4 ms·

You're not missing a thing. Inequity in opportunity and segregation live on through ignorance and a cultural lack of empathy. Pleasant white and native English-

You're not missing a thing. Inequity in opportunity and segregation live on through ignorance and a cultural lack of empathy. Pleasant white and native English-speaking staff in the front of the house, brown and struggling to get a foothold types washing dishes in the back, because that's what makes customers feel better. The privileged get more privilege, and the poor get poorer.

mc32 11y ago
I don't think this is an American only thing. You see the same in Europe with respect to Eastern european immigrants who don't speak the local language well. You also presume people would be uncomfortable with either native English speakers of either Hispanic of African ancestry --which for the great majority of people would not be an issue. Also, not only white English speakers take uber. Personally I think those commenters prefer not having to repeat or ask the the driver to repeat what they are trying to get across. Imagine moving to China, you a polish speaker with little Chinese fluency, and try to make a living as a taxi driver. See how well you compete with people who speak Chinese natively.
- eevilspock 11y ago
  I appreciate your reasonable and thoughtful counterpoint, unlike bill's malarky. My presumption is not true for all people, but it is true for a great great many. I think you vastly underestimate the amount of prejudice that exists, from the overt "I don't like people of other colors, gender or sexual orientation" to the subtle but insidious "I am not prejudice, but I just feel more comfortable sitting next to a person of the same color on the bus." A Yale Law Journal study found that "Black taxi drivers' tips averaged 33 percent lower than those received by White drivers."[1] In this day and age of GPS navigation (It's built into the driver's Uber app!), you don't need to be even close to a native speaker to exchange destination information. And if Uber the company cared enough, they could make it even easier by allowing riders to enter their destination into the app on their phone. Uber wouldn't have to reveal it to the driver until the driver accepts the trip. A agree it's not just an American thing. In rare cases it works in reverse. I lived in Taiwan for about 5 years. There and in China, an American taxi driver would be such a novelty or even celebrity they would be in great demand. All I'm saying is that for the world to get better, we need to actively work against the Matthew effect[2]. [1] Blindspot: Hidden Biases of Good People, by Mahzarin R. Banaji, Anthony G. Greenwald. (2013) [2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_effect http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_effect. The Matthew effect is pervasive, even among scientists: http://www.garfield.library.upenn.edu/merton/matthew1.pdf http://www.garfield.library.upenn.edu/merton/matthew1.pdf
  - mc32 11y ago
    Not to detract from your points but being an object of curiosity, a kind of clown for a show, is not what I'd call a desirable state. That's almost like a fetish. I mean, if us uber "fares" started to see the drivers as objects of curiosity, I think people would feel upset at that, probably rightly so.
billmalarky 11y ago
Is this satire? You don't think the ability to communicate well is important in customer facing roles? >Pleasant white and native English-speaking staff in the front of the house, brown and struggling to get a foothold types washing dishes in the back Pray tell, where did the parent comment mention race or even suggest it was a factor? Believe it or not, America is a melting pot where those of all races speak a common language.

mc32 11y ago

I don't think this is an American only thing. You see the same in Europe with respect to Eastern european immigrants who don't speak the local language well. You also presume people would be uncomfortable with either native English speakers of either Hispanic of African ancestry --which for the great majority of people would not be an issue. Also, not only white English speakers take uber. Personally I think those commenters prefer not having to repeat or ask the the driver to repeat what they are trying to get across. Imagine moving to China, you a polish speaker with little Chinese fluency, and try to make a living as a taxi driver. See how well you compete with people who speak Chinese natively.

eevilspock 11y ago
I appreciate your reasonable and thoughtful counterpoint, unlike bill's malarky. My presumption is not true for all people, but it is true for a great great many. I think you vastly underestimate the amount of prejudice that exists, from the overt "I don't like people of other colors, gender or sexual orientation" to the subtle but insidious "I am not prejudice, but I just feel more comfortable sitting next to a person of the same color on the bus." A Yale Law Journal study found that "Black taxi drivers' tips averaged 33 percent lower than those received by White drivers."[1] In this day and age of GPS navigation (It's built into the driver's Uber app!), you don't need to be even close to a native speaker to exchange destination information. And if Uber the company cared enough, they could make it even easier by allowing riders to enter their destination into the app on their phone. Uber wouldn't have to reveal it to the driver until the driver accepts the trip. A agree it's not just an American thing. In rare cases it works in reverse. I lived in Taiwan for about 5 years. There and in China, an American taxi driver would be such a novelty or even celebrity they would be in great demand. All I'm saying is that for the world to get better, we need to actively work against the Matthew effect[2]. [1] Blindspot: Hidden Biases of Good People, by Mahzarin R. Banaji, Anthony G. Greenwald. (2013) [2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_effect http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_effect. The Matthew effect is pervasive, even among scientists: http://www.garfield.library.upenn.edu/merton/matthew1.pdf http://www.garfield.library.upenn.edu/merton/matthew1.pdf
- mc32 11y ago
  Not to detract from your points but being an object of curiosity, a kind of clown for a show, is not what I'd call a desirable state. That's almost like a fetish. I mean, if us uber "fares" started to see the drivers as objects of curiosity, I think people would feel upset at that, probably rightly so.

billmalarky 11y ago

Is this satire? You don't think the ability to communicate well is important in customer facing roles? >Pleasant white and native English-speaking staff in the front of the house, brown and struggling to get a foothold types washing dishes in the back Pray tell, where did the parent comment mention race or even suggest it was a factor? Believe it or not, America is a melting pot where those of all races speak a common language.