Yes, she has an issue. Her issue is that she sees a black man wearing a UPS uniform and trundling a cart full of packages down the street and she jumps to the plainly racist conclusion that he is the leading edge of a crime wave.
We could debate endlessly as to whether she has another issue, one which disinhibits her clearly racist behavior, but that is against the rules on this site, and honestly, what would be the point?
I would be interested in learning if the guy she’s harassing is still employed by UPS.
Because we’ve had a spate of these issues recently, effective immediately:
Posts that make assumptions about anyone’s mental state, race, gender, ethnicity, religious beliefs, group affiliation or sexual orientation without it being explicitly stated somewhere (either in a post or other verifiable source) will be considered inappropriate.
We as mods do not have the capacity to vet such statements. If you are going to label someone, said label requires backup.
Thanks.
Therefore, speculations on this woman regarding potential mental illness are against the Guidelines of this website and are Flaggable as Inappropriate.
I see two problems here. Obviously, she’s indulging a racist bias. On top of that, she’s appointed herself the arbitor of lawful activity.
If all she did was feel threatened by a black man, but didnt act on it, she’d still be racist, but it wouldnt necessarily be disruptive. Swinging that entitlement around to the point of confronting the guy, thats where it gets problematic.
I like to explore strange neighborhoods, I frequently get the stinkeye from those who judge me suspicious, and once in a while, these self appointed arbitors of normalcy will call the cops on me. Even though I sunburn easily, and I don’t think race is an issue with these unknown alarmists, I still think they are assholes for forcing me to talk to the PoPo before I can continue enjoying my walk.
The woman in the vid doesn’t seem “mentally ill”, as far too many people are quick to just assume when stuff like this happens.
She’s an assumptive bigot who was all too willing to use her privilege to harass and potentially endanger a Black man that deigned to occupy the same relative space as her while doing his job.
You know, though, it does occur to me – BB’s regular writers and contributors do frequently post videos of people behaving strangely or inappropriately, often implying a certain level of scorn, and often playing it for laughs (“Gentleman does X” and all that).
I’m neither staff nor a moderator (though one appears to have highlighted my post above.) A discussion about that might be good, but isn’t really on-topic here.
If she literally did not act on racist feelings, then she would absolutely not be disruptive, given the assumption that any disruptiveness – meaning action, not feelings or thought – is motivated by racism. If something in her heart literally does not affect her behavior, then it’s as if she does not have that something in her heart. “A difference that doesn’t make a difference is not a difference,” or something like that (James Blish, Spock Must Die! (1970)).
On the other hand: I am reminded of Roger Zelazny’s riff on Buddhism and intent in his excellent 1967 novel Lord of Light:
As he spoke, the beggar brushed from the table before him a red, crawling beetle, the size of a thumbnail, and he moved his sandal as if to crush it.
“Pray, brother, do not harm it,” said the monk.
“But they are all over the place, and the Masters of Karma have stated that a man cannot be made to return as an insect, and the killing of an insect is a karmically inoperative act.”
“Nevertheless,” said the monk, “all life being one, in this monastery all do practice the doctrine of ahimsa and refrain from taking life of any sort.”
“Yet,” said Aram, “Patanjali does state that it is the intention rather than the act which governs. Therefore, if I killed with love rather than malice, it would be as if I had not killed. I confess that this was not the case and that malice was present- therefore, even if I did not kill I do bear the burden of the guilt because of the presence of that intention. So I could step upon it now and be none the worse for it, according to the principle of ahimsa. Since I am a guest, however, I of course respect the practice and do not do this thing.” With this, he moved his sandal away from the insect, which stood immobile, reddish antennae pricked upward.
“Indeed, he is a scholar,” said one of the Order of Ratri.
The problematic part is having a society in which a white person feels entitled to behave like this (and, barring some rare and novel social disapproval, is justified in this belief) whereas a Black person abusing a white person in a similar situation would be facing a substantial risk of death, and a very high probability of imprisonment and enslavement.
That society is maintained by the actions of all supporters of the status quo, not just the power-tripping Debbies who wind up on Youtube.
You know who I feel bad for in that video? The guy who’s trying to do his job and is being harassed.
I mean, it’s great that his harasser has elicited so much compassion here, but maybe we should direct some of that concern towards the UPS guy. What happened to him? Does he face that kind of bullshit on a regular basis? How does that make him feel?
Her clearly telegraphed fear is stomach turning. Much worse is the probability that about a third of the country feels the way she does. Goddess save us all.
