Post by High Priestess on Sept 15, 2016 5:07:40 GMT
SEe the article:
heatst.com/culture-wars/how-a-black-woman-could-be-accused-of-racism-under-airbnbs-new-anti-discrimination-policy/
I'm really really glad to see someone writing on the potential problems involved in Airbnb's new anti-discrimination policy! It just so happens that the person pointing out some of the problems with the policy is herself black...which I think helps her be taken more seriously by some in her critique.
Nahema also points out:
heatst.com/culture-wars/how-a-black-woman-could-be-accused-of-racism-under-airbnbs-new-anti-discrimination-policy/
I'm really really glad to see someone writing on the potential problems involved in Airbnb's new anti-discrimination policy! It just so happens that the person pointing out some of the problems with the policy is herself black...which I think helps her be taken more seriously by some in her critique.
But here’s the potential complication with Airbnb’s new policies: While subtle racism is still pervasive in our culture, it’d be a stretch to claim that every time a guest who self-identifies as black is denied a room, he or she is a victim of racial discrimination. And the company has yet to explain how it plans to account for that.
Nahema also points out:
One of the sections in the new report on Airbnb, conducted by civil rights lawyer Laura Murphy, states:
“While a host might articulate lawful and legitimate reasons for turning down a potential guest, it may cause that member of that community to feel unwelcome and excluded (…) Hosts who demonstrate a pattern of rejecting guests from a protected class (even while articulating legitimate reasons) undermine the strength of our community by making potential guests feel unwelcome and Airbnb may suspend hosts who have demonstrated such a pattern from the Airbnb platform.”
This clause is probably the most problematic part of the report. Nowhere does it indicate clearly how Airbnb intends to identify a “pattern” of rejection based on subjective criteria such as sex or race, if the justification provided by a host for rejecting a guest (e.g. schedule conflict) does not clearly reflect discriminatory intent.
“While a host might articulate lawful and legitimate reasons for turning down a potential guest, it may cause that member of that community to feel unwelcome and excluded (…) Hosts who demonstrate a pattern of rejecting guests from a protected class (even while articulating legitimate reasons) undermine the strength of our community by making potential guests feel unwelcome and Airbnb may suspend hosts who have demonstrated such a pattern from the Airbnb platform.”
This clause is probably the most problematic part of the report. Nowhere does it indicate clearly how Airbnb intends to identify a “pattern” of rejection based on subjective criteria such as sex or race, if the justification provided by a host for rejecting a guest (e.g. schedule conflict) does not clearly reflect discriminatory intent.