Comments on: Pool to Minority Kids: You Can't Swim Here

Suburban Club Accused of Racism For Rescinding Pool Privileges; State to Investigate Actions

[blog_fever2]

Incorrect... This was something that the PRIVATE pool setup. They charged a fee and the campers paid. They could have made that day just for the campers to say the least, but they did not. They just refunded the money and kicked them out.

[toldyouso29]

by PoeticAdaptation July 10, 2009 9:56 AM PDT
right on.

the only time i am conscious of black and white is when people overplay the race card. let it die folks. my generation and onward doesn't look at race the way ya'll who lived through the 30's-80's do. the liberation movement has been largely successful, now let time clean up.
in closing, it's a predominantly rich vs poor world, race is dying, and its presence will continue to diminish in years to come. one of the only things keeping it going is this defensive dependence on the race card; if you walk around looking for racial inequality or injustice ad nauseum, you yourself are the racist.
don't get caught up in the mix of the media's dirty black-white fixation: **** Jesse Jackson, cause it ain't about race now

**************************

Hmmm, racism exists if only you see it? Here's a little story for you--just happened in April. I was in a store and noticed a prosperous looking black woman standing at the counter. She waited and waited but the clerk ignored her---helping everyone it seemed except her. When the clerk tried to help me, I turned to her and asked her if she had been helped. She replied that "no she had not, but had been standing there for over 10 minutes" I asked the clerk to help her. The clerk said "Well, I have already started talking to you, so I can help her after you" I said--"No, she was here first and you should help people in the order received" The clerk replied "she won't mind--never looking at the woman"

The woman said "Actually, I would mind" The clerk then waited on her. The woman paid in cash. The clerk dropped the change from the transaction, about 1 foot above the woman's outstretched hand and some of the coins rolled onto the counter. The clerk stared at the woman and did not bother to try to retrieve them--the woman sighed and picked them up. Then she turned and left. While helping me, the clerk said--"I just can't stand those people" Who? I asked--Ni66ers was the reply.

That clerk was in their early 20s. Tell us again about the changes in racism in your generation--about the only real change I have noticed is white societies determination to pretend it does not exist anymore or is overplayed--maybe it needs to be overplayed until it is gone.

[tmittelstaed]

If a customer in most of the stores in my city had related that to the store manager, the clerk would have been disciplined, no question about it.

[blog_fever2]

In the earlier post of this story it was reported the pool administration contacted the campers and invited them. At that time they established the details of the group and that's how they came up with $1950 price tag. The management didn't have an issue until the other club members complained about the "atmosphere". Even then the mgmt didn't try to make the situation right, they just refunded the money and shut the gate on the kids.

[Henri_Rochard]

Another fine controversy courtesy of the slave states.

[squeakof2006]

If I may be so bold... this sounds not like a problem of "race", but of "socio-economic class". The children from the camp were poor. The members of the club were not. They didn't like the poor children swimming in their pool in large numbers. One or two might have been gotten away with, maybe even up to five. Sixty five was a lot for those with more money. Yes, the situation should have been dealt with differently. More questions should have been asked before the campers showed up. However, once they were there, more should have been done to make sure the campers and members were all able to play together and have a good time. They were all children, aren't they supposed to play with other children? They were all in swim cloths. Surely, no one could tell (except the parents) who was rich and who was poor.

[sddemocrat]

Your story makes me sad. I was wondering where this young lady's manners were.

[tmittelstaed]

I would guess that the socio-economic class issue was a lot of the problem as well. But, while rich White Republicans might not need the votes of blacks to get elected - and can thus manage to get away with being openly racist - they definitely need the votes of the poor whites they are exploiting so your not going to see any public admission of snobbery.

[sddemocrat]

The club manager must have known the size of the swimming pool when he accepted the money from the organization. The amount of the money gives a clue as to how many children would be making use of the pool facility. I guess I don't buy the size of the pool statement. Maybe the manager wanted to pocket a little money on the side and noone would have been the wiser. I guess the manager was mistaken.

[ccdsswrkr09]

I'm sorry, what 11 year old refers to peoples things as "Belongings. It sounds to me like someone was coatched for a law suite.

[toldyouso29]

One whose family refers to other people's personal items as "belongings"? "Belongings" is not in any way a legal or definitive term. LOL

[toldyouso29]

"it's time to jump off the racism bus, folks. i am a 21 year old upper-middle class white male from western pa and i can honestly say i don't think about race---it has no influence over my actions at all. i have lots of black friends and lots of white friends and i am almost never conscious of the distinction."

LOL. This is too funny! So because you are comfortable in your version of the world--you presume YOUR perception and version is the same for everyone else?

Yes--you ARE very young and immature. RAcism exists and prevents people from having jobs, living in certain places and when institutional --can keep people poor and disenfranchised due to something as silly as their skin color or hair texture or religion--but you would not know or recognize that--because when you:

"close your eyes" you really think it is dark everywhere--because it's dark in "your world"

[sddemocrat]

What I get from this story is that money was paid and accepted by this private club for the priviledge of these children using the swimming pool. If it is a private club, why didn't the manager put the issue to a vote with the members instead of deciding on his own to do this? Was it an attempt to deliberately embarrass and humilate these children?

[blog_fever2]

Exactly. Also, if they were trying to accomodate this kids one day a week, why didn't they take into consideration of holding a private function for them during those times? Anything could have been done to rectify this situation.

[toldyouso29]

They actually DID ask and were told the number coming and were fine with it--go back and read the article--it only became a problem when those particular kids "changed the atmosphere of the pool" which changed the minute all the white parents pulled their kids out and began the threats and name calling.