I love this: "...inhabitants, as well, ...must get tired of looking as pink Midwesterners all day."

Everyday ethics: Was giving Latinos a discount card racist?
Sometimes race is a legitimate moral consideration.
Jeremy Iggers

May 19, 2006 – 6:27 PM


Everyday ethics: Was giving Latinos a discount card racist?


Q Recently my husband and I were at the Minnesota Zoo. Admission is not cheap ($12 per adult), but I had a card that gave us 20 percent off. As we were leaving, I thought it might be nice to hand the card to someone else to use. (There may actually be an ethical issue there -- while the card didn't explicitly prohibit transfer, I'm sure that the zoo didn't intend for multiple persons to use it in one day.) I wanted to give the card to a large group of people because it would make a bigger impact.

While we were at the zoo, my husband and I noticed that the visitors were overwhelmingly white families that appeared to be middle/upper-middle class. We discussed how it was unfortunate that the location and cost of the zoo would make it difficult for people with little means (transport, money) to go, and that the zoo needed a more ethnically and socially diverse audience.

On our way out, I noticed a group of eight young adults who appeared to be Latino, and were speaking Spanish. I thought back to when I was in my mid-20s and how broke I was and how they might appreciate saving some money. I offered them the discount card. It was happily accepted, and after we walked on, my husband told me that I was condescending and racist for giving the card to this particular group.

I never thought I would be accused of being condescending or racist, and it troubles me to think I could have offended these young adults. (It also troubles me that my husband could be so mean when he knows that I meant well, but that's another issue for another advice columnist.) The next time I find myself in a similar scenario, I'll set a more objective target (first person with a red shirt or the person at the end of the line). Your thoughts, please?

A Giving the discount card to people already in line to buy tickets probably isn't what the zoo management had in mind -- presumably they wanted the card to be an incentive for customers who weren't already planning to visit. But let's set that issue aside and consider whether you were being condescending and racist.

As you say, that certainly wasn't your intention. There is always a danger, when you make a generous gesture, that you may unintentionally offend someone, but I think that's a risk worth taking. And it doesn't sound like the recipients took offense. It's not as if you offered them spare change or used clothing.

Is it racist to treat people differently because of their race? Yes -- if you are treating people differently just because of their race; for example, if you treat them differently because you think white people or black people are better than other people.

But sometimes race is a relevant moral consideration. You thought it would be good for everybody -- and not just Latinos -- if the zoo had a more diverse clientele. (It probably benefits the zoo's permanent inhabitants, as well, who must get tired of looking at pink Midwesterners all day.)

I can imagine other reasonable reasons for offering special treatment based on race -- for example, as a gesture of welcoming at a time when there is a lot of intolerance toward immigrants.

And setting the issue of race aside, choosing a large group of young people (who typically have less disposable income) is quite consistent with the utilitarian idea of producing the greatest good for the greatest number.

Agree? Disagree? Send your comments, questions and ethical dilemmas to jiggers@startribune.com.