back to article Dear racist Airbnb host, we've enrolled you in an Asian American studies course

An Airbnb host who cancelled a guest's booking at the last minute because she was Asian has been fined $5,000 and told to attend a course on Asian American studies. Tami Barker owns a mountain cabin in Big Bear, California, northeast of Los Angeles, and it was booked by law clerk Dyne Suh for a skiing weekend back in February …

  1. Will Godfrey Silver badge
    Happy

    I call that a result

    What kind of idiot makes comments like that when in the rental business - lucky to get away with still having a roof over their own house!

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: I call that a result

      What kind of idiot makes a comment like that...

      1. dougdaslug1

        Re: I call that a result

        She sure shouldn't of used the foreigner remark for sure but I don't automatically believe she's racist, people boil over and say things they would take backi, after all she was willing to take remedial courses whether to lessen a harsher penalty, Ill give her good faith on that but, If someones going to come to my place of residence and not understand that they are guests I would have no problem telling them they're not welcome no matter how far or where they're from.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: I call that a result

          She shouldn' HAVE used.

          Ffs, children dont make that error.

          Then you go on to to use correctly use "have" further in your statement. "Have" and "of" are not interchangable.

        2. P. Lee

          Re: I call that a result

          Was the cancellation behaviour-based, or based on some inherent physical attribute of the guest?

          The late stage of the cancellation seems to indicate the former. Airbnb is meant to be cheap and simple. That lowers the bar for, "this isn't worth it."

          I wonder what the defendant's view of Asians is now? Not just fussy but litigious too? Will she welcome them with open arms after her reeducation?

          Meh, speculation without information is fun, but only useful at a theoretical level.

    2. Mark 110

      Re: I call that a result

      Yep - got what was deserved. Well, for that kind of behaviour they should have lost the property. Just nationalise it. Might make them think a little harder about being racist next time.

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: I call that a result

      "What kind of idiot makes comments like that when in the rental business"

      In America they still have free speech. The punishment wasn't so much for the comments (which are not illegal there) as for the discrimination. The comments just helped prove it was discrimination...

      1. gandalfcn Silver badge

        Re: I call that a result

        "In America they still have free speech" I think you misunderstand what free speech is, it doesn't mean licence to abuse people or be racist, which so many Septics and quire a few Brits seem to think.

        It arises from freedom to criticise the government of the day but has been hijacked to mean an excuse to be obnoxious.

        1. Stuart21551

          Re: I call that a result

          Yes - it is absolutely NOT 'freedom from responsibility' for what is said.

        2. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: I call that a result

          ""In America they still have free speech" I think you misunderstand what free speech is, it doesn't mean licence to abuse people or be racist "

          Yes it does. Any limitations like that and it's no longer free speech by definition. The USA manages just fine without such restrictions.

    4. Stevie

      Re: I call that a result

      And yet I got roundly downvoted when I suggested a similar dimwit shaming for the moron who let a Bad Guy change details of an AT&T cotomer account without requiring proper credentials.

      Go figger.

    5. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: I call that a result

      lucky to get away with still having a roof over their own house!

      Even for racism that is harsh, nay, idiotic, because it would have the opposite effect.

      Now there is a fine and mandatory creation of clue via education, but if you take the house away, you have created a still ignorant but now dangerously fanatic racist because that person is not going to lay the blame by themselves.

    6. werdsmith Silver badge

      Half the Story

      Stupid of the host to act like that and inexcusable, got what she deserved etc, but....

      This is one sided reporting. First of all Barker accepted the booking knowing who the guest would be, from her name, profile etc.

      Then there were frequent polite comms where the booking was changed, renegotiated. Two extra guests were added. Then the guest asked to bring a small dog, and the host said no because they have a pitbull in the house. Guest persisted and eventually the hosts agreed to remove their own dog from the house to accommodate the dog.

      Messages on the day of arrival have been withheld by the guest (?? hmmm) but relationship broke down and became hostile, with the guest delaying arrival until 2AM-3AM. The host lost patience.

      Some people haven't realised that an airBnB booking is not for a Howard Johnson, you are actually going to be a guest in someone's home.

      So I think the reason they cancelled is because the guest really did mess them about, but still really stupid to use those words in doing so.

      They had the opportunity to refuse the booking long before, and didn't, then went out of their way to accommodate the guests. Of course, nobody is interested in that.

      1. PatientOne

        Re: Half the Story

        You missed out that there was also a disagreement over how much would be paid to cover the extra costs: Apparently it ended at $50 extra - and then more changes were demanded.

        Adding in the extra detail does change perception of the incident. Barker was still wrong for the abusive response, but now it might be evident as to how it got to that point and, perhaps, how such incidents might be avoided in future: Better guidelines and support for the hosts so they have someone to ask if things start going sour.

  2. Chris G

    Contrition

    Only applies to people who get caught, Barker's willingness to comply with her sentence is only to avoid more trouble.

    If she had not been outed she would still be discriminating against all who don't fit her idea of 'not foreign'.

    Other than human, non of our genes can be said to be of any pure race, racism is not only a crime it is crass ignorance.

    1. tfewster
      Facepalm

      Re: Contrition

      Strange - "Barker" doesn't sound like a Native American name, and they're the only ones who can legitimately claim to be "not foreign"

      1. Blake St. Claire

        Re: Contrition

        > Strange - "Barker" doesn't sound like a Native American name, and they're the only

        > ones who can legitimately claim to be "not foreign"

        Gotta wonder what you're smoking. Even the so called Native Americans came to the Americas from somewhere else.

        Hence why I like the Canadian term "First Nations."

        1. Stuart21551

          Re: Contrition

          Trudeau as POTUS?

          Sounds good to me ;-)

      2. TomG
        Thumb Down

        Re: Contrition

        "Native Americans" are not native either. They migrated from Russia/China through Alaska.

        1. Phil W

          Re: Contrition

          ""Native Americans" are not native either. They migrated from Russia/China through Alaska."

          They were however the first humans to settle there, which short of evolving there in the first place is about as native as it gets.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Other than human, non of our genes can be said to be of any pure race

      I have some bad news for you, Chris.

      Significant fractions of modern humans' genome has been contributed through cross-breeding with Neanderthals and Denisovans. Both are different species from ours.

      We are all mongrels, so live with it.

      1. Chris G

        Re: Other than human, non of our genes can be said to be of any pure race

        Ac, that was exactly my point, we are all mongrels. A good, thing , the wider the gene pool the more opportunity for good outcomes rather than producing banjo players.

        Apologies for my discrimination toward banjo players!

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Other than human, non of our genes can be said to be of any pure race

        Significant fractions of modern humans' genome has been contributed through cross-breeding with Neanderthals and Denisovans.

        Judging by Trump there has been a somewhat uneven distribution of genes then :)

      3. CrazyOldCatMan Silver badge

        Re: Other than human, non of our genes can be said to be of any pure race

        Significant fractions of modern humans' genome has been contributed through cross-breeding with Neanderthals and Denisovans. Both are different species from ours.

        I hate to break it to you, but part of the definition of species is that two members of the same species can generate viable, fertile offspring.

        By that measure, the two groups mentioned (and they must have had viable, fertile offpring for the genome to mix with H. Sapiens) can't be a separate species..

        Separate sub-species sharing significant ancestry with H. Sapiens - yes. But not an entirely separate species.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Other than human, non of our genes can be said to be of any pure race

          I hate to break it to you, but part of the definition of species is that two members of the same species can generate viable, fertile offspring.

          Actually, no, this is not how species is usually defined in modern biology.

          I am just too lazy to type up the definition from a textbook, so I'll copy-paste the substantially identical text from the Wikipedia article on species:

          Mayr's biological species concept

          Ernst Mayr proposed the widely used Biological Species Concept.

          Main article: Biological Species Concept

          Most modern textbooks use Ernst Mayr's definition, known as the Biological Species Concept. It is also called a reproductive or isolation concept. This defines a species as groups of actually or potentially interbreeding natural populations, which are reproductively isolated from other such groups".[23]

          It can be argued that this definition is a natural consequence of the effect of sexual reproduction on the dynamics of natural selection.[24][25][26][27] Mayr's definition excludes unusual or artificial matings that result from deliberate human action, or occur only in captivity, or that involve animals capable of mating but that do not normally do so in the wild.[23]

          Many other definitions of species exist as well.

          In any event, the definition of species boundary is rarely clear-cut, especially for the evolutionary closely-related organisms. In the case of the Homo genus, some authors consider Neanderthals and Denisovans to be species; others are more inclined to call them sub-species. Molecular biology evidence seems to suggest that both are sufficiently genetically distinct from modern humans to qualify as separate species.

    3. SundogUK Silver badge

      Re: Contrition

      "Other than human, non of our genes can be said to be of any pure race"

      That is simply untrue.

  3. willi0000000

    racism is a social construct and has no basis in biology . . . there is no "white" gene!

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      What about gene wilder?

      1. John Brown (no body) Silver badge

        "What about gene wilder?"

        He can't jump!

      2. Captain Hogwash
        Alien

        Also Gene Roddenberry?

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Gene Hackman

          Gene Kelly

          Gene Pitney

          Funnily enough there are no famous black Gene's.

          1. Captain Hogwash

            Re: no famous black Gene's.

            You didn't look hard enough. American sport and music provide particularly rich pickings.

    2. MondoMan

      The basis in biology is not what you think...

      It's in our brains -- our brains are wired to classify people into groups of "us" vs "them". It doesn't have to be skin color -- it could just as easily be motorcycle gear and a pompadour marking you as a Rocker.

      1. Throatwarbler Mangrove Silver badge
        Trollface

        Re: The basis in biology is not what you think...

        Sounds like the kind of thing a damn dirty Mod would say!

        1. Pompous Git Silver badge

          Re: The basis in biology is not what you think...

          "Sounds like the kind of thing a damn dirty Mod would say!"
          As one does while suffering from Quadrophenia...

      2. Tim Seventh
        Linux

        Re: The basis in biology is not what you think...

        I gave an upvote, but it is closer basis in psychology. Damn human behavior. If we were penguins or other pack animals, at least we would naturally work together to find food and stick together to survive winters.

        icon, because penguin.

    3. goldcd

      Racism is a social construct

      but it's pretty easy to work out 'race' from your genes...(or at least where in the world your last few hundred generations of ancestors have been hanging out).

      1. CrazyOldCatMan Silver badge

        Re: Racism is a social construct

        but it's pretty easy to work out 'race' from your genes

        Haplogroup != "race".. especially as there are considerable variations within what people consider a "race" - a "white British" person might well belong to a completely separate haplogroup from the "white British" person next to them) and the genetic markers.

    4. phuzz Silver badge

      Err, your skin colour is very much affected by your genes, all of which affect how, and how much, melanin is produced by your skin cells. It's worth noting that people with lighter skin, have ineffective, or faulty versions which cause their skin not to develop as much melanin as our (very distant) ancestors once did. It's hypothesised that although this leaves people more at risk of sun burn and skin cancers, it does allow them to produce more vitamin D in the lower levels of sunlight in the northern hemisphere.

      Although, of course, the other large factor is how much time you spend in the sun, even I can get a respectable tan if I spend a lot of time outside in the sun and I'm pasty as fsck.

      1. CrazyOldCatMan Silver badge

        t's hypothesised that although this leaves people more at risk of sun burn and skin cancers, it does allow them to produce more vitamin D in the lower levels of sunlight in the northern hemisphere.

        In other words - it's an adaption to local conditions that allowed people who posessed that mutation to thrive in lower sunlight levels.

        Noting mysterious or special about it.

    5. CrazyOldCatMan Silver badge

      there is no "white" gene!

      Out of interest (and not wishing to give ammunition to the racist morons), is the expression of the melanin-producing gene epigenetic? Otherwise, there would have to be observable differences in the genome to account for the difference in expression.

      (And I'm fully in agreement - the differences between the 'races'[1] is a matter of culture and upbringing, not base genetics)

      [1] As you can see - I think that word isn't really meaningful..

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    "I will not allow this country to be told what to do by foreigners."

    "It's why we have <insert name of third generation German-American here>,"

    1. Notas Badoff

      Short-term memory

      How many Americans know the ancestry of even their grandparents, much less great-grandparents?

      For every single -ish or -ism trying to get to America in the past there were people actively opposing their ancestors. Every single religion, regionalism, language, or 'look', there were Americans hating them.

      Why has this been forgotten?

      Or... is it being 'celebrated'? :-((

      We're the Benighted States of Unawareica!

      1. MondoMan

        Re: not EVERY single regionlism or language

        I've never seen or heard of anyone on the US west coast complain about Australians -- we're even taking on their lingo!

        1. Pompous Git Silver badge

          Re: not EVERY single regionlism or language

          "I've never seen or heard of anyone on the US west coast complain about Australians -- we're even taking on their lingo!"
          Thieving bastards!

        2. jgarry

          Re: not EVERY single regionlism or language

          Well, here's two guys: http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/Attacker-Gets-Light-Sentence-in-Fire-Pit-Beating.html

          The discrimination rules are different if you are renting out a room in your house: http://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/landlordbook/discrimination.shtml

          And yes, Big Bear is 100 miles east of LA. If you go west from the LA airport area, you'll be in the ocean. Big Bear even has the Time Bandit pirate ship: http://www.bigbearboating.com/pirate_ship.html

        3. John Brown (no body) Silver badge
          Trollface

          Re: not EVERY single regionlism or language

          "we're even taking on their lingo!"

          ...and asserting copyright on it since no one else bothered to!

      2. hplasm
        Coat

        Re: Short-term memory

        "How many Americans know the ancestry of even their grandparents, much less great-grandparents?"

        Default 90% Irish 10% Cherokee, isn't it?

    2. John Brown (no body) Silver badge

      "insert name of third generation German-American here"

      I must admit to being puzzled by the number of times I hear Americans refer to that sort of thing. Are they all ghettoised and stick with "their own"? Surely by the 3rd generation they are likely be even more mongrelised than their immigrant forebears in terms of mixed heritage.

      One set of great grand parents were Irish. Another set were English but of French descent. Does that make me Irish-English, French-English or, as I prefer, just English (or British, or European (for now) as I choose)

      1. Mark 85

        One set of great grand parents were Irish. Another set were English but of French descent. Does that make me Irish-English, French-English or, as I prefer, just English (or British, or European (for now) as I choose)

        As my father used to say: "What it makes you is American. We're all of the Heinz 57 breed."*

        *I and many others of my generation understand the reference to "Heinz 57". I'll leave it as an exercise for the reader to fathom its meaning. A good place to start is "mongrel" .

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          As my father used to say: "What it makes you is American. We're all of the Heinz 57 breed."

          Does that mean it's dangerous to smoke in your vicinity?

          :)

          1. werdsmith Silver badge

            It's that really strange thing that American written Wikipedia articles have on famous people:

            "<insert name> has Scottish, French, German, Greek, Italian, Russian, Norwegian and native American ancestry on his mother's side,...."

            FFS, that just means American.

            I am Irish and English, but I have both passports to prove it plus a home and extended family in both countries and a parent from each.

        2. John Brown (no body) Silver badge
          Thumb Up

          *I and many others of my generation understand the reference to "Heinz 57"

          FYI, Heinz have been a name brand in the UK for very long time too, and also used the "57 varieties" slogan. It's not unusual to hear a mongrel dog have it's "breed" described "Heinz 57", or just "Heinz"

      2. CrazyOldCatMan Silver badge
        Coat

        Another set were English but of French descent.

        Are you constantly at war with yourself?

        Mine's the one with the Battlefield Guide to Agincourt and Crecy in the pocket..

  5. GotThumbs
    Facepalm

    Well that was stupid.

    Trump would NOT support that. No intelligent person would.

    SInce it's California, I suppose she may have snapped, but it's no excuse.

    Really ,she should be kicked off of the Airbnb site all together IMO.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Well that was stupid.

      Like everything else completely reprehensible that has been done or said by his 'base', he won't verbally support, no, but he'll once again simply not comment. I have little evidence of whether he is a "good man", but he's great at the "do nothing" part.

    2. Throatwarbler Mangrove Silver badge
      FAIL

      Re: Well that was stupid.

      "Trump would NOT support that. No intelligent person would."

      Let's just contemplate the contradiction between these two statements.

      "SInce it's California, I suppose she may have snapped,"

      WTF is that supposed to mean?

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Well that was stupid.

      "Really ,she should be kicked off of the Airbnb site all together IMO."

      She was.

      1. John Brown (no body) Silver badge

        Re: Well that was stupid.

        Yes., but she seems to have received quite a number of other "punishments" too. I'm guessing the fine might have been significantly higher otherwise and each of the "punishment" will effectively cost her in both time and money instead of large one-off payment.

  6. PacketPusher
    Headmaster

    Where is Big Bear?

    Do you mean east of Los Angeles?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Where is Big Bear?

      > Do you mean east of Los Angeles?

      Depends how long you go.

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    There's a small segment of Trump supporters

    Who think that "Trump won" excuses all sorts of uncivil behavior, or worse. Of course 99% of them were acting like that before he won, and will continue to act like that after he's gone...

    1. uncommon_sense
      Stop

      Re: There's a small segment of Trump supporters

      It's called Patriotism and "Being a good citizen"!

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: There's a small segment of Trump supporters

      It's not just Trump / USA, we Brits are equally have our racist dickheads who feel they can now kick off because of brexit.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: There's a small segment of Trump supporters

        Those types can be entertaining when their primitive brains haven't worked out that Brexit doesn't mean that black/asian/British born people with funny names won't instantly be deported. What they actually thought was in the Brexit plan and who they thought it would affect boggles the mind.

        I only hope that no violence ensues when it finally dawns on them that not only won't Brexit affect the local Polish population, it also won't let them get rid of Indians - and will probably reduce their employment prospects at the same time!

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: There's a small segment of Trump supporters

          " it also won't let them get rid of Indians"

          On the contrary, Priti Patel- a right-wing Tory whose family comes from an Indian background via Uganda- has been using Brexit as an excuse to let *more* people from the Indian subcontinent under the spurious pretext that Britain is "closer" to India then Europe because it was once part of the Empire. (#)

          So, basically, we have someone from a South Asian background hypocritically exploiting the anti-immigrant, xenophobia-driven sentiments of Brexit as an excuse to let more people from South Asia in to the United Kingdom? (Apparently quite a number of people from South Asian backgrounds voted "Leave" for the same ethnically self-serving reason).

          I wonder how many Little Englanders would approve of that if they'd actually been paying attention rather than voting leave as a cutting-off-their-nose-to-spite-their-face "f**k you" to the establishment. The same Tory establishment whose hard-right agenda they played into.

          I'll have no sympathy with anyone from the former group if- having tried to exploit the fire of xenophobia- they get burned (though unfortunately many people who weren't dicks like them will still get caught up in the consequences).

          And I'll have no sympathy with the latter ignorant f**ks who didn't pay attention- or rather, didn't care- who or what they were voting for.

          (#) While we're at it, Britain's arrogance and self-delusion in thinking that its Commonwealth (read: ex-empire) ties will put it in a friendly position of power when discussing trade terms with India has been compared to that of a school bully attending a reunion 20 years later. One who doesn't realise things have moved on, who doesn't realise the *others* are now the ones in the position of power, and who is going to get a very rude awakening.

          1. dncnvncd

            Re: There's a small segment of Trump supporters

            You do realize that England had an open entry policy until early in the 20th century. Then WWI and Germans were excluded. The anti-German fervor was so great that Lord Montbatten's family changed their name from Battenberg to Montbatten. Brexit was about Britain being essentially governed by the EU Parliament rather than their own.

  8. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge
    Big Brother

    It's called fascism, I mean "progressivism".

    An Airbnb host who cancelled a guest's booking at the last minute because she was Asian has been fined $5,000 and told to attend a course on Asian American studies.

    Yup, reeducation camp. Can't have you have an opinion that is contrary to The Only Allowed Opinion You Can Have, Ever.

    War is Peace.

    Conformity Is Strength.

    Obama was the Saviour and We Don't Deserve Him.

    Trust The Reeducation!

    1. InNY

      Re: It's called fascism, I mean "progressivism".

      Um? Err?

      Read your comment a couple of times.

      Maybe it's me, maybe it's you.

      But apart from its obvious glee at ignorance and an implication of reverence for racism, it is quite devoid of humanity or empathy. Nor does it make any sense; in the traditional, logical, humanly understandable sense that is.

      It's not, by any chance, a subtle attempt at humour is it?

    2. Shugyosha
      FAIL

      Re: It's called fascism, I mean "progressivism".

      She's allowed to have that opinion. She can complete the course and still have that opinion. What she can't do is act on it to discriminate against someone.

      I realise you're going for a clumsy 1984 analogy, but from the various Orwell works I've read, I don't think he was rallying for the protection of racists.

      1. Ramazan

        Re: What she can't do is act on it to discriminate against someone.

        Really? She can legally buy a gun and [illegally] kill every Asian she can aim on. Probably it will end exactly this way someday.

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: It's called fascism, I mean "progressivism".

      It's called acting on hate, I mean "not being nice".

      You can have your opinion like 4chan, but acting upon it based on dislike X / hate is essentially hate crime (just like the ISIS hating westerners). Marking it as discrimination is already a lighter definition in this case when his comment defined his hatred.

    4. Justin Case

      Re: It's called fascism, I mean "progressivism".

      I'm with DAM here. The let's "re-educate" everybody until their opinions fall into the Venn diagram of acceptability is kind of scary. Got to have all the unwashed conforming to the latest group think, no room for dissent.

      Surely the equitable way of dealing with this would be under contract law? She'd already promised to let out the property and was reneging on that agreement.

      1. Shugyosha

        Re: It's called fascism, I mean "progressivism".

        @Justin Case

        I see that argument, but she's not being 're-educated' for the opinion; she's being re-educated for acting on that opinion, in contravention to the law.

        I don't really see it as much different to a drunk driver being forced to undergo an alcohol awareness course.

        She could hold as many racist opinions as she wanted, no matter how abhorrent, and she wouldn't have been forced into 're-education' - until she broke the law. It wasn't a thought crime, it was an actual crime that tipped the boat.

      2. InNY

        Re: Re: It's called fascism, I mean "progressivism".

        You are okay with the active and destructive discrimination scores of people, of all colours, shapes, sizes, appearance, orientation, income level or capability, mental health status or capability, physical ability and so on, experience everyday because they don't fit into one of your boxes, defining what constitutes "normal"?

        What happens when you are the target of this discrimination you appear to admire? I assume it will be fine, because after all, there is "no room for dissent".

  9. Winkypop Silver badge

    Trump's rules

    Should of grabbed her by the pussy.

    ITS A JOKE OK?

    1. KjetilS

      Re: Trump's rules

      Should have

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Just to throw into the mix,

    Americans refer to Orientals as "Asians".

    Whereas here, in blighty, an Asian would typically be somebody from Pakistan (or similar).

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Just to throw into the mix,

      Indeed; the British use of the term is generally synonymous with "South Asian", i.e. those from or around the Indian subcontinent.

      The American meaning appears to be essentially synonymous with what was once stereotypically "oriental" (a term now considered somewhat offensive)- i.e. essentially "East Asia" and much of "South-East Asia"- as far as I can tell.

      Both are equally misleading uses of a term that *should* cover the whole continent, but nonetheless both common and different, so it's important to bear this in mind whether you're an American reading a UK source or vice versa.

  11. William 3 Bronze badge

    Law Clerk named Suh?

    If she has a child, call it Will, and ensure it becomes a lawyer.

  12. gandalfcn Silver badge

    Real Racism

    Apparently, that well known promoter of truth and harmony, Alex Jones, managed to work out the "Asian" female was totally to blame.

  13. evilhippo

    Odious behaviour, for sure. But that should not trump Freedom of Association. The state should not be involved in forcing people to do business with other people. However as AirBnB can set their own T&C, it should be perfectly fine for them to kick out anyone violating their T&C.

    1. disgruntled yank

      Freedom of Association

      Your freedom of association encounters limits under US law when you offer to exchange goods or services for money. You may if you wish argue that this is a bad thing, but it is the law.

  14. DrM
    WTF?

    Lie!

    "Either way, the case is an ideal opportunity for the authorities to flag that people may want to reconsider making money from renting out their rooms or properties if they are racist."

    Or they may want to consider being honest. She should have simply said the plumbing broke.

    We must accept other cultures and their belief systems – and if you believe differently then you’ll have to change. She is a bad person for thinking someone is a bad person, her lack of acceptance was not acceptable.

    1. SundogUK Silver badge

      Re: Lie!

      "We must accept other cultures and their belief systems"

      So you're a big fan of female genital mutilation then?

  15. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Asian

    I'm still not sure what 'kind' of Asian they meant. Of course if people stopped caring what race others were, this would not be a problem.

    1. dncnvncd

      Re: Asian

      It was probably Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Thai, Laotian and possibly Myanmar(Burmese). The animosity might stem from the state of California giving preference to Asian students in college admittance to their state university system when it is heavily subsidized by California taxpayers. Many of California college's alumni kids have to seek their college education elsewhere. And it is not because of scholastic differences.

      1. Fector

        Re: Asian

        Actually Asian students are not given preference. They are actually discriminated against not only in favor of traditionally low achieving minorities like Blacks and Latinos but also Whites in the State of California. They are similar to Jews in this respect and are the most vocal opponents of Affirmative Action.

        1. dncnvncd

          Re: Asian

          You are probably talking about native Californians of Asian descent. California was actively recruiting Chinese students. Low achieving whites, guess that means unacceptable S

          AT, ACT scores, is a new one on me. Yes, high achieving Asian American citizens were discriminated against by the California college system.

          1. Raj

            Re: Asian

            They aren't recruiting Chinese students . They're appealing to international students, who pay full fees . The Chinese just happen to be the biggest segment of that . Local Chinese and Indian students aren't at an advantage . Quite the opposite . They face academic standards far higher than whites, much less the less performing minorities like the Hispanics and Blacks .

  16. dncnvncd

    Racist laws trump other laws

    I have no sympathy with anyone renting their houses through AirBnB or any other company. Home rental is in violation of zoning laws, tax laws, insurance laws, and health laws. As recently noted by the Toronto(Canada)mayor, it has greatly exacerbated a housing shortage in Toronto. Courts have routinely brushed aside neighbors complaints about AirBnB. Many are from housing subdivisions with restrictive covenants that even governs flower plantings, fence placements, etc.. NYC has problems with people renting out rent-controlled apartments for daily rates through AirBnB. But racism, Oh Lordy, Lordy! The Courts must act and the full weight of the government must be felt! I'll admit the Asian discrimination in California intrigues me as to the source of the hostility. In general it goes back to the days of the "yellow peril". Renting your home to anyone doesn't seem particularly smart since you haven't a clue what it will be used for. Love tryst, drug dealing, identity theft, etc.,etc.. But why would anyone with any prejudices even consider it?

  17. Fector

    Whites Stop Whining

    Barker was fined not because she discriminated but because she discriminated while engaging in a certain class of public activities where discrimination is illegal. If she offered the accommodation without monetary compensation through her private network, she could discriminate anyway she wanted. Her racist comments are not illegal by themselves but may be grounds for lawful termination of employment.

    Stop crying as if your "White people" were vastly wronged by reverse-discrimination.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Whites Stop Whining

      The reported facts suggest that Barker did not discriminate and is not "racist", but lost her temper after being messed around and consequently insulted the customers in a particular way which, in the USA, results in an over-the-top punishment. What she should do is get some practice at other ways of insulting people. Then in future she'll be able to let off steam without the whole world attacking her because she said "Jehovah", or whatever.

      1. Fector

        Re: Whites Stop Whining

        "The reported facts suggest that Barker did not discriminate..."

        But here in the US, government agencies are smart enough to notice discrimination when someone openly declares so.

        Read the full story, Barker had agreed to accept 2 additional guests and 2 dogs for 50 additional dollars. She even corrected the amount to 50 dollars when Suh appeared to understand it as 50 per person and 2 x50=100 additional fee. Barker simply could have refused to allow dogs or additional guests. Even if she refused at the last minute, the penalty would be minimal, like <100 dollars and perhaps warning from Airbnb but she had to mouth off why she is refusing the guests and she has to pay 5000 dollars to the good government of California.

  18. ratzorizzo69

    Airbnb is not racist. The title is as misleading as the story here. Facts are the guest tried to overbook (sneak in other guests) on one of the busiest weekends of the year even though she booked a different amount. Tried to pull a fast one, and even made a video of it, as if she was under so much stress. Wow, what an actor. Only in LA. YES the host is an idiot/racist, and yes you DON'T EVER make comments like that when you are renting your house out. That's all Airbnb is. A business.

    1. Fector

      "Airbnb is not racist. The title is as misleading as the story here."

      The title says "(the) Airbnb ->host<- is racist", not Airbnb.

      If you don't know the difference, you are not smart enough to make any kind of judgement.

      Or maybe you should take ESL lessons from your fellow racist Barker to improve your ESL gibberish.

      1. RonWheeler

        Strangley,

        the >< didn't show up on my display. Must be the browser playing up....

        1. Fector

          Re: Strangley,

          The title says "racist Airbnb host ...". That means the host - Tammy Barker - is racist, not Airbnb. "host" is the term that was deleted on your browser because arrowheads are Java symbols, I think.

  19. Jtom

    Just to play devil's advocate, since no one else has that I have seen:

    Many of you know of the brouhaha that has been caused by Brits traveling to Spain, then filing suits for food poisoning against the resort after returning home. Before they started being successful cracking down on the scam, the resorts considered refusing to accept vacationers from the UK, just out of self-preservation. If they had, would they then be considered racist (yes, I know, it would be more 'nationalist' than racist, but the word racist would attach, anyway)?

    Different groups exibit different attributes, cultural, of course, not genetic. People of certain countries are quite often labeled; French are rude; Brits have bland food; Americans are fat; etc.

    We do not have any back-story on this. Suppose many Asians make unendless demands and cause constant problems as this one did, and this homeowner had suffered in the past. Would that not make the situation more like that of the Spanish resorts wanting to rid themselves of all Brits because of the high number who tried to scam them? This would not be racism, but a revolt against a cultural attribute that was detrimental to running a successful business.

    1. Fector

      The US is an immigrant country and has a higher standard with respect to racial equality as they should.

      And it goes both ways. Many East Asian landlords get into trouble because they are not familiar with the US laws. They often want to rent their buildings only to those from the same country etc. In fact if given choice many would choose to strike down these housing laws; they won't mind being discriminated a little if they can discriminate back.

      There are many variations of this. In NYC all stores should have signs that contain English so that everyone has access to the store, not just a particular ethnicity.

  20. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    What a coincidence

    Airbnb and Uber, the two companies that have decimated traditional rip off business, with their disruptive technology and commonsense approach are the two companies it's fashionable to hate...

  21. Gravis Ultrasound

    Reading the headline, my head was spinning: This author writes about something non-trump related...oh wait, the guy mentioned Trump...yeah Great Scoop Kboy... a non-IT negative Trump story!

    #RESIST #RESIST #RESIST!!!!!!!!!!!"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    this is just like the Nazi occupation man,

    #RESIST #RESIST#RESIST

  22. patrickstar

    I don't understand anti-discrimination laws. Why would you want to give money to someone who hates you, to the point where you force them to receive it by law?

    Wouldn't it just be easier to cut a check straight to The Daily Stormer if you want to support racism that bad?

    In this case there seems to be some issues of contract etc due to the cancelling on such short notice (which you certainly wouldn't need anti-discrimination laws to enforce), but in other cases...

    And, uhm, shouldn't private property rights be considered just a tad more important than someone's right not to be offended? Especially when it's about someone staying at your home...

  23. Fector

    Yeah, it was too much to expect you guys understand any of this as your country even went to war to sell more opium. You are morally defunct as a nation. You always have been and always will be.

    And all that aggressive money grabbing got you nowhere. Your GDP per capita PPP is about the same as that of South Korea where Suh was born.

    1. patrickstar

      Do you realize the sheer hilarity of using an argument that discriminates towards people based on their country of origin to ... argue for laws against discrimination towards people based on their country of origin?

      Nobody is guilty of anything based on the perceived sins of their ancestors. Is that a really hard concept to apply?

      Or do you think it only apply to non-whites? There's certainly no lack of historical immoral behavior from various Asian nations, after all...

      PS. I'm not from the US...

      PS/2. Reading up a bit on this case, apparently there was no discrimination whatsoever involved, just some harsh words when the guest appeared demanding things outside the original agreement. Considering name and photo are shown on AirBnB, any rejection of a guest based on race would have happened much earlier.

      Not that any of this makes any anti-discrimination or affirmitive action legislation any less morally bankrupt, but still...

      1. Fector

        According to you, the US should not have apologized to and made compensation to Japanese Americans for internment during WWII. Because that comes from today's taxpayers while the deeds were carried out by generations most of whom died already.

        There is a world of difference between holding individuals responsible for the actions of predecessors and acknowledging collective responsibility especially if the crimes of the past resulted in a definitive and long lasting economic legacy that benefited the perpetrators of the crime and their brazen descendants such as you who are devoid of any decent human qualities such as a sense of justice, respect for humanity and ,most of all, simply an ability to feel shame and remorse.

        Your argument is too convenient for a country that was the most aggressive and vilest imperialist in all human history; a country that even went to war to sell drugs, a country that encouraged cannibalism because you considered Africans to be monkeys.(Oh you don't know this tale of British explorers in South Africa, do you?) It is all too convenient since British soccer fans are the worst in the world and FIFA regularly punish Brits collectively. According to you this should not be done because not all British soccer fans engaged in riots.

        Tammy Barker accepted Suh initially because at the time it was not completely certain that her cabin would be rented for the weekend. That does not mean she is not racist. Not all racists are as committed as Ku Klus Klan or you.

        1. patrickstar

          Your argument is a complete non-sequitur. And full of ad hominems too, if we're gonna go heavy on the Latin.

          Was this AirBnB host involved in any way in interning Japanese during WWII? No.

          Was this Asian guest interned during WWII? No.

          Thus it's completely irrelevant to whether the guest has any claim to the property of the host.

          Are you trying to argue for some sort of collective racial guilt?

          That has a history of turning ugly pretty quickly...

          What about all the war crimes committed by the Japanese during WWII, by the way? Do all Japanese alive today also share in the guilt for that, or does this collective guilt thing only apply to whites?

          And let me get this straight. She first accepted the guest, well knowing that the person in question was Asian. After that, and a lot of back and forth with the guest, she had a sudden flash of "non-committed racism"?

          You do realize this starts to sound a lot like you made up your mind as soon as you heard "non-white person is angry at white person, mean words were exchanged" and are now grabbing at everything to support your pre-conceived idea that this was some horrible evil racist hate crime?

          Following your argument for collective guilt of a whole group for the historical actions of individuals, shouldn't blacks in the US start paying reparations to whites because of their overrepresentation as a group when it comes to crime in general and black-on-white crime (significantly more common than the other way around) in particular? See where your argument goes once you actually stop and think about it?

          (N.B. I don't think they should, since I don't subscribe to ideas of collective guilt.)

          PS. I'm still not from the US. I also happen to be from a country without any of the colonial history you mention. Not that any of that is in any way relevant to the validity of the argument. Or relevant for making anti-discrimination laws any less wrong.

          PS/2. If we're bringing up African colonial history and slave trade, when are Arabs going to start paying reparations to the US for the - once significant - slave trade in white Americans? The first (post-independence) war of the US was to stop this after all - it's not some minor historical glitch...

POST COMMENT House rules

Not a member of The Register? Create a new account here.

  • Enter your comment

  • Add an icon

Anonymous cowards cannot choose their icon