I used to work for a major car rental company. When I moved into the Recruiting division I had the opportunity to meet a lot of new people. One of them was my friend Reggie. We both played soccer, loved hockey, and taking breaks whenever possible to talk about all things not work related. He's sort of a Renaissance man. He can do a little bit of everything. He's kind, and funny and married to a gorgeous woman. They are one of those couples you love to hate. But don't hate at all. You know the kind; successful, attractive and so damn nice.
But that's not what this post is about. This post is about racism.
Reggie is, quite literally, one of the best dressed men I have ever known. He is also one of the most eloquent and joyful men I've met. So why then, would cab drivers continually refuse to pick him up on the streets of Washington, D.C.?
Because he is black.
(Canadian too! But I don't think that's why they woosh past him)
Yes. He is black. Therefore he is going to rob the cab drivers. Or at least that's what THIS ARTICLE proves that the cabbies think.
Discrimination is a huge, and documented problem in the District. I myself have been "used" to hail cabs for black friends. How ridiculous is that? I don't know the solution to this problem. It has been swept under the rug for so long that only a complete re-training of cab drivers, and a penalty system would even begin to touch the issue.
All I know is that equality is supposed to mean equal rights for all. But when a cab driver passes by a black man and then another to pick up the white guy something is wrong.
Maybe video cameras and panic buttons should be installed in all cabs. Pricey? Yes. Useful? Yes. If robbers knew they were being videoed and the cab driver could have a direct link to police I have a feeling the muggings would be drastically reduced.
Everyone deserves a safe ride home.
8 comments:
We all know damn well that racism is alive and well in America.
I don't take enough cabs in D.C. for me to be able to identify with Reggie, but I drive enough to know that some people still have a problem with skin color.
As far as we've come, we still have a ways to go.
This is a bad situation that should finally be addressed. Drivers tell me that they are afraid to pick up black males because more times then not, black males will rob them. I say equip the cabs with safety devices (camera, partition between the driver and passenger like in NYC, etc). Thanks for the post Tiff :)
This is soooo wrong on many, many levels! I so agree with safety devices, but how about some common sense also...if you see a nice dressed black man..really, do you think he needs/will robb you? There are just as many white men who will do the same thing? We are all the same, why do people ALWAYS look at skin color? I wish people would stop being so damn racist and get to know someone for WHO they are, not the color of their skin. So sorry that this is happening to you Reggie...if I'm ever back in D.C. I'll kick someones ass for you!!!
Ms. Moon- unfortunately that's true. I am thankful every day that I was raised in a home and family that taught me to love everyone.
SexyTee- great to have you aboard! We definitely have a ways to go. It makes me sad sometimes. But there will always be conflict between people I guess. *sigh*
Reggie- I agree with you. Better safety measures all around. I heart you!
DC cab drivers should start accepting debit/credit cards, this will obviously reduce their cash on hand and the attraction of being robbed. The crazy thing about this all, is that most of these cab drives are not white, a lot of them are minorities (mainly black/African or Indian). When I do get a cab, its great, I've had some very good conversation with these drivers. More time than not, these drivers are highly educated as well. The whole thing about diversity training (from the article), is a very weak point. Are the drivers racist? probably not. Do they discriminate? Definitely!! Like Tiff said, "everyone deserves a safe ride home." Everyone includes: black men trying to get a cab; and taxicab drivers. If drivers are so afraid of black men, they should step up and demand that safety mechanism are put in to place. These drivers went horribly wrong when they decided to use discrimination as their safety mechanism.
What makes me sad and upset about this article, are the ridiculous comments left by some of the readers. I'm not naive to think that these ingnorant/boderline racist people exist but reading those comments I was shocked!!
the debit/credit card thing is a good idea. and it's true, most of the cab drivers aren't racist per say. discriminatory yes. that's a good point. I read 2 pages of those comments after the article and was so disgusted I stopped. Ignorance. I can only pray those morons aren't procreating.
Devil's Advocate - As much as we complain about the "Reggies" of the world being passed over for the almost guaranteed 'safe fare', I'm willing to bet that the perpetrators of these robberies are overwhelmingly black men. That doesn't excuse the discrimination, but you can see why some of the cabbies would be a bit gun-shy.
Tiff, it saddens me also. Some people are too lazy and/or scared to step out of their comfort zone to meet and interact with someone of another race. This doesn't just apply to white people, but I've noticed this behavior with lots of folks of different races that I've come in contact with.
One doesn't have to be racist if he/she doesn't want to, but for some black people it's just easier to assume all white people hate black people. That's easy... Instead of taking the time to get to know the person, I'll just lump you all in one category (I have a brother like this).
My wife and I read an interesting article in Newsweek, and the article was titled, "Is Your Baby Racist?" One of the points made was that a lot of people ignore addressing race at an early age. Babies/toddlers notice the difference and parents should talk it over with there kids so it doesn't become an issue later on.
ok...I'm rambling...I'll stop for now...
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