It's nice to see that there is a ground swell of outrage here in A-merry-ca against my neighbors at the Valley Swim Club. (Well....some A-merry-cans; excluding self hating Negroes and whites in denial). It's funny how these things happen. Usually we can tip toe around each other and our prejudices never become an issue. We can work together, watch a ball game together, and even socialize on certain occasions, together. But there are times when we just can't avoid our true feelings, and unfortunately for the folks at the valley Swim Club, they just had one of them.
I once posed a hypothetical question to a white acquaintance who I thought was pretty cool. It went something like this: If your daughter were to go off to college and come home her junior year with a black boyfriend what would you do? Imagine with me that the black boyfriend is a pre-med student making straight A's at Princeton and both his parents are surgeons. His grand father was one of the first millionaires of color in America, and the boy himself is a dead ringer for Will Smith. (I used Will because he is one of the few black movie stars white folks would know) He then proceeded to tell me in no uncertain terms that he wouldn't go for it. Sorry field, he said, I am just not there yet. Call me cynical, but I don't think most of us in A-merry-ca are there yet. We know now that some of the folks at the Valley Swim Club aren't there yet, and they probably never will be. But hey, that's their loss not mine.
Now just a few more things about this story and then I am done with it: (Hey, I have more racism to chase)
1. These children were from Oxford Circle (those of you from Philly will know where I am talking about) and it is fairly close to the club. So it was quite reasonable for the camp to call this particular club as it was probably the closest to them. The children were not all black, there were some Hispanic children with the group as well.
2. The members of the club overruled the board and told them to cancel the agreement and give the camp their money back. The folks from the board claim that they [the board members] did not want to do it.
3. I know for a fact (unless kids are lying to their parents) that the children were subject to disparaging remarks when they went into the pool, and that some of the white members started taking their own children out. One woman said that she had her six year old grandson there, but she took him out, not because of race, but because the pool was getting too crowded.
4. The people who were there (including the life guards) all say that the children were well behaved.
5. It's true, Senator Arlen Specter has gotten involved and wants an investigation into claims of discrimination.
6. Girard College (A local high school here) did step up and offer the kids their pool free of charge throughout the summer. The irony is that the founder of Girard College; Stephen A. Girard, specifically wanted blacks excluded from his school. when he founded it. And a Main Line ice cream store, Gumdrops & Sprinkles, also stepped up and gave the kids freebies. (Nothing like some freebies to soothe where racism hurts)
7. This club is not made up of wealthy folks from Huntingdon Valley where the club happens to be located. It is made up of mostly of working class ethnic whites from Northeast Philadelphia, which is just a few miles from the club. (The membership fee is about $400 so that ought to tell you something.) This is not a country club, so we can't even blame the country club set for this one. They are much smarter and classier with their racism.
8. Yes, we can blame the children not having a pool on budget cuts in the Parks & Recreation Department here in the city. (You can thank the frat boy and his accomplished mission for that one)
9. Some of the families of the children are considering some type of legal action.
Finally,to be fair to the folks at the Valley Swim Club, I will leave what is now posted on their website:
"The Valley Club is deeply troubled by the recent allegations of racism which are completely untrue. We had originally agreed to invite the camps to use our facility, knowing full well that the children from the camps were from multi-ethnic backgrounds. Unfortunately, we quickly learned that we underestimated the capacity of our facilities and realized that we could not accommodate the number of children from these camps. All funds were returned to the camps and we will re-evaluate the issue at a later date to determine whether it can be feasible in the future. Our Valley Club deplores discrimination in any form, as is evidenced by our multi-ethnic and diverse membership. Whatever comments may or may not have been made by an individual member is an opinion not shared by The Valley Club Board. "
So that's it then; all is well that ends well.
Oh, before I go I want to comment on a couple of things that has been bothering me today: First, O man I know you are the president, and you have to practice a certain amount of decorum. But please just say the word and I will kick Matt Drudge's scrawny ass for you my damn self. Putting Malia out there like he did today calls for a serious beat down. So the child wore a t-shirt with a peace sign on it. LEAVE HER ALONE. SHE IS ELEVEN!
The other story that pissed me off is the one where some ignorant Negroes in Ohio allegedly attacked a white family who were out celebrating the fourth. That shit is not cool. I doubt it was racial, because knowing some of these thugs, they would beat down there own mamas if they thought they could impress their boyz.
Still, the shit gives every person who likes to play tit for tat with racism (like some of the folks who leave comments here) an excuse to play the you do it too game. But think about this: Maybe some of those gang bangers in Akron were kicked out of a white swim club when they were younger.
