British humour is second to none. Love it.
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yes, that is what I was asking. Thanks.
That does sound like racism, and rather ignorant racism at that. Iām sorry you had to deal with this. I think I would also not leave a review, though Iām not sure if it is the right thing to do. But what opinions people hold donāt have any bearing on them as guests, I suppose. Within limits.
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We are all racist. It is not a āchargeā as if it is some type of crime. It is what we ALL ARE.
In this circumstance, it is interesting he waited until the last minutes before leaving to bring that up.
He knew it was our very well could be divisive with the host. I would probably admit I can be racist at times too so telling him we need to pray for one another. Then politely help him out the door, offering to take his luggage or whatever.
If he was otherwise a civil temporary tenant 99% of the time, Iād leave feedback indicating such.
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Not at all likely. I suspect itās just that it came up in conversation. These people seem to me as lacking tact and you may say, any sense, so they couldnāt have engineered this conversation; theyād be shocked to know thereās so much discussion thatās happened here about this - to them it was just normal conversation.
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As a parent, I feel it is my duty to educate my son. As a teacher, you ought to teach your pupils to tolerate other beliefs, and not to be racist. As a politician, you are obliged to pass laws to condemn racism.
But this is as far as it goes. In business, you shouldnāt do education, preach tolerance or offer political views. And in my view, Airbnb is pure business.
To sum it up, donāt mention this in your review. It would be a total abuse of trust she had in you when she gave her personal opinion before leaving your place.
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I would ignore it, reminds me of the guy who on leaving asked me how he could pray for meā¦
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Well this is a slightly different subject, but Iāve been an Airbnb host for almost five years now. Only once did a guy mention that he would pray for me, on leaving. Funnily, this happened on what was probably the worst day I had, during those five years (because of some private developments, unrelated to Airbnb) so I was really grateful for his words, on that particular day.
Sometimes, what guests mention on leaving happens for a reason ā¦
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This was totally out of the blue and I ended up doing my Goldfish impression.
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Asaire is right. I donāt think they calculated to dump some racism on me last minute. They talk this way all the time, is what I would guess if I had to.
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Yes, I agree. And Iām just forgoing the review process. I donāt need anything more to do with them.
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Iām not planning to out her in a public review, or even address it with her, itās water under the bridge. But honestly the ātotal abuse of trust she had in you when she gave her personal opinionā bit. Thats a stretch. Donāt think there is any Airbnb policy that talks about guests having such rights. Also, I didnāt give her any reason to think that she could say any āpersonal opinionā crap she wanted and she could ātrustā me to never mention it. We donāt have a relationship that supposes the kind of trust you seem to be referring to.
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I hope there is a way to block them from ever booking with you again. It might not hurt to call AIRB&B to say you feel they could be dangerous
No action is required. They will surely take care to rent future ABBs only from people they are comfortable with.
Theyāre not dangerous. Just ignorant.
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The English set a lot of Indiaās current problems in motion when they colonized the country, overturned its government, used the Indians as their indentured servants, stripped its natural resources, and left poverty in their wake. Racism becomes more complex in a colonized country, because the people are taught that bettering themselves means adopting the norms and attitudes so-called āwhite saviors.ā Some of the population internalizes that, along with racism toward darker skinned members of their own people, and even internalized racism. But, yea, the caste system pre-dates colonization, of course, and is its own form of elitism. It seems humans are always trying to one-up somebody for the sake of power and privilege. As for the corruption, I guess thatās everywhere. Canada is also a British (and French) colonial project, with some of the same impacts on its original inhabitants, the Native Americans. They call it a mosaic instead of a melting pot by way of attempting to respect the cultural differences among the people living there, since itās so diverse. The āmelting potā idea seeks unity at the expense of immigrantsā culture and history, and the āmeltingā tends to only be done by the non-white people, as they try to fit into the majority white culture. Because of that, some people consider the melting pot idea to be unintentionally, but unavoidably, racist. Brazil also tries to take a āmosaicā approach.
As for the review, Iād have to contemplate it, as youāre doing. One the one hand, you didnāt say they behaved in any racist way toward other guests, or made any racially biased comments about other guests. They shared with you why they want to move from where they live. Iāve said, in passing, that Iād like to move from my mostly white neighborhood; for me, itās about enjoying cultural diversity, not about avoiding any one ethnicity. Since you didnāt say what race the couple is, I wonder if it could have been about wanting to diversify their experiences? Just a thought (not an excuse).
Last thought: Iāve seen people with racist ideas have āawakeningā type experiences when they sat around my dinner table with other guests. My most notable experience was between a Chinese family and an Indian family, both of whom expressed attitudes about the other race. They would up sharing several meals and even going on an outing together, and from what I saw, experienced some deep change.
You were there, so you know her meaning, and if you felt she was racist, maybe write the review, as normal, and add, āI was disappointed by some racially biased comments she made, and I hope Airbnb travel raises her cultural awareness, as it has done for so many travelers.ā
EDIT: I just saw your later comments that you made up your mind to forego the review process, so disregard the above. I do think itās at least worth a private mention to them, for the sake of āchanging the world from home,ā saying that travelers on Airbnb will encounter people of all cultural backgrounds, that Airbnb promotes a value of non-racism, and that she risks bad reviews and no return visits if she makes racially biased comments with her host or other guests.
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Thank you for your thoughts, Amy. In the end I think my reactions to them at the time were enough. To send a private message via Airbnb puts it in the Airbnb archives and I think itās not necessary. Just to your point that they might be wanting to move to experience more diversity - trust me, not the case. They want to move away from immigrants. Anyways, Iām now happy with my decision, helped by all of the feedback on this forum, which I greatly appreciate.
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Hi @AmyB,
Being beaten and brutalized over centuries does create complicated inferiority complexes, though I donāt think anyone is actually taught anything. And it isnāt really an intellectual process.
I assume you are not British. British people by and large have their own set of complexes about their āEmpireā. It seems there is a substantial percentage that think the Empire was ābeneficialā or ābenevolentā. Which just goes to show the degree of delusion people are capable of. Indians are as brainwashed as anyone, but Indians donāt suffer from the delusion that the Empire was good for them.
Well, except for an uncle of mine. But heās a lunatic. He thought the British bought culture to India. Apparently invading and destroying the country was an acceptable price to pay.
And Iād be surprised if anyoneās racial attitudes changed because they shared a meal with someone at an Airbnb (or anywhere else). Itās certainly possible to change, but itās a much slower process than that, imo. Though meeting people of other cultures in a civilized social setting does not hurt.
Anyway, good post. And more substantial, and better written, than the norm.
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IMO you should have left him a good review based on how he behaved as a guest not on his opinion. Just avoid those kind of discussons. If you enter into them, then be prepared to accept what the think.
I guess you havenāt been around many bigots. They spout their opinions without any provocation.
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