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I would even go one step further. Certainly less than felons. For some reason in Chicago, I at least feel "safer" in a taxi because of the screaming decals and
by cpher 10y ago
I would even go one step further. Certainly less than felons. For some reason in Chicago, I at least feel "safer" in a taxi because of the screaming decals and colors of the car.
I had an Uber from the southside to Midway, and I felt like just getting into his car I was being set up in a sting operation. I (white guy) shrunk down in the back seat the entire time. The dude was nice, but holy shit what does CPD think when white guys get in the backs of gangbanger's cars (yes, my driver was nice but sketchy, and his car was exactly the mid-90s low-riding Pontiac you see around here getting busted all the time). I felt like I was his "ride" while he circled the southside between drug pickups. It gave him an "out."
On the flip side, had an awesome middle aged white woman take us from A to B on the northside of Chicago. She was doing it as a part-timer and super nice.
I guess my point is that maybe with taxi companies you at least could/should have a hiring/interview process? I'll plead ignorance to the Uber/Lyft process, but is there even an interview? It's just hit or miss in Chicago.
- YuriNiyazov 10y agoCongratulations on your blatant racism. You go to southside, and you object that the person that is working in that neighborhood fits "the stereotype".
- cpher 10y agoWhat are you talking about? I've lived on the southside for 10 years. It's called "understanding how to avoid gangbangers." How about when I go into a burger joint and the two teenage kids in front of me whip out a huge roll of cash to pay for it? Their saggy-ass jeans tell me they didn't get that from a high-paying software consulting job. I think you need a reality check. Ninja edit: Screw you for criticizing me on my "judgement" of Uber drivers. Fuck you.
- YuriNiyazov 10y agodang should be coming by to tell you that you are out of line any minute now.
- shock-value 10y agoSorry, but this comment makes you sound like a whiney child yelling at a sibling -- "you might not listen to me but I'll get Mommy to tell you to stop!". The comment may or may not be racially insensitive but it's very frustrating how some commenters here will appeal to mods to censor anything they don't like or agree with.
- YuriNiyazov 10y agoI am objecting to the "Fuck you" part, not his (perceived by me) racial insensitivity, which I think we can continue discussing without appealing to mods.
- cpher 10y agoYes, I was out of line in this context to drop the f-bomb on you. I apologize. Also, it was not done re: racial insensitivity. It's more of a local thing, and it won't translate to this forum. I'm sorry.
- cpher 10y agoI feel safer when my wife can text me the name of the taxi company and car number in case anything happens. It's following a chain of custody...dick.
- cpher 10y agoAre you really that naive to think gangbangers and drug dealers don't use ride-sharing programs and exploit it to their advantage? Every system will be exploited. If you dare live in the environment, you might experience it.
- cpher 10y agoGive me your honest opinion: to what degree am I racist if : 1) the Uber pulling up is an obvious gangbanger 2) If I refuse the driver for whatever reasons Uber lists when drivers pull up. I'm going to assume your objection is to #1. If so, do you have any fucking idea how institutionalized racism is in Chicago, especially with CPD? Even sane white folks know this. There are mostly good apples, but some bad ones, and we don't need to be a part of any dragnet.
- YuriNiyazov 10y agoHere's my honest opinion on how I read your latest statement: "Racism is institutionalized in Chicago by CPD, so the correct thing to do is to follow the procedures established by the racist institution because otherwise I am going to be ensnared in the dragnet."
- cpher 10y agoYuri, after seeing these comments, we're going to have to agree to disagree. I'm not sorry for being angry, but I'm sorry for getting personal. I'm sure you're needing some help with something local to your community, unless you want to start a thread of how to help kids on the south side of Chicago get into this community.
- YuriNiyazov 10y agoApology accepted, as well as the agreement to disagree as well. FWIW, I've lived in some very choice parts of Oakland and Brooklyn throughout my life, so I am familiar with the environment, and the need for safety. The hard work in normalizing relations is exactly that: giving people that set off your spidey sense an opportunity for honest work.
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- dang 10y agoWe detached this subthread from https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11655027 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11655027 and marked it off-topic. Your comment wasn't off-topic per se but it threw the thread that way. The personal attacks were bad but you already know that. The racial comments are a problem because whether you mean them that way or not, people are certain to read them as slurs. It's hard to conceive of a comment like yours not throwing an HN thread off the rails.
- cpher 10y agothank you, well explained.