Racism at Calgary Bars?

[Phaneuf3]

actually if you read my posts earlier in the thread, yes i did discuss this. read posts re: my stereo.
i'm not saying a problem doesn't exist in fact i quite clearly said this does happen and its a problem. i'm pointing out related problems and aspects of the situation that also exist that had not been brought up.

[KevanGuy]

Take it easy with the name calling and swearing guys. Anymore and people will be sitting in the corner for a while.

[Mr.Coffee]

Holy cow.. this thread went pretty wild.

Calgary Desi brings up some VERY valid points however. I'm white and I've seen it quite a bit.

One point Phaneuf has however is that at nightclubs in calgary, they do treat pretty much everybody fairly poorly. Racism obviously is an issue, but like somebody else said, why go to a place where they rip you off and treat you like garbage? Example..quick story..

One night I went to Coyotes with about 10 other people recently. I walked into their stupid little doorway and went and paid my ridiculously overpriced $7 cover. I kept the change because I dont think that somebody who extends there arm and takes my money and puts it in a cash register warrants a tip- and the girl working the register stared at my blankly...I went to move inside and the bouncer told me to pay my cover. Keep in mind I was the ONLY customer in the little room. I told him I did. He just looked at the girl and she looked at me, smiles, and says "no I dont think you did yet". So i responded something like "yeah well sit on it and twirl" and left abruptly. Then we went to a new location... purposely selected in that we knew the evil overlord Vickers didn't own it.

I hate Pennylane. Evil.


Oh yeah. Anyways. Yeah racism is prevalent. I'd put my money on Pennylane Entertainment as a MAJOR culprit.

[CalgaryDesi]

Let's put it this way:

Would it be ok to NOT allow anyone over a certain weight into a club because of safety reasons?

Would it be ok to NOT allow anyone over a certain height into a club because of safety reasons?

Would it be ok to NOT allow anyone with disabilities into a club?

The answer to all of these questions is NO. Skin shouldn't be any different.

Ultimately, racial profiling does more harm than good. Businesses lose customers, lose their reputation. The city loses it's reputation. The customers are disgusted. All for what?

Club/bar owners who deny minorities in the club based on SECURITY reasons are ridiculous...considering almost all of them have no security checks, metal scanners, etc. for patrons entering the establishment

[Phaneuf3]

Originally Posted by JiriHrdina

If you don't mind I'd like to hear about these experiences. Clearly you are a victim and I'd like to hear your tale of woe.

examples of my harrowing tales of woe:
i take some computer corses at the university. i get descriminated by several peers and in one case a ta because i'm white and i clearly am not as qualified and as smart as my asain classmates. i've been denied help by that certain ta on several occasions - other white students had the same problem with this ta. i just wait for one of the asian or brown students to come up with the same issue and listen in on the answer.

i've been stopped and searched by cops before when walking to the train after the bar simply because i came from a heavy metal concert.

again these are not huge deals but in my opinion are examples on par with not getting into the club on friday night which is what was being discussed in this thread.

[Phaneuf3]

Originally Posted by CalgaryDesi

Let's put it this way:

Would it be ok to NOT allow anyone over a certain weight into a club because of safety reasons?

Would it be ok to NOT allow anyone over a certain height into a club because of safety reasons?

Would it be ok to NOT allow anyone with disabilities into a club?

The answer to all of these questions is NO. Skin shouldn't be any different.

Ultimately, racial profiling does more harm than good. Businesses lose customers, lose their reputation. The city loses it's reputation. The customers are disgusted. All for what?

Club/bar owners who deny minorities in the club based on SECURITY reasons are ridiculous...considering almost all of them have no security checks, metal scanners, etc. for patrons entering the establishment

i was trying to start discussion on why this happens but that was quickly shut down for soem reason... that aside...
i don't think they're really hurting from their practices. everyone knows that if you go to a club you're going to get treated like dirt no matter what your skin color. maybe a little worse depending on your skin color, how you're dressed, etc but i still see suckers lined up around the block to get into cowboys, etc whenever i walk by.

the main reason why i think they do it:
because they can.

[JiriHrdina]

Originally Posted by Phaneuf3

examples of my harrowing tales of woe:
i take some computer corses at the university. i get descriminated by several peers and in one case a ta because i'm white and i clearly am not as qualified and as smart as my asain classmates. i've been denied help by that certain ta on several occasions - other white students had the same problem with this ta. i just wait for one of the asian or brown students to come up with the same issue and listen in on the answer.

i've been stopped and searched by cops before when walking to the train after the bar simply because i came from a heavy metal concert.

again these are not huge deals but in my opinion are examples on par with not getting into the club on friday night which is what was being discussed in this thread.

Well perhaps though the difference is situations involving a racist person (which yours appear to be) v. situations dealing with a racist policy? I would say the latter is more disturbing though neither is right.

On the whole though I would maintain that if you're white you probably suffer less racism than if you are not white. Would you agree?

[Calgary Flames]

I'm a honky. Honkity honk honk!

[Phaneuf3]

Originally Posted by JiriHrdina

Well perhaps though the difference is situations involving a racist person (which yours appear to be) v. situations dealing with a racist policy? I would say the latter is more disturbing though neither is right.

On the whole though I would maintain that if you're white you probably suffer less racism than if you are not white. Would you agree?

i would agree with that. i was just calling for some sanity in understanding that in certain situations you are more likely to get descriminated against and only go into those (if they're avoidable) if you're willing to accept the risk as they'll always be bad apples in every group.
for example:
if you're a man, don't take women's studies classes if you can't take a little man bashing.
same goes for white people taking computer science
or brown people who regularaly go to cowboys
or white people who go to the palace (i never went there but i had heard some stories from when it was still open)

and lets get a little perspective here, this racism we're discussing is EXTREMELY minor. just to cover myself from future flames - racism is not minor, it is a big deal - these examples however are fairly insignificant in the overall scheme of things.

[sketchyt]

Originally Posted by Phaneuf3

i clearly am not as qualified and as smart as my asain classmates.

That's about the only thing you've written in this thread that could be described as true.

Anyways, about your stories of horrifying and backbreaking racial woe... well, if you think those are bad then you've really got to stop the breastfeeding. It's making you weak.

I apologize in advance for the insults, but it really sounds like you should open your eyes.

[JiriHrdina]

Originally Posted by Phaneuf3

i would agree with that. i was just calling for some sanity in understanding that in certain situations you are more likely to get descriminated against and only go into those (if they're avoidable) if you're willing to accept the risk as they'll always be bad apples in every group.
for example:
if you're a man, don't take women's studies classes if you can't take a little man bashing.
same goes for white people taking computer science
or brown people who regularaly go to cowboys
or white people who go to the palace (i never went there but i had heard some stories from when it was still open)

and lets get a little perspective here, this racism we're discussing is EXTREMELY minor. just to cover myself from future flames - racism is not minor, it is a big deal - these examples however are fairly insignificant in the overall scheme of things.

Are they really minor? Seems to me that they are but a stones throw's distance from people of certain races not being allowed to sit at the lunch counter. Sorry man - not minor at all.

[theJuice]

Sad, but true.

[if.away]

I actually caught that on TV today and I have to say that one of the two dudes was dressed absolutely horrible. I’m referring to the dude with the white shirt that was about 5 sizes bigger than necessary, unzipped and untucked along with baggy jeans. I recall a bouncer saying that his clothing was unacceptable and I fully agree with it, however I won't deny the obvious the racism in the other cases.

If I had a bar, nobody dressed like that would get in.

[Phaneuf3]

if nobody is willing to budge even the slightest bit and even consider the fact that all forms of racism that have been brought up in this thread (and i hope that any one of you have experienced first hand) have been extremely minor - but all wrong none the less - when compared to most crimes or racially motivated actions then what's the point. if nobody is willing to open themselves up to the possibility that a lot of the common views on racism is rather hypocritical than i just give up.

[Table 5]

Originally Posted by CalgaryDesi

Would it be ok to NOT allow anyone over a certain weight into a club

yes.

[Reggie Dunlop]

I dunno. If I ran a nightclub, the only colour of importance would be green.

However, I do not, nor am I ever likely.

Gaining admittance into an establishment where you're treated as cattle to me is an insult anyways. It's certainly not something I would be into, even back in my club-hopping days.

My best advice would be to boycott the place. If their issue is physical appearance, it's best to avoid the place and tell others. That's Consumer Power. Go to other places and make it the place to be and tell your friends.

[KidCanada]

Originally Posted by Reggie Dunlop

My best advice would be to boycott the place. If their issue is physical appearance, it's best to avoid the place and tell others. That's Consumer Power. Go to other places and make it the place to be and tell your friends.

This is by far the best advice. However the problem is that consumer power in these instances is limited to zero. Cowboys have lines extending around the block, even if alot of people boycotted, cowboys would still do fine business.

[Reggie Dunlop]

Originally Posted by KidCanada

This is by far the best advice. However the problem is that consumer power in these instances is limited to zero. Cowboys have lines extending around the block, even if alot of people boycotted, cowboys would still do fine business.

Bah.

Trendy liquor establishments have a short shelf life.

[Pagal4321]

Well let me throw in my 2 cents...
Birthday was back in January, called up Tantra and booked some VIP package for $50 that would be me and my friends in no problem. Why did I go to such measures, well because it's tough to go out on a Friday/Saturday night for me and my buddies without trying out like 3 different clubs.
Anyways, back to this story....book this package, ask the girl if we will have any problems getting in, tell her everyone is over 21 to which she replies that is perfect we will see you then.
I go to Tantra that night, bouncer takes ONE glance at me and my 5 brown friends...sorry guys 25+.
I go on to discuss with him, that my name is on the list and I should be allowed in because I'm paying to do so.
"Nope, sorry guys, 25+"....I tell him to bring out the manager, he comes out..."Read the sign buddy, 25+"
Then I tell him, your employees take bookings and tell me I can get in no problem and you are going to sit here and refuse me entry to your club, how is it exactly that this works. I'm not a trouble maker, nor do any of my friends cause **** ina club.
"Well you people were here last week causing problems"

You people...I love that line. So obviously, because I'm brown he wasn't going to let me in, but after a bit more of a discussion with him, he finally let me and my friends in.

So there's my story...that makes it FAIRLY evident that racial profiling does exsist. And while I know alot of the disturbances in clubs are caused by brown and asians...dem white fellars(not trying to be racist) cause alot of **** too. So to not allow ANY colored people beacuse of a few bad apples is very very stupid. And these bars should implement stricter security and not participate in racial profiling.

[snappyk]

Just stop supporting any of those bars then and start going to pubs, at least you can hear eachother talk in a pub, have some wings, drink some wobbly pops and have a good time. Maybe I'm just gettng to old for the bar scene.