Hacker News Reader

Comment by mileswu | Hacker News Reader

There's still racial inequality if you have to pay extra (to use Uber) to get a similar service that other races can get cheaper (normal cab).

View on HN

The article didn't say that Uber is making normal cabs unracist, just that Uber itself can't be racist, and that this gives Uber yet another market edge over normal cabs.

I can buy that to some extent, but it seems fairly common among luxury businesses: wealthy black businessmen are in many situations treated as just a "wealthy person" regardless of their race, so are insulated from many of the problems faced by the majority of non-wealthy blacks. I.e. their wealth is the most salient demographic lens people view them through. Hence why Herman Cain can claim (and might honestly believe) that racism is no longer holding anyone back.

I don't know anything about cabs, but the article makes it sound to me like we're talking about a $5 difference here. If you can afford $20 on a cab ride you can probably afford $25. We're not talking about the difference between millionaires and people living below the poverty line.

Class discrimination isn't great, but it's certainly better than race discrimination, insofar as it is possible to change your class (however difficult that may be) and not your race. It's a step.

And on that note, is it even class discrimination to sell a product/service that not everyone can afford? It sounds to me that Uber offers some extra value/convenience (for every customer) that traditional cabs don't and that will cost you a little extra.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com