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

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

[Uncle_Eccoli]

@rwassel
Talk about shooting yourself in the foot...
Your comment demonstrates very clearly that you are not moving forward in good faith. Please, enlighten us - just what WOULD "make up for 200 years of slavery, oppression, unequal access to education and jobs, and not being able to vote?" Anything? And while you're at it, why not explain why YOU'RE entitled to it? Are you 200 years old? This is precisely what pw08-2009 is talking about.

[Uncle_Eccoli]

So the argument will be that the e-mail exchanges constitute a contract? That's pretty thin. Even assuming the court buys that, the day camp will have to prove that the swim club was discriminatory in denying them further access and that it wasn't because of any of the other reasons they've provided. Also, arguing that the fees paid to and then refunded by the club were public funds is going to be a real stretch.
As much as any of us may dislike it, racism in itself is not illegal. That said, the law is only what men make it day by day. We'll see how this turns out.

[TyroneHoglegg]

Poor kids....didn't even get a chance to prove they were good kids just excited to get to swim at a pool every Monday...

Oh and you 2 twenty something "upper class" white males...****...you know nothing. I, as well as many people are tired of hearing your blathering "Oh I know poor black kids"...."I have no racist bone in my body"..."Stop the racism"....

[toldyouso29]

by tmittelstaed July 10, 2009 12:44 PM PDT
This is simplistic BS. There are answers to ALL those questions and if the person being asked is educated they will know what they are. For example, asking why so many blacks are on welfare - that's an easy one. It's because the US still has a lot of racism in it. Granted, that doesn't explain it for ANY INDIVIDUAL but it definitely explains it for the entire group.

Asking questions like these is not racist.

Asking questions like this most definitely ARE racist. If they were not, people would not save them up to ask those who they perceive to be of the same ilk. Keep in mind that racism does not have to be denigrating, it has to be the single minded focus of judging or interacting with everyone through the prism of race or differences --first. In other words--if your way of operating is to see a persons skin color and then tailor your questions to this and ask them to explain actions of others with the same skin color--THAT is racist--because if a person is not racist--they do not dwell or or see skin color.

Now, if the question was "Why are so many people on welfare" that is not racist--but the minute anyone expects another person to speak for a group due to similarities that person has with that group--there is a problem. I know that if someone asked me why my race was on Welfare or killed people, my response would be: "How the hell do you expect me to know? I am not on welfare and have not killed anyone"

Incidentally, my perspective on this was underlined when a black woman in our study group was asked the question about blacks on welfare, follwed by blacks in gangs--she said--"I will answer your question when you guys can tell me why white middle aged men seek out and serially kill kids and rape them" The group was shocked. They stated that how could they know that? Because none of us were white males or had raped and killed anyone. "Precisely." she said. "If you are not expected to answer for your race why an abberation exists, why do you expect me to? I am not on welfare and I have never been in a gang--why do you expect from me what you are shocked to provide yourself?" Point was well taken. I have watched how I phrased my sentences ever since--maybe you can catch a clue from this too.

[bobnjersey]

["the members began pulling their children out of the pool and were standing around with their arms folded," Wright said. "Only three members left their children in the pool with us". Sounds like a pretty good vote for me, not counting on after the incident.]

that's not a vote ... that's a bunch of ignorant fools just like yourself only seeing the world their way.

[rwassel]

You think racism happens "equally", do you? You think many black americans "wallow in it", huh? Well I have a question: since when does 40 years of "equal" rights make up for 200 years of slavery, oppression, unequal access to education and jobs, and not being able to vote?

[rwassel]

"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"

Well - that pretty much sums it up right there, chief. You don't HAVE to think about race, because you are white and upper-middle class. Try telling that to the 21 year old poor black kid who didn't get equal access to education because they were born in a poor neighborhood to poor parents who didn't have access to equal education, and THEIR parents weren't allowed to vote in legislators to look after their own interests, and were instead sprayed with fire hoses and had crosses burned in their yards.

I'm a 28 year-old upper middle class male, but I'm sure as heyl not so naive and history-ignorant as to think poverty and race aren't related and inextricably linked to each other. 40 years of "equal rights" doesn't make up for 200 years of slavery and oppression.

[toldyouso29]

What you gave as "answers" is actually your own personal opinion and as such can only apply to you--when you attempt to answer for, or speak for an entire group, have the decency to wait until they elect you the definitive spokesperson and critic for them all--until then, speak for yourself and recognize that your 'answer' is not the only salient, plausible or pertinent one--otherwise you are a pompous know it all who presumes you have all the answers to all the ills in the world and to say blacks are on welfare due to racism--is not an answer, it is a cop out and one that will quickly get you and the people you claim to represent and speak for, rendered--irrelevant, and self made victims.

[rwassel]

"some people are racists, and that's a shame"

But you're obviously not, huh? I mean, calling the kids "Street Rats" when you don't even know them is perfectly acceptable, right?

[toldyouso29]

I disagree. The answer to why any person of any race is on welfare is an individual as that person's PERSONAL story. For starters, one (meaning YOU or anyone else who falls back on the racism line) would have to know that presently only about 2.3 million people nation wide are on Welfare. This includes all races. You would have to also know that the welfare roles have almost consistently been composed of 70% whites on Welfare but that when saying the % of blacks it is not based on the total actual number of blacks but on that number juxtaposed against how many blacks there are in society.

In other words, you would have to know how stats are skewed or twisted to point out that of the 2.3 million people on welfare--when divided by the total number of blacks or whites that number increases the smaller a group is. In other words--if 2.3 million is divided by 203 million, that % would be a lot smaller than 2.3 million divided by 42 million.

So many of the numbers for health stats etc are meaningless for actual numbers. You would also have to know that 2.3 million of ALL races combined is less than 1% of the population of this country and that 2.3 million is almost 5% of the black population. But since the majority are not black but are white--that number or % is almost meaningless UNLESS a person wants to make it look like more blacks are on welfare (or in jail, or dying of AIDS, or killing people) than another group.

Which all means that 2.3 million on Welfare--even if it was all one race is NOT a lot of people and would still mean that over 39 million blacks are NOT on welfare. It would also mean that even if all the people in the 2.3 million were white--it would only be about 1% of the white population--which would still make that number look really good, right?

The point is--that we ALL engage in racist comments and questions and expect people of color or different ethnicity or age or gender orientation to answer for stuff they could NEVER answer for. YOu just can't. I have members of my family who have been on welfare. The reasons are myriad from social reasons to personal poor choices--but what is simplistic is to :

1. Ask the question of any one
2. Attempt to answer the question as if an entire group died and made you the spokesperson
3. Expect to lump any group into one huge batch and get a simplistic answer like the one you just gave.

It is not possible and it is disrespectful. It is tantamount to people seeing that group as the borg and thinking one person has an answer--and only a very uneducated person would cater to this and allow themselves to be utilized this way.