August 30, 2020

I just encountered a perfect example of white privilege in real life, here in Madison, Wisconsin.

Today, I saw a UW University cop confronting a young white guy who had a bike on the trail in the Lakeshore Nature Preserve — where there are no bikes allowed. The guy had become really confrontational — in the style of a person who viewed the police as illegitimate — but then, and at one point, he said: "This is an $8,000 fucking mountain bike — do you think I have a warrant due?"

88 comments:

alanc709 said...

That's not white privilege, that's typical liberal elitism.

Ken B said...

Sorry, no evidence of specifically *white* privilege. Rich, entitled, upper caste privilege certainly.

Michael said...

Well, once you let word get around that you can sass the police without consequence, all the cool kids want to play.

JML said...

Biking Lives Matter!

Meade said...

Titanium bike frame privilege.

Birkel said...

Impound the bike.
Cite him.
Wish him a good day.

Bill, Republic of Texas said...

How is that a story of white privilege? We need way more details. Did the cop tuck-tail and apologize to a white man because he has an $8,000 bike?

How is getting stopped by a cop for an invalid warrant white privilege? Or how is getting stopped by a cop for a valid warrant white privilege?

Or do you think cops don't take attitude from anyone but white males? Try watching Cops or LivePD.

Gusty Winds said...

If he's riding an $8000 bike in Madison, he's a Democrat. The WORST kind of white privilege.

LilyBart said...

Probably a lefty.

CWJ said...

WOW! just WOW!

West Texas Intermediate Crude said...

Outcome A:
Cop appropriately thinks that this kid needs to be taught a lesson. Confiscates the $8K bike, gives the kid a citation, maybe disorderly conduct if it goes further. No white privilege.

Outcome B: Cop thinks to himself, "Fortunately, this kid is white. I can do what I think is correct without being accused of racism, sexism, or any other -ism." Confiscates the $8K bike, gives the kid a citation, maybe disorderly conduct if it goes further. No white privilege.

Outcome C: Gives the kid what he deserves- a wood shampoo.

Outcome D: Gives the kid an undeserved break, lets him off with a warning. White privilege.

Odds are 3:1 against white privilege.

Wa St Blogger said...

That's not white privilege, that's rich privilege. White privilege would be if the cop harassed the black guy with the $8,000 bike and left the white guy with the banana-seat huffy alone.

Nick said...

Why are you assuming only white folks have $8000 bikes?

Capitol Report New Mexico said...

Seems to me this is an economic and class matter, not a race matter. The biker has (or had) enough to spend on the fancy bike so he thinks he is Joe Cool Biker and the cop should bow to him. I just don't see what the biker's skin color has to do with his arrogant obnoxiousness and his bank balance.

Amadeus 48 said...

Ain’t no white about it. Was the cop black?

Rude is rude. I don’t know about any outstanding warrants, but I see citations in his future.

Capitol Report New Mexico said...

Seems to me this is an economic and class matter, not a race matter. The biker has (or had) enough to spend on the fancy bike so he thinks he is Joe Cool Biker and the cop should bow to him. I just don't see what the biker's skin color has to do with his arrogant obnoxiousness and his bank balance.

Jon Ericson said...

Titanium huh? What's that buy you? 2 pounds?
He could buy a lot of soap for his mouth for that.

Freeman Hunt said...

Wouldn't that be wealth privilege?

CWJ said...

But regarding white privilege, it's only privilege if the cop doesn't ticket him, while ticketing poc's. Otherwise, he's just an asshole.

We have bike lanes and multi use paths galore near our house, but only one pure walking path. Our dog is not a fan of bicycles racing past her so I take her to the walking trail. You would not believe the attitude we get when I politely (yes politely) inform cyclists that they are not allowed on this trail.

JML said...

BLM! Biker Lives Matter!

CWJ said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
JMW Turner said...

Actually, this little ditty spells "Fucking entitled moron with more dollars than cents..."
Actually, humankind of all races, colors, cultures, and religions, et cetera is infested with types like him. We will endure, nevertheless.

gbarto said...

That's class privilege.

Anonymous said...

As always, zero evidence that this had anything to do with the dude being white.

Try again.

Flat Tire said...

Then what happened?

Original Mike said...

White privilege? Would you act like that? I wouldn't. First off, I would have obeyed the rules. And if I didn't and got called on it, I would have been apologetic.

Fubar.N.Wass said...

Should have arrested the guy and seized the bike as evidence.

Since there is limited space in the evidence locker, run the bike through a trash compactor to make it smaller.

When returning the bike after the fine is paid, charge the owner storage costs.

Aught Severn said...

I have to admit, I don't see how this interaction implies privilege based on race. Changing the race of the scofflaw does not change the story in any significant way.

Harsh Pencil said...

Hook him, book him, cook him. *Now*!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQ7RB3fQAA0

rcocean said...

Ah, yes the Yuppie asshole who thinks the rules don't apply to him. I always turn into a male Karen when I'm around them. And why does any bike cost $8,000?

Doug said...

How do white people derive so much privilege from just not breaking the law? That's not fair, is it?

Ampersand said...

Wealth always breeds entitlement, whatever the race.

I'm Full of Soup said...

Was is John Kerry reporting for duty?

Rory said...

They want us to think privilege is:

50% white privilege
30% male privilege
10% hetero privilege
9% ethnic, religious, etc. privilege
1% privilege privilege (money and connections)

Privilege is actually:

99% privilege privilege (money and connections)
1% all other privilege

This is how it's been in every social grouping since man started walking upright.

wild chicken said...

do you think I have a warrant due?"

So, what did that mean?

mikee said...

Impound the bike, let the biker walk home and get his expensive, but illegally used, bike out of the impound lot when it opens Monday. And hope nobody takes it to pieces in the meantime.

Laughing Fox said...

So what did the cop do????? Dying to know.

CWJ said...

"This is an $8,000 fucking mountain bike"

LOL, then take it out west. How steep is the lakeshore nature trail.

Harsh Pencil said...

Spousal privilege: Meade gets his comments published right way. (NTTIAWWT).

mockturtle said...

Nothing to do with 'white privilege'. Everything to do with the arrogance of many cyclists.

Hubert the Infant said...

What makes that white privilege? How about Big Ten privilege? Back in my graduate school days at the University of Michigan, I found the undergrads there far more elitist than the students with whom I had come into contact at Yale or Harvard. That was true across the board: white, black, Native American. Granted that was a long time ago, but I doubt things have changed for the better in left-wing college towns like Madison.

bagoh20 said...

He has a point, but it has nothing to do with being white. Blacks say the same shit when they get pulled over in a high-end car.

I tried it one time. I said "Would a guy with two full six packs of Zima AND a full bottle of Ripple have a damn warrant?" I said, "I'm a stone cold player, man. I don't run from cops. I pay them off."

He said: "Thank you sir, have a nice evening."

Damn straight!

Tommy Duncan said...

When I was in college we were able to find creative ways to deal with people like this biker. Have you ever seen a Ford Mustang convertible (with the optional roof pour hole) that was filled with water on a -20 degree night?

Revenge is a dish best served cold (in more ways than one).

Doug said...

And why does any bike cost $8,000?

Some don't. Some cost 15 grand.

bagoh20 said...

If it was a black guy, the cop would have said: "Where did you get the bike?" No black guy is gonna buy an $8,000 bike unless it has a sound system and wet bar. Paying $8k for a bicycle is a white disease, only cured through bankruptcy.

Ann Althouse said...

"Sorry, no evidence of specifically *white* privilege. Rich, entitled, upper caste privilege certainly."

You will have to stay after school for remedial Critical Race Theory.

Where did you come from? The 20th Century?

Ann Althouse said...

"Wouldn't that be wealth privilege?"

"That's class privilege."

Oh, dear... Critical Race Theory detention hall is crowding up!

Sam L. said...

Cop to white guy: Then CERTAINLY you can pay the fine to get it back from our cop shop.

Freeman Hunt said...

"Oh, dear... Critical Race Theory detention hall is crowding up!"

Ha! No kidding. I think I've been stuck there ever since my mother and I had an argument about it when I was a teenager.

Freeman Hunt said...

"This is an $8,000 fucking mountain bike — do you think I have a warrant due?"

Answer: "I don't know. Is it stolen?"

rcocean said...

White privilege protected this guy from going to jail or suffering any consequences for breaking the law/rules and mouthing off to the police. Because of his WP, he felt perfectly safe to sneer at the cop and talk about how expensive his bike was. A black man could never do that without being shot at least 7 times in the back, or at least having the police run his $8,000 bike through the system to determine if it was stolen. Remember the professor who was arrested in his doorway after a bike ride. It was because he was black. A white professor could've picked his lock in broad daylight and the police would've said nothing. Because of white privilege.

Rosalyn C. said...

Yeah, it was definitely a racist remark. As in "I'm not some black man with warrants. I'm white don't bother me." What difference does it make if he has warrants anyway? I hope the guy was written up for tresspass and basic stupidity.

On the other hand, if an obviously affluent black man were riding an $8K bike on the trail would he have been stopped? I say, probably not. The cop figures not worth the hassle, this guy might be a lawyer and I'll be accused of racism or brutality if I say the wrong thing.

Ambrose said...

I would have thought for $8000 you could have your own mountain.

cf said...

uh oh, sounds like if I comment i will find myself in critical race theory detention, too!
Meanwhile, in the REAL WORLD outside the Leftie Detention Hall, "the 100th launched rocket by @SpaceX went off perfectly. Carrying Argentina's #SAOCOM1B satellite on the first ever polar orbit launch for SpaceX from the Cape!"
A fourth use and perfect landing of Falcon9.
Huzzah.
Like I always say, #GoldenAge acomin, could be, might be, as long as Lying @NPR Lefties don't screw everything up.

Cheryl said...

Please, please tell me he got ticketed. What a jerk. Definitely an example of white privilege. The problem with white privilege is that the only people I hear about using it are assholes anyway.

Goetz von Berlichingen said...

Ann Althouse said:
"Sorry, no evidence of specifically *white* privilege. Rich, entitled, upper caste privilege certainly."

You will have to stay after school for remedial Critical Race Theory.

Where did you come from? The 20th Century?
--------------------------------------------------------
It is a lovely thing to see this from Althouse. I don't think she'd have said this six years ago.

It's like she is now in bloom.

Still got plenty of thorns, she does.

Joe Smith said...

Sounds like a Trustafarian, and a world-class asshole.

As far as Critical Race Theory goes, it's impossible to refute: Heads you're a racist, tails you're also a racist.

Bunkypotatohead said...

Just one more reason to defund the police.

JaimeRoberto said...

If I were a cop I'd have considered shooting him for an attitude like that. I guess the fact that the cop didn't shoot him is evidence of white privilege.

MikeD said...

No video, no audio? This is CNN/MSNBC quality news.

MadisonMan said...

Bikers in Madison are the worst. And so many are 10 pounds of sugar in a five-pound sack, if you know what I mean. The Police should have said they had a report it was stolen, and it's being impounded.

Big Mike said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Big Mike said...

@Althouse, nothing personal, but if you try to stuff me into a Critical Race Theory detention center, I will get violent.

I am in favor of dis-accreditation for every college and university that teaches Critical Race Theory. As a start. A very modest start.

Mark said...

That's not white privilege, that's typical liberal elitism.

ONCE AGAIN! HOW MANY TIMES MUST IT BE POINTED OUT???

You folks rushing to defend the white progressive just don't get it, do you?

It is precisely the elite white progressive that reeks of white privilege. They are the embodiment of it. They flout their entitlement daily. And their whiteness has a lot to do with it, including tell Black people how they should live and how they, white folks, live themselves.

stevew said...

There is a shoreline walk nearby where I live. Bicycles and dogs are not allowed - very well communicated at all the entrances. Mrs. stevew and I were out for a walk on this path one day recently and there was a guy (overweight and waddling) walking with a woman and a couple of late teen kids, and a small dog. As we passed I pointed at the dog and said, "dogs aren't allowed here" (call me Karen if you will but I'm not a dog guy). He responded, yelled really, "Yeah, well this one is. Mind your own fucking business!". Mrs. stevew laughed, as did I, then I turned to him, extended my arms to the side and raised them with my palms facing up and shrugged. No further exchanges were had; we were long gone anyway.

People suck.

Ann Althouse said...

I have video. I’m just respectful of the privacy of the person who embarrassed himself.

The cops have it on video. They wore body cams.

tommyesq said...

Need more info. Was the cop asking about warrants or threareninh arrest for what is, ultimately, a minor offense? Don't assume the police are always correct and proportional, how ever much fun it might be, and always (ALWAYS) be suspect of a video or an eyewitness event that starts with the outrageous act or statement without the lead-up.

Joe Smith said...

"And so many are 10 pounds of sugar in a five-pound sack, if you know what I mean.

I'm not as young as I used to be and live in an area with a lot of bike riders, many older than me.

Sometimes I think it would be a good thing to do to stay in shape, mix things up from my usual walking routine.

But almost every damn one of these people are in terrible shape...a lot of flab being held in by stretch lycra.

And don't get me started on the shoes with the cleats...septuagenarians clacking around on the coffee-house tile floors like penguins walking on hot coals.

0_0 said...

There is no such thing as "white privilege".
There does exist an absence of prejudice based on the actions of others who look like you, but individually this is usually quickly overcome.

Original Mike said...

I'm guessing 30 y.o. participation-trophy generation.

Bob Boyd said...

"This is an $8,000 fucking mountain bike — do you think I have a warrant due?"

Translation: Do you think Dad would buy me a bike like this if I hadn't been a good boy?

Ann Althouse said...

That Lycra stuff is not mountain biking gear. Mountain biking clothes are baggy.

Ann Althouse said...

You can have flat pedals on your mountain bike and the shoes for that are not “clacking.”

walter said...

I just hope all were wearing coffee filters.

gilbar said...

Professor Althouse said...
You will have to stay after school for remedial Critical Race Theory.
Where did you come from? The 20th Century?


sounds like sarcasm? I thought we were told the other day that sarcasm was bad?
by You?

gilbar said...

"This is an $8,000 fucking mountain bike — do you think I have a warrant due?"

Translation: Do you think Dad would buy me a bike like this if I hadn't been a good boy?



Translation: Do you think Dad would buy me a bike like this if he couldn't afford Excellent lawyers?
fify!

BudBrown said...

Cops nowadays run a check on everyone so the checks aren't determined by underlying biases.
Couple years ago I took some trash to the dumpster and noticed the market cart been there for 2 weeks and decided I'd push it the 2 blocks to the store. Could go main road on a sidewalk where a cop might notice or the residential road with no sidewalk where'd it make a racket.
No big deal main rode. Right before the store cop passes, pulls a u-turn and stops beside curb on busy road creating a minor hazard had me a bit concerned. And he does the full routine which had me totally annoyed. Dont I look like a law abiding citizen doing a good deed for the community? I'd recently read some blog post about when you're required to produce your license so when he got around to asking for mine I kindly pointed out that wasn't necessary. That was a mistake. As he pointed out I was in possession of a cart off premises which could indicate a felony violation. After a while he lets me go, the 5 yards to the store parking lot. A while later I noticed a woman pushing a cart across the road. She had the baby in the cart baby seat and was holding a toddlers hand as they slowly crossed the road. I'm thinking where's a cop when you need one.

GingerBeer said...

Ann, Were you protecting the privacy of the person who embarrassed themselves in PUBLIC, or cautiously avoiding retaliation from a Wokzi mob?

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

L O L

Heartless Aztec said...

At a certain level it costs that much money for pro gear. No shame there. Attempting to use it as leverage is poor form. If he's got $8K to outfit his kit he has enough money to pay the stupid ticket. What he doesn't have is any class. He might also think about buying a pair of big boy pants and pulling them up.

DanTheMan said...

Yes, the bike guy was definitely asserting white privilege. The message was:
"The police are not allowed to stop *me*. I'm white guy with an $8K bike, not some black guy with warrants".

He's also an asshole.

Joe Smith said...

@Althouse

'You can have flat pedals on your mountain bike and the shoes for that are not “clacking.”'

Around these here parts it is all road cycling. But I am old enough to remember when my fancy road bike had toe-clips.

"That Lycra stuff is not mountain biking gear. Mountain biking clothes are baggy."

If I looked like I did forty years ago I wouldn't even own a shirt. These days I prefer 'baggy.' : )

SweatBee said...

A couple of months ago there was a story being shared around by my Facebook friends to "help" the white people understand about their privilege where a professor was stopped by the police because an old lady had been robbed or something by a black man in a dark puffer jacket and the police said he "fit the description." The old lady was fetched, confirmed he wasn't the guy, so they let him go on his merry way. The end. He seemed to think he had been unfairly racially profiled because the cops should have known that *his* dark puffer jacket was an expensive brand and therefore he obviously wouldn't have been out robbing people. He might as well have said, "This is a Herno; you think I have warrants due?"

h said...

Perhaps the biker said, while the policeman was radioing to see if there were any outstanding warrants: "...Do you think I have a warrant, dude?" That's the way young people speak, and would make more sense in the context. (Sorry if others note this between the time I search for "dude" in the comments, and the time I hit "publish".)

TheThinMan said...

As they say at Instapundit, if you’re hearing racist dog whistles all the time, you’re the dog.

Bob Smith said...

Now that’s privilege. Almost as intimidating as “Do you know who my father is?”

Banjo said...

Must be a Libertarian above the laws he disagrees with.

Greg The Class Traitor said...

"This is an $8,000 fucking mountain bike — do you think I have a warrant due?"

Yes, I do

Because you strike me as the sort of entitled jerk who thinks he's above the law, and taht paying fines is for the little people