DGS49
Diamond Member
This is a sensitive subject, but what the hell, this is the place for it, right?
There are a couple recent stories out of New York that were initially reported and are now being regurgitated and commented on extensively, as an introduction to the "different" treatment of so-called "African Americans" in retail stores, and in particular high-end retail outlets.
We all know about the woman who purchased the $2,500 purse and the young man who purchased the $350 belt, both of whom were accosted by law enforcement and made to feel like criminals for nothing more than purchasing expensive stuff. And since they were "Black," they were scrutinized in the stores to a much greater extent than "White" people would have been, and presumed to be unable to purchase such extravigant items. Point taken.
But what I want to talk about is the phenomenon of Black extravigance.
I don't claim to be "typical," but we have a household annual income of around $250,000, and if my wife ever came home with a $2,500 handbag I would shoot her. And I would never even think of buying a belt for more than $100, let alone $350!
I read a few weeks ago that a Black family with a household income of between $100 and $200 thousand is five times more likely to purchase or lease a new Mercedes than a white household with a similar income. I personally would never purchase or lease a new Mercedes, although I did buy a USED one several years ago for about $15k. Obviously, not the same thing. In fact, my wife likes to purchase a nice new car every couple years, and she was very reluctant to seal the deal on her $30 thousand SUV a few months ago, thinking she might have gone overboard.
But for "middle class" Blacks, extravigant purchases are apparently not that uncommon.
There is a (self-identified Black) guy on another thread here who claims to spend $150 on dinner for himself and his wife when they go out. I don't even know anyone who would spend that much (other than on an expense account) on dinner for 2.
When I was growing up, you could go through "colored" neighborhoods in Pittsburgh and find just as many new Cadillac's and Lincoln's per household than you would see in the more prosperous white neighborhoods. You can talk all about the psychology of poverty or whatever you want, but this is stupid spending, on steroids.
If I were Black I think I would be more bothered by my fellow Black folks wasting their limited resources on flashy extravigances than whether some store clerk is watching me walking down the aisles in a downtown department store.
Whether the store clerks are justified in focusing their surveillance on Blacks is another issue altogether, but one that has two sides, to be sure.
There are a couple recent stories out of New York that were initially reported and are now being regurgitated and commented on extensively, as an introduction to the "different" treatment of so-called "African Americans" in retail stores, and in particular high-end retail outlets.
We all know about the woman who purchased the $2,500 purse and the young man who purchased the $350 belt, both of whom were accosted by law enforcement and made to feel like criminals for nothing more than purchasing expensive stuff. And since they were "Black," they were scrutinized in the stores to a much greater extent than "White" people would have been, and presumed to be unable to purchase such extravigant items. Point taken.
But what I want to talk about is the phenomenon of Black extravigance.
I don't claim to be "typical," but we have a household annual income of around $250,000, and if my wife ever came home with a $2,500 handbag I would shoot her. And I would never even think of buying a belt for more than $100, let alone $350!
I read a few weeks ago that a Black family with a household income of between $100 and $200 thousand is five times more likely to purchase or lease a new Mercedes than a white household with a similar income. I personally would never purchase or lease a new Mercedes, although I did buy a USED one several years ago for about $15k. Obviously, not the same thing. In fact, my wife likes to purchase a nice new car every couple years, and she was very reluctant to seal the deal on her $30 thousand SUV a few months ago, thinking she might have gone overboard.
But for "middle class" Blacks, extravigant purchases are apparently not that uncommon.
There is a (self-identified Black) guy on another thread here who claims to spend $150 on dinner for himself and his wife when they go out. I don't even know anyone who would spend that much (other than on an expense account) on dinner for 2.
When I was growing up, you could go through "colored" neighborhoods in Pittsburgh and find just as many new Cadillac's and Lincoln's per household than you would see in the more prosperous white neighborhoods. You can talk all about the psychology of poverty or whatever you want, but this is stupid spending, on steroids.
If I were Black I think I would be more bothered by my fellow Black folks wasting their limited resources on flashy extravigances than whether some store clerk is watching me walking down the aisles in a downtown department store.
Whether the store clerks are justified in focusing their surveillance on Blacks is another issue altogether, but one that has two sides, to be sure.
