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

[Stephanie]

Hiya all,

This is an incredibly sensitive subject but we are all aligned in wanting to end discrimination of every kind. To that end, please be mindful both of how you are expressing yourselves within that thought of discrimination and how you are addressing each other. 

Many thanks,

Stephanie

[Helen350]

@Garrett48 You don't know me. I have detested racism since I was a small child. And saw the ignorant trouble makers of Northern Ireland rioting night after night on TV during the so-called 'troubles'  'Troubles', my eye, just race rioting, & evil thuggery, from every single scumbag involved with no excuse for it on either side.- It aint British!

YOU are the prejudiced one ! Your comment about my character is defamatory & an  ad hominum attack... Would I have married a non-white man if I was racist? No!

YOU, and the ignorant people who thumbs upped your rants against me should not equate my abhorance of street protests, especially riots & vandalism , with condoning racism.

, 

I treat ALL people as of equal inherent value- cos they are! I welcome black guests. One of my favourite regular guests, with whom I have the best conversations is a Nigerian doctor. Great chap! Good company! 

And by the way, I have no time for Trump, I do not like him at all! Tho it would be good if he'd bring in the army to sort out the trouble makers

[Dave52]

I'll give you a thumbs up Helen350.  You are seeking common ground.  You aren't making assumptions about anothers' character.  You aren't making morality judgements about someone you don't know.  You aren't seizing on one word from someone's post and attacking them for it.  For this, you are bringing people together about what they share, not dividing them on their perceived differences.  During this time, the WORLD needs alot more people like you.  Thank you.

[Pauline326]

@Garrett48, you are spot on and couldn’t agree with more.  

[Mike-And-Helen0]

Have you been reading the daily fail, Helen?

[Robin4]

@Inna22 

Unfortunately, just at this time it is not possible to make a comment on this without being political.

But, for what it's worth, I would consider Airbnb's donation to 'Black Lives Matter' to be the same sort of strategic maneuver as Donald Trump's walk across to St John's boarded up church, holding up a bible....it's trying to make a statement! In Donald Trumps case it's designed to tell Americans that he believes Christian values are important....I would leave you to make a judgement on his motives for doing that!

In Airbnb's case it is trying to say what good community minded guys we are. Unfortunately, while being such good community minded guys they are prepared to terminate the employ of almost 2,000 staff.

It is just plain poor taste Inna and I don't support it.

Black lives do matter, but not it appears, to white society. There is a certain superiority complex that goes with being 'White'!

Since the Australian Royal Commission into black deaths in custody in 1991 there have been 424 Aboriginal deaths while in police detention. There are currently protests taking place throughout Australia condemning the over-representation of native Australians in custody. As of September 2019, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prisoners represented 28% of the total adult prisoner population, while accounting for just 3.3% of the general population. 

Change is needed, not just in America but in Australia and other countries where white colonization has taken place. But the change needs to be more than just putting your hand in your pocket and making a big deal about a donation. That doesn't change a thing, words are cheap. Back on 13 February 2008, then Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd moved a motion of Apology to all Indigenous Australians. That hasn't changed a thing, just a few days ago an Aboriginal youth was roughly handled by a police officer who has been subsequently stood down!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfZFVel7Lrk

Airbnb needs to tidy up its image by concentrating on supporting those who desperately rely on them and need their support......not on unrelated events simply to score themselves a few 'Brownie points'!!

Last year Airbnb spent just under $100 million in advertising! That would have gone a long way towards preventing those staff losses!

Cheers......Rob 

[Michelle53]

@Robin4    I thought long and hard before deciding to reply to your post.   I left and came back multiple times.  All I'm going to say is this. 

I'm appalled that you would put something Airbnb did (make a donation) and something Donald Trump did (break the US Constitution for a photo op) in the same sentence. 

I'm sorry for you if you don't understand this.

What Donald Trump did made me feel physically ill. 

One can debate what Airbnb chooses to do with its own dollars as a private company, but don't make any connection between the two things. Please. 

[Anonymous]

@Michelle53   I would not dare presume to speak for @Robin4  , but I think the substance of his actual point is completely valid even if the analogy may feel imbalanced. (For what it's worth, a rhetorical analogy does not have to be between two things that are equal in gravity and consequence in order to illustrate an underlying concept).

The immediate prelude to Trump staging his ludicrous photo op and send his message - and presumably what made you and me both feel sick about it - was inflicting physical harm on citizens peacefully exercising their constitutional rights. In this sense, the messaging of the symbol was directly contradicted the very un-Christian actions preceding it, unless it turns out that "love" in the New Testament was actually a mistranslation of an ancient word for "tear gas."

It is true that Airbnb did not tear-gas anyone or commit a grotesque human rights violation. But I can accept the perspective that the symbolism of Airbnb's gesture in making its donation was contradicted by actions such as putting 25% of its workers out of a job just as the biggest economic meltdown of their lifetimes is beginning. For reasons I described upthread, I don't share this perspective - $500,000 really is a piddling amount of money for a company on Airbnb's scale and hardly worth arguing over.

What it comes down to - and I think what Rob was trying to get across - is that real actions carry more weight than signalling and symbolic gestures. whether they come in the form of a hashtag or a donation or a photo op. You ask a lot of people in urban neighborhoods what Airbnb has actually, substantively done for their community, and most of the time you'll get an earful about rising rents, displacements, gentrification, and overtourism, not that time they wrote a check to get their brand talked about on the news.

[Susan3695]

Michelle,

Donald Trump did not break the law (Constitution) by having a picture made at the Church. This is a gross exaggeration. Just because you are a Trump hater doesn’t mean it was against the law.

Susan

[Sarah977]

@Susan3695  Please don't bring your personal attacks on other posters here. Tear gassing peaceful protesters is indeed illegal.

[Pauline326]

Well said.  The @Helen350’s of the world with all her indignation about hating violence fail to acknowledge that  America and most,  if not all of the world’s  ‘colonized’ nations were build on violence, oppression and other atrocities done to the original people of it’s lands and the people brought unwillingly as slaves.  Let’s not talk about England, for which  I was born a ‘subject’ of (POB:British a Virgin Islands) but did not have full rights because of a prejudicial stamp in my passport designed to limit my movement  Before I got rid of the darn thing... This is 2020, enough is ENOUGH!! 

[Robin4]

I am going to bid farewell to the CC, at least for the foreseeable future. There are many people around the world hurting at the moment, and I understand a lot here have had their lives turned upside down by events such as the COVID-19 pandemic and other events all beyond their control. 

I have been criticised over a few posts in the past few weeks which is a bit unjust! I have nothing to be angry about, just giving an opinion and don't think I deserve the anger of others over events I have no control over!

The attitude and feeling here on the CC is not one I have seen before in the 5 years I have been active here. 

My aim in life is not to upset people so, time to hang the hat up I think!.

Cheers.....Rob

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

@Robin4 

Have fun, enjoy and have success in whatever you do instead.

@Robin4 

Airbnb needs to tidy up its image by concentrating on supporting those who desperately rely on them and need their support......not on unrelated events simply to score themselves a few 'Brownie points'!!

Dead right! Most people call that PR Spin.

So here's some Emoji applause for your five year attempt at instigating change. And to illustrate how seriously Airbnb take this community with their attempt to flood the CC with trivia games and suchlike,  whilst leaving the serious issues unaddressed.

👏👏🏿👏🏾👏🏽👏🏼👏🏻👏🏿👏🏾👏🏽👏🏼👏🏻👏🏿👏🏾👏🏽👏🏼👏🏻👏🏿👏🏾👏🏽👏🏼👏🏻👏🏿👏🏾👏🏽👏🏼👏🏻👏🏿👏🏾👏🏽👏🏼👏🏻

[Stephanie]

Hiya @Ian-And-Anne-Marie0 ,

There is room for both critical discussion, debate and support and positive stories and games as respites. I appreciate how strongly you feel about these more negatively charged conversations on the CC but would ask you allow others to enjoy the positive elements as they please. 

Thanks,

Stephanie

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

@Stephanie 

Maybe you failed to notice that one of your long standing members - just left ?

I would be hugely appreciative if the negativity simply wasn't in existence to be honest. I like to hear about stuff going right - not wrong, or it being fixed properly rather than it being just painted over.  Meanwhile, the Emoji Game has no participation and individual members are being tagged. They'll enjoy that.