Airbnb donation: should host and employee lives matter as much?

[Inna22]

It goes without saying that what happened to George Floyd is despicable and this thread is not about that. The question is: should a company that cannot meet contractual obligations to its partners (hosts of colors and backgrounds) and just laid off 1900 humans be giving a half a million dollar donation, no matter how worthy the cause is. For those not aware- Airbnb announced .5 mil dollar donation to Black lives matter

[Helen350]

No, they shouldn't imo, @Inna22 . 

- And I'm not keen on them donating to a cause so loaded & political.  

- (Murder is always wrong, racism is always wrong.)

[Reyume0]

Please tell me...what cause can they donate to fighting for the preservation of black lives that you know about that aren't so political?  before you put out an ambiguous statement like that, please offer alternatives. people are losing their lives!

[Inna22]

@Reyume0

I am not well versed in black causes. I can only go by statements an organization puts out or by their actions. Being Jewish I could offer a few options to fight antimerism. Should black leaders offer the alternatives or start them? The first one that would come to mind would be any community organization that provides after school activates for underprivileged children. It has been proven to give then upward mobility with everything that would come with that.

[Sarah977]

@Helen350 I have say, racism issues are not political issues at their core at all. They are human rights issues. The issue has been politicized, but there are many people from all political parties supporting the protests and BLM. 

[Helen350]

Agree @Sarah977 , that racism is not a political issue. It's an individual issue. It's INDIVIDUALS who are racist. BUT what is going on now in America with the rioting & violence IS political.

"Human rights" = Political!

I abhor racism, & have done since I was 5 years old, & had a black playmate in my little Oxfordshire village, where black people were almost unheard of.

But I abhor the riots & violence going on now in America just as much. I despise the "Black Lives Matter" organisation for it's attitude, yobbishness & VIOLENCE. So I'm disappointed that Airbnb have donated to terrorists.

But rest assured, as a Christian, I consider ALL lives of equal value, and personally abhor racism. (I was married to a man of a different race!) And hey! - Two of the three regulars who've given me much needed income over the lockdown have been black Africans!

[Garrett48]

 "I despise the "Black Lives Matter" organisation for it's attitude, yobbishness & VIOLENCE. So I'm disappointed that Airbnb have donated to terrorists."

Facepalm

@Helen350 it's ok to be uninformed but do yourself a favour and dont broadcast it across the internet

[Yadira22]

The Black lives matter, as explained by the organisers/founders:

« Every day, we recommit to healing ourselves and each other, and to co-creating alongside comrades, allies, and family a culture where each person feels seen, heard, and supported.

We acknowledge, respect, and celebrate differences and commonalities.

We work vigorously for freedom and justice for Black people and, by extension, all people. »

Source: https://blacklivesmatter.com/what-we-believe/

Police brutality is just the tip of this iceberg, fundamentally at its core this is about inequality, and more specifically systemic racism towards black people- including but not limited to redlining, implicit bias, unequal distribution in wealth, incarceration, education and representation (politically as well as within the cooperate business side), among many other social- economic changes that need to be addressed and bettered across all ethnic groups.  

These protests are created with the intention of being peaceful and most abide by this, unfortunately as with all protests regardless of subject matter,  violence and rioting can occur and under no circumstance is this element of it tolerated or acceptable on my end and it takes away from the initial intentions and narrative. Plus many people, businesses and communities cannot survive from such but this is not what we are discussing right now. 

And on a final note- just like the feminist movement, this is not about one “whatever” or person being better than other, at its core it’s about equality and the condoning of any social privilege. However, black lives are those which are at risk and therefore the focus point for this. Before condoning anyone and judging please educate, learn, reflect and then voice your opinion because frankly with the internet around ignorance is no longer a reasonable excuse. 

Side note: I refuse to comment my position on whether Airbnb should or should not have used this money as to not dilute the message above and have no further point to say on this matter.  Thank you and as always stay safe! 

[Helen350]

@Yadira22 

I HAVE read up on this subject - & still disagree with left wing trouble makers. (And I don't agree with feminism either!)

What you quote is a one-sided biased viewpoint from this BLM group. I disagree, but then I object to all & any street protests; I just wish everyone would stay at home out of trouble! Whatever happened to lockdown?! 

[Anonymous]

@Helen350   So you believe that you are inherently inferior to men, and unworthy of the same opportunities. And you despise trouble-making civil rights movements that rise above letter-making campaigns. You might be a wee bit too young to fully remember your own country's militant women's-suffragist struggle of the 1910s, but I assure you it was very mischievous, often impolite, frequently violent, but ultimately effective in delivering your right to participate in democracy.

In accordance with your own professed values, I truly hope you don't utilize your right to vote, as I'm not persuaded that you'd put it to good use.

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

Airbnb loves to promote the fact they support the fight against racism and discrimination.... but it seems only when it has to do with BLACK lives. 

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Airbnb-Updates/Antiracism-resources-for-the-Airbnb-community/m-p...

I wish Airbnb would stop playing politics and focus on the platform, their own employees and hosts & guests.

Completely agree with the points you made  @Inna22 @Helen350 

[Anonymous]

It seems very unlikely to me that Airbnb's execs have a special bias or favoritism toward the black community. But what they are definitely biased against is negative press. Going back to around 2014, they announced the whole anti-discrimination initiative as a means of damage control specifically because of the firestorm of bad press revolving specifically around incidents of anti-black discrimination. Although there have been heavily discussed incidents with all kinds of other identities too, none damaged Airbnb's reputation quite as severely as the prevalent perception that black guests were being disproportionately declined and cancelled on. So it makes sense to me from a tactical perspective that they'd focus some resources on appearing to be an ally to the community that they've had the most problems with on social media.

Now I certainly don't think cutting a charity check is enough to reverse the pain of anyone who has experienced racism on the platform, and I agree that they should have also more directly addressed issues such as Covid-related discrimination against Asians.  But when a huge chunk of a brand's goal is to persuade people to feel comfortable with the intimacy of sharing a home with a stranger, some social politics are inevitable.

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

As an Asian.... reading some of the posts here over the past several years has been quite amusing and at times interesting to observe. 

It's funny to see how people LOVE to talk about how they hate racism and discrimination. Many of those people wouldn't dream of saying black guests do (or don't do) this~ but at the same time they don't think it's wrong or strange to generalize make (oftentimes rude and mean) comments about Chinese/Korean/Asian people and guests while openly stating they don't like to host Asians. 

I'm no activist and I'm honestly not all that into politics. I'm a Korean living in Korea so I'm  not the right person to be talking about experiencing racism and hate and discrimination from strangers or law enforcement (in the city or neighborhood I live in) anyway. And I'll admit.... I'm sure racism/discrimination - probably different compared to the U.S. or Europe - exists in Korea too. Racism, discrimination and hate is always wrong. But I wish people would stop PRETENDING to act as if they aren't racist simply because they have expressed support for a certain hashtag.... when their words and actions clearly show otherwise. 

[Anonymous]

@Jessica-and-Henry0  It's difficult to have a constructive discussion on this topic when people conflate the prejudices of individuals (sure, everybody has them whether we realize it or not)  and the much more overwhelming crisis of systemic/institutional racism, which not everyone experiences. 

Personally, I couldn't care less whether a person privately harbors prejudiced beliefs, nor whether some old white lady had a black playmate in kindergarten or a gay hairdresser. That doesn't concern me one way or other. Like those marching in the streets in America, t's more important to me that social institutions that we depend on - including law enforcement - work the same way for everyone regardless of the private feelings of those in their employ. 

[Stephanie]

Hiya @Inna22 @Jessica-and-Henry0 @Helen350 ,

Thanks for taking the time to ask these important questions. In regards to the donations for this cause alongside other initiative we are running for hosts and others, I have the following information:

We know that people throughout the community are hurting for a lot of reasons right now. You may be facing health concerns, financial concerns, processing emotions of knowing George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery have been killed without justification or even experiencing everyday acts of racism and bigotry yourself. It is a painful and overwhelming time.

We want to offer support to people across a range of needs. Whether we’re partnering with healthcare leaders to create cleaning guidelines; issuing grants of financial aid; or acting as an ally to communities of colour, we hope to make a positive impact through a collection of actions.

I'd also like to clarify that is is $500,000 not $5 million, as explained here.

Many thanks,

Stephanie