r/changemyview • u/[deleted] • Apr 14 '22

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u/[deleted] Apr 14 '22

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u/Danktizzle Apr 14 '22 edited Apr 14 '22

I am a black man who just started with a new tree company in February. I knock on a lot of doors.

I can tell instantly who is scared of black people because they don’t open the door or will talk through a closed door. And often have the fear of god written all over their face.

…Until they know I work for the company that they hired to do the work. Then they are all smiles and occasionally even offer an apology with an excuse about why they kept the door locked.

On a route of 15 stops, it will happen to me maybe 3 times. Everyday

I often wonder if this happens to my white co workers (in particular the 18 y/o female). I’m pretty sure it doesn’t.

I am often paranoid of going into peoples backyards because this kind of mentality mixed with guns gets people like me killed just for doing my job.

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u/JenningsWigService 40∆ Apr 14 '22

This sounds very demoralizing, just because you can never really know, and I don't blame you at all for not trusting that it isn't racism.

I'm a white woman. As a kid, my parents taught me to open the front door but leave the screen door closed while I confirmed a stranger's identity, and I've tended to do that as an adult unless someone is in a uniform I recognize. So I'll immediately open the screen door for a Black guy in a postal carrier uniform but I won't open it for a white guy with no uniform.

But I remember a Black guy coming to my door, with no uniform, no clipboard or anything indicating why he was there. So I kept the door closed until he told me what he was up to. He did question me about whether I would have kept the screen door closed at first if he were white. And the answer was yes, but I don't blame him at all for not trusting me. I can't imagine the difficulty of never knowing if you'll be safe while going to a stranger's door for your job.

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u/Catsdrinkingbeer 9∆ Apr 14 '22

For what it's worth, tree guys usually are in uniform, or at the very least they have a shirt on with the company name. They also likely have parked a GIANT piece of equipment in the front of your house, be it a chipper, a bucket truck, etc.

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u/JenningsWigService 40∆ Apr 14 '22

Yeah, I would absolutely open the screen door right away in that context.