I haven’t had much occasion to travel long distances by car lately, so I haven’t really noticed the motel signs that say “American Owned.” Coach D posted about how she boycotted such places on her vacation:
I had adamently refused to stay anywhere that had on it’s sign “American Owned”.
Big D argued well,”What if it turns out they’re not some local dicks trying to cash in on being white in the post 9-11 south? What if they’re naturalized citizens from someplace else and they’re taking advantage of the whole ‘American owned’ movement by putting that on their sign? They are AMERICAN, right?”
“But then they’re feeding that whole line of racist thought, they’re promoting the xenophobic tourist and racist/anti-immigrant mindset. Fuck that shit. I ain’t giving them my money if they put that shit on their sign.” [Link]
This is an issue for the owner of the Route66motels.com website as well, a website designed to encourage travellers on Route 66 to stay at mom-and-pop motels, but which refuses to list any motels that say “American Owned”:
Q. So what are the standards?
A. There are three. First, no vermin. Second, it has to be clean. This means no visible dirt and no weird smells. Third, no motel advertising itself as “AMERICAN OWNED” will ever be listed on this site. Period. No exceptions.
Q. What’s wrong with saying the motel is American-owned? Isn’t that just being patriotic?
A. No. It would be patriotic to fly an American flag or put up a sign that says something like “Support our troops” or “God bless the U.S.A.” The phrase “American owned” has a racist connotation. … There is no legitimate reason to advertise one’s pedigree on a billboard or in front of a business. [Link]
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p>I had no idea this was going on, but it was easy enough to find motel signs (from delightfully cheesy motels) of places that do it. Click on the photo to be taken to the original on Flickr, it’s far larger and prettier.
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p>I’m with Coach D on this issue – I would never stay at a motel that says “American Owned and Operated” in big letters outside. If they’re non-desis, then I don’t think they really want my business – I wouldn’t expect them to treat me well. And if they’re desis, then they might not want me around lest I scare off the @$$holes they’ve attracted as clients. Either way, I imagine I would be treated poorly. Why not take my money somewhere else?
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An encounter between Coach D and one of the motel employees shows the level of ignorance and bigotry that exists out there:
“How long you worked here?”
“Five months. These Indians, man. They got everything they want from us. You know the govenment gives them free money and grants and shit so they can buy businesses?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Naw, it’s true. My boyfriends mother is from Hawaii and she got a grant from the government. Free money, shit. It’s not fair… I’m saying that Indians get to come to this country and get money that I can’t get and they get rich offa us and don’t pay me shit. Rob, my boss, is 32 and he owns this place and the Super8 next door.”
“So what. Good for him. Where do you hear this shit from? Some racist radio dick? Indians get money? Just Indians? What about Pakistanis and Sri Lankans? It’s all some government conspiracy to replace white Americans with brown folks?What about the Hondurans you got working here? They get free money too? I bet my Grandparents would like some of that free money.”
“It’s because our government has a deal with their government. I’m telling you. Check it out. ” [Link]
[That is edited down – Coach corrected her about how Hawaiians are not desis]
I suspect that the people who own the motels that say “American owned” are very much like the person Coach was talking to. When they do well, they think it’s because of talent, but when they do poorly, it’s because the deck is stacked against them.
Related posts elsewhere: What *WAS* wrong with the picture?
I don’t see what could be considered “racist” about American owned. Anyone who is an American citizen, no matter what race, color, shade, tone, tint, or ethnic background, is an American. You seem to be assuming the people will be white.
Are you thinking of Kamehameha Schools? It has a ginormous endowment that was started by a descendant of Hawaiian monarchy to benefit Native Hawaiians.
[link to PDF]
i think it was the trust that ennis linked to.
pretty sure harvard and yale are above that. but that’s a good chunk of change.
??? The comment below is from a white American who owns a website that lists motels. He clearly thinks it has a racist connotation. It is not designed to designate American citizens from non-citizens, but instead is clearly meant to say “We are white”, i.e. this is not a Gujarati owned motel:
“Customers With Purty Mouths Welcome”
only if they squeal like a pig
American Stoned-#51
If you don’t see how advertising that a business is “American Owned” is a jab at the percieved other-the “other”, being brown hoteliers and gas station owners, you need to lay off the smoke for a while. The perception by those putting up these signs is that these desis are not citizens, which they most likely are, but as percieved “non-citizens/non-Americans” should not be patronized. What happened to the coming to this country, working hard and starting over philosophy? Instead, the theme has become-don’t come here AT ALL, we don’t want to compete with you.
I’m not telling these people to take down their signs-I’m saying their sign has the opposite intended effect on me and I WON’T give them business because their sign tells me that they’re dicks. Why are they dicks? Because they’re trying to cash in on the racism/anti-immigrant bias in the US. In doing so, they inflate that racism and bias.
My conversation with the desk clerk clearly was echoing a sentiment that “Indians” are exploiting hard working Americans through their status as a favored ethnic minority. Let’s just, for a moment, put aside the fact that the owner of the motel was most likely an American citizen or on his way to becoming one. There is a perception that Indians have an unfair advantage over other Americans, white or not.
If people would read the entire post, both Ennis’s and mine, they would see that Big D and I had a conversation about the exact thing you are positing:
Anyone who is an American citizen, no matter what race, color, shade, tone, tint, or ethnic background, is an American. You seem to be assuming the people will be white.
Here is what I said on my blog, quoted by Ennis:
I had adamently refused to stay anywhere that had on it’s sign “American Ownedâ€.
Big D argued well,â€What if it turns out they’re not some local dicks trying to cash in on being white in the post 9-11 south? What if they’re naturalized citizens from someplace else and they’re taking advantage of the whole ‘American owned’ movement by putting that on their sign? They are AMERICAN, right?â€
“But then they’re feeding that whole line of racist thought, they’re promoting the xenophobic tourist and racist/anti-immigrant mindset. Fuck that shit. I ain’t giving them my money if they put that shit on their sign.†[Link]
As far as the Hawaii comments, here is the direct quote from my blog about it…
“Five months. These Indians, man. They got everything they want from us. You know the govenment gives them free money and grants and shit so they can buy businesses?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Naw, it’s true. My boyfriends mother is from Hawaii and she got a grant from the government. Free money, shit. It’s not fair.”
“Hawaii is a state, not a country. And Hawaiians aren’t from India, you got your issues mixed up. Maybe she got some grant for indigineous peoples. There are lots of grants out there if you look. I got Pell Grants in college, among others.”
“Yeah, and look at you.” She looks down at her feet when she says this.
This girl is under the misapprehension that Indians get the same grants that Native Hawaiians may be getting, simply because they are brown, or maybe she doesn’t know India is a country, different than American-Indians… or maybe she thinks that any loans minorites get must be “free money”. What’s important is I don’t think she came up with this shit by herself-it’s out there and obviously is part of why we’re seeing these “American Owned” signs being put up. She’s also under the impression that because I’m latina, THAT is why I got a Pell Grant. But that’s another story…
The link Ennis posted to Route66.com is great and Emily does a good job with her site.It’s helping me plan my next trip already. Thnaks, Ennis!
This is really unnecessary. I understand the first, fourth, and fifth alternatives, but the other “alternate signs” reinforce racist and classist ideas about poor white people in this country. Let’s not make the mistake of repeating the same kind of vitriol in our criticisms.
Thanks for the linkage, Ennis. I had the pleasure (or rather, displeasure) of witnessing one such sign during my recent visit to St. Augustine, FL. For those interested here’s the high-res version of the pic of Florida Motel.
Speaking of which comment #50 is totally over the line. Basically you’re doing the same thing some ignorant bozo is, by responding in kind.
i read your post as saying that you don’t know for a fact who puts up the signs :
and you don’t care:
did i misunderstand?
What part of ” ;-P ” didn’t Camille get…? :-S
If that is indeed the conotation, then it is indeed racist. However, there is nothing inherently racist about the term “American owned”. The connotation will have to exist in the minds of owners advertising like that, or customers booking into the hotel because they think the owners will be white. When I buy a T-shirt or any product stating “American owned”, I never assumed or pictured the manufacturers to be white. I just assumed it’s made within the borders of USA. Since Americans comprise almost every color, creed and ethnic background, well it could’ve been made by anybody.
In all honesty, I think any of us who have frequented small motels owned by desis or desi-Americans (Patel Motels), have had the “curry aroma” experience. If one’s nose is accustomed to that you may not even notice. If it is not, you will and it can be quite strong. I guess the same would be if someone was cooking alot of Italian lasagna there with lots of garlic. The reason for this is many desis also live in their motels, in rooms that are offshoots of the front office. Therefore the kitchen smells waft into the office. I’ve stayed at a lot of small mom and pop motels owned and operated by desi moms, pops and families. You get these alot in beach towns and to enjoy the beach at budget prices, mom and pop motels are the way to go.
The only solution to the strong aromas wafting into the office would be to live separately from the motel. For some people this is not economically practical. Those who live in their motels are usually running the business on a tight budget and therefore that might also give the appearance of a not so highly kept up motel. This is not limited to desis though.
camille, can i recruit you for my national “Anti-Sophomoric Trailer-Dweller Joke Campaign” ?
If you saw a sign that said “Whites only” would you think it wasn’t racist because only albinos are truly white and albinos come from all races?
Kind of reminds me of an add I saw on Zee tv last week boasting that the company was “asian-owned”. But that would be okay, right because…. insert rationalization here.
Might be OK with you, but it’s not OK with me at all. Let me know when it becomes a widespread and pernicious problem and I’ll blog it. This “American owned and operated” signage seems to be widespread. I’ve never seen what you described, but then I don’t watch Zee either.
That would be ok, because it’s idiotic business practice. Any business that put up a sign like that would last all of 2 seconds. How many people in this country have said “The Asians are losing this country, and to really be patriotic you have to go and patronize Asian establishments, and if you don’t you’re a traitor”
onnn a tangent, but: so I’m the only one who thought the woman talking about Indians and Hawaii, was talking about Native Americans? and then got all confused, because I thought, being the 50th state and all, American kids learned in their middle school Social Studies classes that the dark-skinned peoples of the islands were also American? and so it kinda made my brain melt when I realised she thought Asians came from Hawaii?
right, I’m being condescending and snarky (and redundant), but seriously: what. the hell. is this a common misconception that people have, about the brown people in Hawaii and in India?
Ennis said:
“Might be OK with you, but it’s not OK with me at all. Let me know when it becomes a widespread and pernicious problem and I’ll blog it. This “American owned and operated” signage seems to be widespread. I’ve never seen what you described, but then I don’t watch Zee either.”
No, not okay with me. I was being facetious. I thought it was offensive. But, I thought someone would jump somehow to defend it anyway, which HMF promptly did.
On uberdesi a couple months ago …
http://uberdesi.com/blog/?p=646
You people have real problems. The ones who oppose buying American. You are in America. You obviously like it here, so support us as Americans owning businesses. Why can’t I be openly proud to be an American and/or White? I will tell everybody about my heritage and will be proud to be an American and White and will always go to American owned places. I will also visit places owned by anybody. I will not boycott something in my own country just because it says it is owned by people from my own country. If you live in a particular country, why would you boycott a business owned by your fellow countrymen? We do have basically an open door policy and it works both ways. You can leave if you do not like it here. Our country is obviously better than from where you came or you would not be here. Why would you not support the way we do things? It’s obviously working and better or you wouldn’t be attracted to the U.S. I don’t understand why any other race or nationality can speak of their country/heritage and how proud they are of it, but once an American or a white describes their heritage and are proud of it, we are hushed. My family has been here since the 2nd ship after the Mayflower and I am very proud of that. My Danish and Scottish ancestors helped build this country and if you are so opposed to it, then you can either keep your comments to yourself or f’ing leave. You know good and well that if a hotel said Indian owned you would go there in a second. Don’t fault American born people for wanting to go to an American owned hotel. Better yet, put yourself in our shoes. In your country, if we were building hotels all over the place, you can’t honestly, which I know is hard for Indians, but you can’t tell me you wouldn’t support your own. Also, why do Indians feel the need to take every penny from someone else to make their pockets fatter? Here in America we help each other and if a deal is good, we don’t feel the need to make it better for ourselves. I guess that’s why your countrymen would slit their parents throat if it would help them make an extra penny. We don’t do that in America and bringing that mentality here is going to make our country as socially corrupt and as undesirable as yours. Let’s make this easy. If you don’t agree, just leave. Stop complaining about the way things are done here. Go home if it is so much better there. Think about that for a second. You can’t belly ache back home like you do here, why do you think we want to hear your complaints? Our country was doing just fine the way we’ve always done it, why do you think we need your help now? We don’t, I promise.
a lot of the people on this blog are “americans” and born in america. ots as much our country as yours. dont tell us to “go home”. we are home.
Puliogre in da USA-
I was gonna say the same thing you did when I saw this but it’s becoming so painfully obvious that too many people come here or to other sites, don’t bother reading the whole post because they’re perezosos, don’t bother learning what the site is about or who writes for it, don’t bother reading any of the comments…ah, screw it.
We are American – born and otherwise – and we love going to American owned hotels. We don’t, however, like going to hotels that state that they’re American so they can somehow assert that, because brown people may have come to this country later, these “Americans” are any less immigrants than their brown counterparts. If you don’t like how so many brown people own businesses here, maybe you should go back to Europe.
Fuerza Dulce
You been to Europe lately? 😉
Espan was mixin’ wit the brown in the 10th century baby! I know what you sayin’ though.:)
Chula, I just figured since David’s so proud of his Danish and Scottish roots, he’d be cool with going back there. But dammit, there are even brown’s in Scotland now, too, huh? Curses!! We’re everywhere!
You’re a real piece of work, David. 100 years ago your wonderful Danish and Scottish ancestors might have been saying the same thing to the Italians, Irish and Jews… remember how they all got back on the boat and went home? Oh wait, no they didn’t. And the brown folks aren’t going to either, so you’d best put on your big boy shorts and deal with it. For someone so obsessed with history it’s curious that you would pick the losing side.
Sure has.
Manju you think maybe David is working for the Obama campaign? The American owned sign is despicable,and I’m sure Ennis got the connotation right. I suppose all hotel owners have their desired clientele. Two wrongs, don’t make a right,So sad, too bad.
That is funny about Obama and the answer is a resounding he%$ no, I do not support him. Mary, you are a little behind, it’s actually almost 400 years ago, but what happened was my ancestors left for either or both of these reasons: they didn’t like the government or they wanted a fresh start. My most well known ancestor is John Alden. If you knew your history you would know that my ancestors built this country from the ground up. If it is so bad, then why do we have so many cultures here and a waiting list to come here? Hmmmm? Now pay attention here Mary, the difference is I don’t go to another country and vocally complain about the way things are done. That’s the arguement that I have. When in Rome! As I said before and as my ancestors did, if you don’t like it or think you can do better somewhere else, by all means, get the courage up and leave, stop complaining. Our country does not have to do things the way you want, but it’s obviously working for us. You want to strip people of their heritage and I don’t understand or appreciate it. Everybody else can be proud of their heritage, but the white folk. My ancestors do not owe anybody a dime. For heaven’s sake, they lived in Boston, north of the Mason Dixon Line. Btw, I read every post on this website. Someone said I can go back to Europe, why would I leave when I like the way things are done here? You guys are the ones complaining about the way we do things. My complaint is about people coming here and trying to change things. Like I said, if your way was right and you were doing fine elsewhere, then why did you come here?
i was born here, just like you d!ck. get out of MY country.
Now, now children…it’s not nice to mock the mentally-challenged. Anyone who can’t grasp the simple fact that what this post was railing against wasn’t AMERICA, but one minor, regrettable action which occurred here, isn’t capable of understanding all you are trying to explain.
Besides, if someone wants to play the “I got here first”-card, then I will gladly go back to MY PARENTS’ country when this asshole leaves for his. THE NATIVE AMERICANS WERE HERE FIRST. Put that FACT on your claim to the Mayflower, sail it and STFU.
I reserve the right to change MY country in a way that I see fit. some things work for me. others dont. bigotry doesnt. dont tell me what to do and what not to do in my homeland. if you dont like my behavior, go f*ck urself.
David, My American culture respects free speech and I can complain about what goes on here in this country. You seem to be complaining about the use of free speech in this country…according to your logic, than you should pack up and go back to Scotland or perhaps Africa….after all most of OUR American forefathers who built this country, did a lot of exploitation back then and like most Americans who have been here for generations there was plenty of mixing going on between the exploited and exploiter.
One of the themes that stayed on the backburner as this thread developed – although Ennis did highlight it – is that some of the motel owners putting up the ‘American-owned’ signs may well be desis themselves. And yes, some of them may be doing it to ‘shoo away’ desis and other minorities, while others are trying desperately to ‘blend in’.
In my experience, both the very best service and the very worst service I’ve ever received has been with desi motel owners. If some motel owners want their potential clients to discriminate against the supposed ‘non-American’ motel owners, there are also some desi motel owners, whether they call themselves ‘American’ or not, who will discriminate against other desis. This discrimination runs the gamut – from being denied a room when it exists; to being quoted a higher price; to being offered an inferior quality room relative to the price quoted; to segregating clients racially by floor, or wing; to steering clients of certain ethnicities to the ‘colored motel’ nearby, etc etc. This is endemic to the ‘hospitality’ industry, and more generically, the accomodation rental industry – and you can bet that some of the people doing it are desis, to other desis. The tighter a local market, the easier it is to discriminate – and my very worst experience has been in desi-owned motels in the ‘cosmopolitan’ Bay Area, while I’ve had very good experiences, for example, in white-ownde motels on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, one of the last places I would have expected it.
At the other extreme, some desi motel owners clearly value other desi clients, and I have also been treated as if I were a guest in their home – though somewhat less often, I have to say.
You do not respect freedom of speech, because someone I know tried to post a comment on this site and you blocked it. Freedom of speech does not apply to people who don’t agree with you obviously.
They might not get “free money” or there might not be an agreement between “their country and ours” but it is true that “minority” and women owned businesses do get benefits from government not available to anyone else.
Also, perhaps that the term “American Owned” is just their way of saying “You can understand us and we can understand you when you ask us a question”. Sometimes with thick accents and poor understanding of English it becomes very tough even to ask for an extra towel or whatever.
This is so true and this is a gripe alot of senior citizens have with overseas call-center workers when they dial a 1-800 number. It’s hard enough for some seniors to hear to begin with because their hearing abilities are often challenged at their age, add to that a thick accent and they can’t understand a thing. Very valid point.
I have a harder time understanding somebody with a thick regional American accent than call center employees in India who have been trained to neutralize their accents. It got easier for me when they moved call centers from the American South to the Indian South.
It is called running a business. Are you not familiar with the capitalist concept, dave?
No, dave. Allow me to be as patronizing as yourself. Here in America and elsewhere, businesses survive only on profit.
You must have lots of issues with your parents to bring up something so disgusting. Don’t need to make us feel unconfortable with you, as you can be our token klansboy: kluxie.
I think the most salient issue involved here is the perception that South Asian immigrants and their (very) recent descendants are somehow threatening to subvert the established socioeconomic and cultural equilibrium in many communities. This is a misplaced fear. Except for some small domains, like the motel sector, South Asians do not form a substantial majority in any major profession, industry, major metropolitan area, or electoral jurisdiction. The likely fact is that South Asians and their identifiable descendants are likely to remain outside of the mainstream of U.S. society, especially in the light of the increasingly restrictionist immigration policies that are on the horizon. I don’t think there is the remotest risk of a “Hinduization” of the U.S. on the lines of the mexicanization that is occurring across broad swaths of territory. Thus, outside of tightly circumscribed economic flashpoints – such as seen in the explosion of Gujurati motel owners in the rural U.S. – this type of anti-Indian xenophobia is unlikely to pop-up across the broader cultural spectrum.
That’s you. Ask your average senior citizen here who of the two they have a harder time understanding, and keeping in mind alot of seniors themselves have southern drawls.
Hello.
I read through this thread and find the discussion quite interesting. I would like to contribute my opinion on the matter.
I would like to begin by stating that I am a resident of San Francisco. I live in an SRO Hotel owned by the Patel family. The hotel is a very old remnant of San Francisco’s past. It endured the 1989 earthquake as well as several fires and suffers from an extreme infestation of rodents, cockroaches, and bed bugs. The windows have cracks in them, the doorknobs are loose, the sinks overflow and leak, the carpeting in the entire building is unsanitized and extremely filthy, the bathrooms and showers are covered in blood, semen, urine, feces and vomit, and are frequently out of service, resulting in them being locked from anywhere between a week to a month. Currently there is only 1 functional bathroom in my building, which houses a rather large number of tenants. One day, while cleaning my room, I noticed something written on the hotel vacuum cleaner. The words “Windsor Hotel” were marked on it with a sharpie. I found this a little odd, because the hotel I stay in is called The Entella. I looked it up online and found out it was owned by the same family of Patels. I began an investigation into the Patel family, and I was quite shocked by what I discovered: 55 residential hotels all linked to the same family of Patels. Many websites online state that the Patels are not all related, which may be true… However, here in San Francisco, one particular family of Patels hold a monopoly on low-income high-density housing. I have created a google map of these hotels, there is a link to it on my blog. The majority of these hotels are concentrated in the Tenderloin district, San Francisco’s most unwealthy neighborhood. I have found numerous reports online of these hotels being extremely filthy and unkept. Reports of landlords abusing tenants by moving them around before 30 days so that they can’t establish legal tenancy (also known as “musical rooming”), locking bathrooms for months at a time, and unlawfully trying to evict tenants by turning off heat and other utilities. Most if not all of these hotels are infested with bed bugs and rodents. They suffer damage from multiple fires, which probably resulted in the Patel’s neglect of fire safety systems such as fire escapes and smoke detectors. The department of building inspections has an online complaint tracking system, and you can confirm these reports by looking up the addresses of the Patel-owned hotels I listed. The Patels donate money to city politicians such as Mayor Gavin Newsom, District Attorney Kamala Harris (Willie Brown’s girlfriend) and Supervisor Fiona Ma. They have donated money in the past to a campaign which attempted to re-elect former Mayor Willie Brown, the city’s most corrupt mayor ever. There is a serious conflict of interest when they support politicians who are supposed to protect the rights of the city’s residents. It is obvious that there is an elaborate monopoly in effect. Visit my blog for additional details and research on the matter. I believe the reason why non-Patel-owned hotels have been putting up “American Owned” signs is because a large number of Indians who own hotels are members of the Patel family, who are notorious for neglecting their buildings and abusing the tenants. While some of them may have developed a stigma towards Indian hotel owners, I think they should have the right to put up those signs, as they may only appear racist to those who perceive it so. P.S. I am not biased towards people of Indian origin whatsoever. Also, I am not an American myself – although I am a naturalized citizen. However, I am a concerned, low-income resident of San Francisco who has been dealing with the Patels and their horrific treatment of tenants for too long. The Patels are victimizing the most vulnerable people in San Francisco: The disabled, elderly, and mentally ill – the majority of low-income tenants who live in the Tenderloin and surrounding areas. I think it’s a good idea that non-Patel hotel owners are putting up those signs, as they can help potential tenants avoid the serious health hazards of staying in a Patel-owned hotel. However, I do also propose an alternative sign- instead of saying “America Owned” just say “Not Patel Owned” 🙂
I also found this whole discussion very interesting. I hail from the South, from Tennessee to be exact. The increase in the number of Indian (Patel)-run hotels in the US has increased 500% in the past twenty years. There are some things not discussed in the comment section, nor in the blog entry. First, I have known people with serious allergies and sensitivities to strong odors, including CURRY and ROOM SPRAYS. These smells seems to be more prevalent in Indian-run hotels/motels than in non-Indian-run establishments. I once entered a hotel in Atlanta and almost passed out from the stong odor of a heavy-duty floral spray used not only in the room, but in the hallways as well. After asking at the front desk, I finally discovered that the Indian owner demands the use of the spray and thus there was nothing the African-American desk manager could do about it.
I have traveled all over the United States and have found that there are very good reasons why some people do not want to stay in an Indian-run hotel and it has NOTHING WHATSOEVER to do with the person’s skin color. But it has everything to do with CULTURAL DIFFERENCES in housekeeping and guest services. Perhaps Indians aren’t bothered by strong odors of floral sprays and curry dishes at all hours, but many customers might be.
Second, there is a huge game going on between Indian-American hoteliers and “white” hoteliers (Irish-American, German-American, Scots-American, English-American– you get my drift)…
Many Indian owners now refuse to show themselves at the front desk, hiring instead “whites” to act as managers. Some establishments are very reluctant to divulge Indian ownership. The desk managers (white) have been coached to keep this information from the patron.
Many Indian hoteliers also place “american-owned” signs in their windows to lure people in who want to avoid stong odors and varying standards in housekeeping. I have a relative who has made a detailed study of this throughout the South and it’s very interesting. Indian hoteliers seem to be trying to outwit what they consider to be irrational fears, while in fact, many people just want to stay in a place that’s cleaned according to certain cultural standards AND doesn’t smell like an Indian restaurant and a Glade factory. Believe me, this has NOTHING to do with RACE, but with CULTURE. It would be good to try and understand the customer’s perspective rather than assume racism right off the bat.