Lyft Just Took Action To Protect Its Drivers From White Supremacists
The online car service Lyft just announced that they are partnering with the Southern Poverty Law Center in order to protect their drivers from white supremacists.
With the sudden reappearance in public of bigoted racists who had previously hidden their disgraceful opinions from the real world and confined their hate speech to internet forums, Lyft felt that they had an obligation to “provide educational resources” to their drivers. The partnership with the Southern Poverty Law Center will help them provide exactly that.
“Lyft represents all people, including the 66 percent of drivers who identify as a minority — and every ride is an opportunity to bring people of different backgrounds together,” the company wrote. “White white supremacists planning rallies nationwide, we want to share an update on resources to keep drivers safe.”
The company reminded drivers to report “incidents of hateful intimidation and harrassment” to the company so that those passengers could be flagged and safety alerts sent to other drivers.
While the fact that Lyft is concerned about the safety of its drivers is surely admirable, it is a sad commentary on modern American society that the company would need to respond to a threat like this.
Vinnie Longobardo is the Managing Editor of Occupy Democrats. He's a 35-year veteran of the TV, mobile & internet industries, specializing in start-ups and the international media business. His passions are politics, music, and art.