July 16th, 2008
The obese old woman at Fred Meyer has a bad hip and a wheelchair...8 comments
July 9th, 2008
“...I need to take a shower first and wash all of this blood off.”6 comments
July 2nd, 2008
“So I’ve got these two women in the back of my cab who just refuse to get out...”8 comments
June 25th, 2008
“My friend’s getting divorced, and he’s really drunk,” says the bartender...8 comments
June 18th, 2008
There’s nothing like a good Friday night, and I’m referring to the money.3 comments
June 11th, 2008
The old man in the karaoke bar’s parking lot insists that he doesn’t need any help...0 comments
June 4th, 2008
“What’re you up to?” asks my dispatcher.6 comments
May 28th, 2008
The middle-aged guy is working on an oil ship...3 comments
May 21st, 2008
“How you doing tonight, man?”3 comments
May 14th, 2008
As I pull into the back parking lot of Spot 79 on Southeast Foster Road...13 comments
[December 14th, 2005] "You don't want to take us just because we're black," says the teenager in the middle; his two compatriots nod assent. Goddamnit, they played the race card. It wasn't that at all. I hesitated to take them because they came from the opposite side of the street as the address on the order, which is a red flag. I didn't see them come out of a specific house—not good. They surrounded the cab all at once and started pulling on the doors in a way that was really disconcerting.
"Look, we have money." Indeed, all three of them have rolls that would choke a horse. Which is another red flag, in a way. That also makes me feel guilty, because this happens a lot. I don't think I've ever had a white passenger who felt compelled to show me his money up front without being asked—indeed, they usually take offense at being asked. That this is routine with my black passengers is rather indicative.
Anyway, now they're in the cab, and we head for Gresham. Once we get there, by unspoken accord they bolt. Normally I'd have locked the doors once rolling, but had been so discomfited by thinking about the race issue that I forgot. And you know, I sincerely doubt that any of the three teenagers would have knocked me down in the street and taken $25 from my wallet. But that is in effect exactly what they did, and I can't do a goddamn thing about it.
advertisement
You don't want to take us just because we're black
Cabbies should have a good idea on what it would cost to drive a client to a particular destination. Hell, charge them when they get in the car. that'll fix chumps like the knuckleheads you gave the ride.
—Carlos
You don't want to take us just because we're black
Race has nothing to do with it - don't pick up suspicious looking/acting teenagers!
—Jason
You don't want to take us just because we're black
My dentist now asks up front for the 50% of the cost of work he is planning to do that he knows my insurance doesn't cover. Maybe an after hours deposit is not outrageous. But, can you get away doing that with everybody? Maybe a sign, like the ones thatself-serve gas stations in other states have "Pre-Pay After Dark" would work. Sorry that those people took advantage of your fair nature.
—Rick in Nebraska
You don't want to take us just because we're black
I take it the pdx view of this theft is that it is the cabby's fault. Wrong. First it is the fault of parents who have raised pissant kids. Second it is the teenagers at fault for being street thug hustlers in the making. And third, it is the fault of every apologist in this country who lets this race card crap fall at will, usually just before or just after some affront brought on by poorly raised insults to their own ethnicity. And the cabby should never, ever not trust her own judgement again, because the results can be far worse than a ride- and- run passenger.
—john
You don't want to take us just because we're black
There is a another side to this. I am white. I used to live in New York City, where I often went to Harlem to work (I sang in a club on 138th) or to visit friends. Many times, I hailed a cab, particularly at night when I didn't want to take the subway, and when I told them where I wanted to go, they would refuse. (The usual uptown service was gypsy cabs --- if you could find one below 96th.) One time, Miles Davis had me hail him a cab because no one would stop for him.
I had a boyfriend, a piano player who lived on "Striver's Row" in Harlem, a lovely street of Stanford White brownstones. One night, I found a yellow cab (white driver) that would take me there. All was fine until I paid him. I gave him a twenty, and he refused to give me change. He was "fining" me for taking me up there. I started yelling at him (I was mad because I couldn't afford to drop $20 on a $5.75 cab ride), and my boyfriend came out and hustled me into his house, saying, "You're going to upset the neighborhood. Just forget about it." I never forgot about it.
—ladyluck
You don't want to take us just because we're black
Don't be prejudiced by the way people look, but by their actions. If more black people, latino, or whatever, screw you over more than another group of people, it's all natural to be cautious and biased. It's called odds. The odds that they they will do something that a past fare has, will be elevated. As a matter of fact, I would generally assume most people as being deadbeats until they prove otherwise. All the those teens did was reinforce your gut instinct for the next fare. Fuck'em. And fuck whoever doesn't like the way you do business. There are other cabs in town.
—VEGA








You don't want to take us just because we're black
First they complain and pull the race card and then compound it by doing a theft of services - proving that they are not trustworthy - hmmm if you are going to complain about the perception that being black is a negative thing and then you reinforce the thinking with a criminal act - don't be surprised when people think the worst.
—Kong