The Student Room Group

Why is this racist?

Can someone explain to an ignorant and priviledged white boy why this is racist?

[video]http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-34795059[/video]


I've listened to the clip a few times and I fail to hear when they use racial slurs or discrimination!
(edited 8 years ago)

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Reply 1
Australia is one of the most racist countries in the world......

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Original post by eoe
Australia is one of the most racist countries in the world......

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Is it? I'm not so sure it is one the same level as Zimbabwe and South Africa.

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They assumed the boys would steal something when they weren't planning on doing anything like that. Was it because they're school boys or was it because they're black?
If it's the former, it's not racist. If it's the latter; it's racist.
(edited 8 years ago)
Original post by eoe
Australia is one of the most racist countries in the world......



Lmao, no they're not. If anything, the most racist country is Japan. :biggrin:

Original post by The Blue Axolotl
I've listened to the clip a few times and I fail to hear when they use racial slurs or discrimination!


I have no explanation, because I don't hear anything that could mean it was racially motivated either.
Original post by The Blue Axolotl
Can someone explain to an ignorant and priviledged white boy why this is racist?


If the shop would not have asked a similar-sized group of white schoolboys to leave (as they looked as if they might steal something) then it is racist. By apologising, the shop has either (a) admitted that it would not have asked white boys to do so, or (b) not understood the implications of a pure PC apology when it, indeed, does ask white boys to leave.
It was perceived as racism because all of them were black.

It is plausible that they were kicked out of the store because the owner/manager got worried that the "gang" of black teens might steal from his/her store. This could be due to several reasons including past experiences of theft by minorities.

It is plausible that the boys thought it was racism since they were the ones kicked out from a store that probably many people their age visit each day and in groups. This could be due to several reasons including past experiences of racism.
(edited 8 years ago)
The video itself has been watched in excess of 60000 times.

I find it annoying that individuals will jump to hasty conclusions when the video only begins when the employees have approached the group.

I agree that if it were a group of white guys then possibly the employees would have 1) ignored them 2) acted in a different manner. But it's also plausible that they would have acted the same.

We don't know what caused the staff to ask them to leave.
Original post by StrawbAri
They assumed the boys would steal something when clearly they weren't planning on doing anything like that. Was it because they're school boys or was it because they're black?
If it's the former, it's not racist. If it's the latter; it's racist.


I'm not sure whether this is the case in Australia, but in some (most?) shops, the owner can prevent large groups of teenagers from entering.
Original post by The Blue Axolotl
I'm not sure whether this is the case in Australia, but in some (most?) shops, the owner can prevent large groups of teenagers from entering.

Yeah in most shops the managers try to prevent groups of teens from entering. It happens all the time in the Apple stores where I'm from.
So whether or not this was racially motivated is unknown.
Original post by StrawbAri
Yeah in most shops the managers try to prevent groups of teens from entering. It happens all the time in the Apple stores where I'm from.
So whether or not this was racially motivated is unknown.


'...In most shops' i.e corner shops. Apple doesn't do this in Westfield and neither does it do it in its flagship store in Regent Street. If they looked a bit more scruffy then you could make the argument that it's possible it wasn't a racially motivated incident, we know how people can be intimidated by a group of black guys.
Original post by StrawbAri
They assumed the boys would steal something when clearly they weren't planning on doing anything like that


How is it clear? Do you know something other than what was in the vid? Maybe they were acting suspiciously? Without knowing more context I can't see how anyone can know whether this is racism, sexism, ageism, or any -ism at all.

It's not like this case where race is clearly given as a reason:

Original post by chazwomaq
How is it clear? Do you know something other than what was in the vid? Maybe they were acting suspiciously? Without knowing more context I can't see how anyone can know whether this is racism, sexism, ageism, or any -ism at all.

It's not like this case where race is clearly given as a reason:



Maybe I shouldn't have put in "clearly"
I never said it was racist though.
Original post by StrawbAri
Maybe I shouldn't have put in "clearly"
I never said it was racist though.


Fair enough :smile:
Original post by The Blue Axolotl
Can someone explain to an ignorant and priviledged white boy why this is racist?

[video]http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-34795059[/video]


I've listened to the clip a few times and I fail to hear when they use racial slurs or discrimination!


Because they were told that they were suspicious because they might steal something, yet they are just schoolkids in their school unfiorm, going around looking at stuff, that's what every teenager does. Now (and I'm not saying you do) but you might as a white person think, 'that's happened to me in the past' and It would be fair to assume it has, but if you were in Nigeria for say, and you and your friends were the only white people in the store, looking around the centre because you were on holiday, and someone asks you to leave their store, and you ask why, and they say because we are afraid you might hack us. Now it sounds stupid to you right, and you can't say 'They're saying that because I'm white' and yet there's no logical connection, you're in the store like every other black person. Of-course then you complain, and in this case that's what happened, and that's when the security or staff working there can't logically explain why that was said to you, and why you were asked to leave the store, and that's when any reasonable person can acknowledge that, those kids have been unfairly asked to leave the store, and then have to consider what may have led to them being treated differently.

Now given how prominent stereotyping of black people is, it's not difficult to see where the connection of stealing came from
(edited 8 years ago)
Original post by Armastan
Lmao, no they're not. If anything, the most racist country is Japan. :biggrin:



I have no explanation, because I don't hear anything that could mean it was racially motivated either.


Original post by DiddyDec
Is it? I'm not so sure it is one the same level as Zimbabwe and South Africa.

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I argue that russia and saudis/emiratis are the most racist
Reply 16
I don't think more context is needed, lets not be coy, look up the word inference... Also lets decipher the coded language... "These guys are ...worried about your presence in our store"... They are not talking about a separate group, the manager clearly explained about their presence, that group, in their store...

Then he adds, "we are a bit worried that you MIGHT steal something"... So he has already place on them the intent to steal... from his words or lack of words, there is no indication that he has seen these students steal before, but for some reason... he suspects they MIGHT steal.

Also a third piece of the puzzle is the apology from Apple itself... if the manager was right to kick them out, why would Apple apologise?

They apologised because of the inference, that the group was targeted because of their race, and thought to maybe steal something also because of the factor of their race...

So... yeah... not entirely clear why the manager said what he said and did what he did, but inferences can and should be drawn.
Original post by StrawbAri
Yeah in most shops the managers try to prevent groups of teens from entering. It happens all the time in the Apple stores where I'm from.
So whether or not this was racially motivated is unknown.


It's silly how people will jump to conclusions...
Original post by vnupe


Also a third piece of the puzzle is the apology from Apple itself... if the manager was right to kick them out, why would Apple apologise?




Apologising, whether you know you've done something wrong or you think/know you haven't, is commonplace - it's actually very professional from Apple.

I sense they were forced into apologising too since the video went viral and there has been a witch hunt without knowing what really caused them to kick them out.
Reply 19
Original post by The Blue Axolotl
Apologising, whether you know you've done something wrong or you think/know you haven't, is commonplace - it's actually very professional from Apple.

I sense they were forced into apologising too since the video went viral and there has been a witch hunt without knowing what really caused them to kick them out.



You don't force a Multinational Conglomerate to apologise over something like this... if they did not believe something was wrong.

Yes the video went "viral" over 60,000 views, but again, if Apple, and by Apple I mean their employees did not overstep their boundaries, and got caught via the video, then why would they apologise.

The video causes the apology... the apology was caused by the prejudicial (inferentially) behaviour of their employee... Apple's response... get out ahead of a developing news story and apologise for this egregious behaviour

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