The driver of a chauffeur service had to deal with quite unpleasant customers and did the only right thing. After he released the video of the incident, he was celebrated.
A driver of the Lyft chauffeur service – a company similar to the Uber service better known in Germany – threw passengers out of his car in Pennsylvania after they expressed relief that he was white. A dashcam video shows the conversation with the woman and her boyfriend.
James W. Bode, the Lyft rider, shared the video on Facebook. He had accepted a ride for a woman via the app, and he initially greeted her warmly. However, when she was just seated, the situation changed.
Even as she gets on, the woman says: “Oh, you’re a white guy!”
Bode answers only briefly: “How was that?”
“Are you… are you… white?” she asked back.
“Forgiveness?” Bode reacted again, shocked by the question, which he now understood.
“You’re a normal guy, you speak English,” the woman said, then apologized and patted Bode on the shoulder. “No, you can get out of the car,” Bode said. “I’m going to cancel the ride. That’s inappropriate. It’s totally inappropriate. If someone who wasn’t white sat in that seat, what would be the difference?”
Chauffeur in Pennsylvania bickered with unpleasant customers
From that point on, Bode began explaining to another man standing right next to the car what had happened and why he was canceling the ride. Bode informed the man and woman that the conversation would be captured on video. “You’re a fucking asshole. You’re a piece of shit,” the man said. “I should smack you in the damn face.”
“Are you threatening me?” asked Bode back. “You are racist assholes.”
The mutual insults go back and forth a little. Bode eventually told the man and woman he would call the police to report the threat of violence. Then the video ends.
In the days since, Bode’s encounter has gone viral on multiple social media platforms, garnering hundreds of thousands of views. Bode received thousands of comments on his video praising his actions. Police confirmed to Lehigh Valley Live that the woman featured in the video is under investigation after Bode filed a complaint against her.
Quellen: Lehigh Valley Live, Facebook-Account James W. Bode, “Phillyvoice”
