the table keeps on turning

Organizers of Monday's rally say a culture change is needed, because no one would be asking for proof of such a vicious assault if the victims were different.

"I just think that it goes to show when a black woman says something that has happened to her, a lot of people don't believe it was true, but I feel like if the tables were turned, nobody would be questioning the situation," said Adanna Perry, president of the National Congress of Black Women.

Rekhi, Tanja. "UAlbany Students Rally After Alleged Assault on CDTA Bus." Time Warner Cable News. February 1, 2016. http://www.twcnews.com/nys/capital-region/news/2016/02/1/ualbany-alleged-assault-on-cdta-bus.html

Law enforcement always has to look for evidence (not that they always do, unfortunately), regardless of the background of the alleged victims or perpetrators. Throw out the requirement of evidence, and it could just as easily work against you than for you.

"It's amazing how we're always asked to forgive before we've even healed" speaker at #DefendblackgirlsUAlbany

live tweet of unnamed speaker by Sami Schalk. February 1, 2016 3:37 PM. https://twitter.com/DrSamiSchalk/status/694303652979314688

“let it go and move on” is the advice I received in writing from a former professor of mine, a chair of the Women’s Studies department, who also characterized the pursuit for justice as "revenge" and that by dropping it I'd be "the bigger person"

“find some acceptance of it” is the advice I received from my department advisor, who warned me I'd be retaliated against and advised me not to pursue it

Perhaps I'm naive, but I don't think racism or misandry was necessarily involved with their advice. I think they probably genuinely feared for their own careers and safety if they supported me, and probably rightly so. Tenured professors/unemployed undergraduate student. So much discrimination is more hierarchical than anything else, I think. They could have at least been more honest about that, though. If my own demographics factored into why they wouldn't help, they could have been honest about that too.

In the bus case, prejudiced people both black and white seem to have utilized the "if the tables were turned" claim. It's garbage as a claim, regardless of who is making it. I could give multiple examples by people exhibiting prejudice in this case, but maybe one will suffice.

One of the 911 callers had stated "The cops weren’t called, ‘cause we’re black, so the cops weren’t called. [...] I guess the cops weren’t called, because there were no cops there."

(1) the caller herself didn't call 911 until afterwards, and one of her friends didn't call 911 until afterwards, and her other friend didn't ever call 911 - yet they complained that police weren't there?

(2) other black people on the bus, including at least one black woman, also didn't call - because the women were black?

The reasons why witnesses of all backgrounds don't call 911 can be varied. Victims of all backgrounds can suffer as a result. One significant contributing factor to why 911 isn't called in some cases (which may or may not have been the case with the bus), the bystander effect:

In 1964, 28 year old Kitty Genovese was raped and stabbed to death in front of her apartment complex. The attack lasted over 30 minutes and was witnessed by several dozen people who failed to report the incident. Some failed to realize that an actual crime was going on, claiming they thought it was a "lover's quarrel", whereas others realized they were witnessing a crime, but failed to report it because they assumed that someone else had already called the police. [...]

First, if you find yourself in an emergency situation with several fellow bystanders, realize that your first instinct (and the first instinct of those around you) will be to deny responsibility for helping the victim. By simply being aware of the diffusion of responsibility process, it may snap you out of the biased way of thinking and cause you to realize that you and everyone present is each 100% responsible for helping the victim. Second, if you find yourself in need of help, it is up to you to actively make one of your eyewitnesses feel personally responsible for your well-being. When we are in need of help and there is a crowd watching, we often plead for help to anyone that is listening, thinking that at least one person will step up to intervene. But self-defense instructors advise that you instead pick one person out of the crowd, look them dead in the eye, and tell that one person you need help. By pleading to a specific individual, you suddenly make that person feel completely responsible for your safety and this increases the odds that they will help. The same technique can be used if you are trying to get several others to help you assist a victim. Point to one person and tell them to go get help; point to another and tell them to call 911. Giving specific instructions to specific people counteracts the diffusion of responsibility process.

Burkley, Melissa. "Why Don’t We Help? Less Is More, at Least When It Comes to Bystanders; The more eyewitnesses present, the less likely people will help a victim." Psychology Today. November 4, 2009. https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-social-thinker/200911/why-don-t-we-help-less-is-more-least-when-it-comes-bystanders

I don't know that I was ever taught that, to single someone out and make it their job to call 911. I've certainly seen that in movies, "YOU! Call 911!" rather than "somebody call 911!"