This article thinks Airbnb has a race problem.
But that’s just opinion. And everyone in the msm wants to call a company racist.
Let’s clarify something: Airbnb is not responsible for individual people’s biases, including racism.
So when a neighbor of a renter on their platform is racist and calls the cops on a couple, that’s not Airbnb’s fault, jurisdiction or problem. That’s something we have to deal with in the racist mind of that woman who called the cops on them.
And until we have thought police (hopefully never), we can’t force someone to think in unbiased ways. We should push more acceptance and tolerance, but we can’t change people’s thoughts. The cops being dismissive as soon as they appear on scene would help – and confronting the woman (or whoever) making the call to the cops when they see a person of color in their neighborhood.
We should not set the precedent where we hold a tech company liable for the actions of an individual in the real world, especially one not employed by them. This is dangerous territory.
This should be opening a dialogue: why do people automatically assume the worst of someone of color and call the cops when nothing has happened? Not roasting a company for creating an incredible platform that allows sharing of assets with people around the world.
Their goal and mission are admirable. In theory, the platform would make the world smaller and create more understanding by getting to know people from all over the world. Apparently, in some cases though, it just gets the cops called on people of color faster for making an appearance in a rich white neighborhood.
Again, this is not Airbnb’s problem to solve. They don’t have mind control powers (probably). They can’t fix racism. Nobody should be boycotting Airbnb because there’s a racist woman in Maryland.
That’s what this situation boils down to. Should Airbnb have responded to their customer faster? Yes. Should Airbnb be handling a case of a racist woman calling the cops on a couple who used their platform? Not really. Other than to defend the couple to the cops by proving they were in fact renting a place in the neighborhood.
Let’s not get carried away with this whole lambasting companies/groups for the ridiculous actions of one person.