatest success. They would have several people call the same ad, and often those who had foreign accents or didn't sound 'white' would get rejected, but the white person would be accepted.

[Taboo Tongue]

My jaw never dropped.
We are all guilty of this. And I know that I benefit from it.

I recognize it (completely lose it when I grow close to individuals), and am able to put it aside when I need to---because I recognize it instead of trying to deny it. I was just as prejudice when I tried being an angel and 'not seeing a color difference.'

I 'am' very glad they made a video out of this.

[Q]

My jaw never dropped.
We are all guilty of this. And I know that I benefit from it.

Well, in the Netherlands this has a somewhat different character. But if you replace, grosso modo, the black guy with an Arab, you get more or less the same result.

[The Feral Underclass]

American society is racist. This is brand new news.

[Jimmie Higgins]

This video is old isn't it. It's interesting that it's making the social-media rounds now. I saw this randomly on TV years ago... in fact I think there was even a more striking example where they had two black kids just sitting in their car in a suburban neighborhood and people were freaking out thinking they stole the car or were casing the neighborhood, whereas with two white kids sitting in the same car, people just ignored them or asked if they needed directions.

I have the best (worst) example of petty-profling though:

I was at work (I have a service job) and there was a pro-Obama election night party (his first election) and one of the organizers of the social party for Berkeley well-to-do Democratic Party supporters was asking me something when a young black guy walked in the front door of the building (he was dressed casual - like I'm a young professional at UC Berkeley casual). The organizer stared at him the whole time he walked in and then turned to me and wanted to know why nobody stoped to ask what his business in the building was... "I guess I could just come in here whenever I want and sell some crack!" said the racist old liberal.

[Vanilla]

It would have been interesting to see how it would have gone if they had used a black woman actress for stealing the bike. Somehow, I doubt she would have gotten the same reactions as the white woman.

[zumacraig]

We have prejudices ingrained in us due to a blend of social conditioning and the unequal realities stemming from the material consequences of capitalism. That is the sad truth.

But it's quite another thing to do what some of those people were doing, fucking descending on the black kid like wolves, absolutely outraged when it's not even their bike. He even gave a half-descent reason, which, even if doesn't justify him for taking the bike, shows his intentions were not theft but recovery of an unwanted thing left their for days. And still that man talks to him like a maligned criminal.

This is fascinating and sickening. Sickening because I'm a white dude that fails into this shit sometimes, despite my best efforts and thinking.

What's ironic is that the old white dude says, 'you cannot take stuff that is not yours'. Thing is, this entire country is based on taking shit that's not ours...land, people, work. Also, that guy gets his property taken from him through taxes and if he can't pay the bills. However, this isolated incident SEEMS like the kid is stealing. The context, history, thought is taken out of the equation. This is what makes change so difficult. The context is not considered. Dialectic thinking is not the norm. Could this change. I hope, though this video makes me feel quite hopeless.

I've been changed precisely because I shut the fuck up and listened to minorities talk and got over my xenophobia. I see the most thugged out black folks all the time in my city. 15 years ago, I would've literally thought I was going to be killed by these people. Unfounded and ridiculous, but the social reaction and emotion created by this system in me seemed natural and real. Now, with some thought and gracious support from many minority comrades, I've changed. I'd much rather have my car break down on the 'bad side of town' than in a rich neighborhood.

[Taboo Tongue]

It would have been interesting to see how it would have gone if they had used a black woman actress for stealing the bike. Somehow, I doubt she would have gotten the same reactions as the white woman.

Idk... I feel like as long as it was still an 'attractive' black woman, she would get a similar response (depending on the locale of this test).
I know all the (predominately light skinned) men at the bar I go to ogle over an African (Nigeran?) woman who comes in more than any other.