My name is Sid Mohammed, I am the manager of the event that is unrolling Justice Pricing.
I feel the need to provide some explanations around Justice Pricing.
first of all, no this was never intended to be some kind of attack on white men. It was never intended to be a settling of scores. The simple intent of Justice Pricing is to meet people at their economic level, using very broad strokes.
discriminatory pricing is not a new idea. The concept of pricing in line with perceived purchasing power (and willingness to pay) is as simple as having student and senior discounts. Now, are all students and seniors really less able to pay normal price than the average working adult? No, of course not, there are students who drive quarter million dollar cars and seniors who live in mansions, but the pricing model is statistically sounds despite these outliers.
So no, not all white men are seeing the financial fruits of their privilege, but many are. White men are the highest earning group in Canada, and as a result we are trying to meet them at their level in order to make the event more affordable for those other groups who don't have the same purchasing power.
A few notes:
- The discourse around this subject has been very focused on race. Race is not nearly as important to us as gender. The wage gap and disparity between income potential of men and women is a real problem and demands real solutions and adjustments.
- We really appreciate the discussion this has raised and the respectful tone so many people have taken. I have, however, received a number of death threats privately, and those are a serious matter that will be taken up with the police if they continue. It is not okay to threaten violence and death, even if you feel angry.
- There have been many good insights from people around the problems this pricing model raises. As a result, we've halted ticket sales for the day and are going to be reassessing the pricing model to better fit the needs of the community.
- Please continue to provide your input and let us know where we can improve this. Justice is a group project. We can not achieve it by keeping our ears closed to people, so we're very interested in hearing how people would like to see this adapted.
- The ROXY theatre has no involvement in pricing this event, they are simply a venue we are using.