4 ms·
This kind of sentiment comes up a lot, and I am sorry, I find it kind of revolting. There is this notion that cabbies are discriminating against the downtrodde
by rada 14y ago
This kind of sentiment comes up a lot, and I am sorry, I find it kind of revolting.
There is this notion that cabbies are discriminating against the downtrodden, but in reality, they are the downtrodden. They are low-income, immigrant people who, unlike you, actually live in those outer boroughs. People who need money so badly that they will drive a cab for a living.
You, on the other hand, are a wealthy dude. A dude with so much disposable income that you can throw $20-$40 at a cab instead of taking the subway for free. (Free as in, you already have an unlimited metro card, yes? And $20-$40 is just one way, yes? And you do this every weekend, yes?).
So you, the wealthy dude, have the law on your side. Apparently, your need for low-cost on-demand, luxury transportation trumps the basic human right to free will. Apparently, mostly white, wealthy people need to be protected from being discriminated against by mostly brown, poor people. Apparently, when a laborer refuses to take on dangerous work or insufficiently compensated work ^, we must bring in the government guns and show him who's boss.
(^) It's always money or personal safety. Discrimination has nothing to do with it and I find it rather humorous that cab takers project their own racist attitudes onto cab drivers, seeing as I don't recall a while cabbie once during my 15 years in NYC.
- rdouble 14y agoCabbies used to routinely discriminate against whomever they felt like, mostly black and brown people who needed to get uptown. That is why the laws prohibiting refusal to take you were you want to go were instated in the first place.
- rada 14y agoYour point that there is a historic basis for the law is well taken. However, history is not an excuse, especially when it comes to forced labor (cough, slavery, cough). Also, when you say "used to routinely", you are projecting. The press made it into a banner issue, but really, think about it. "Uptown" used to be very, very poor, and poor people don't take cabs.
- deleted 14y ago[deleted]
- rdouble 14y agoI'm not sure what you are talking about at this point. You are mad because taxi drivers are supposed to follow the law, because of slavery? Seems a bit incoherent.
- ShabbyDoo 14y agoWere they discriminating against the individual or the likelihood that they would not be able to find a paying passenger in the immediate vicinity of the endpoint? Let's say they believed they would have to drive back to Manhattan for their next customer -- their effective earnings would drop by more than half (expensive backhaul) compared to a scenario where they could pick-up a paying passenger just a few blocks away.