Pool Boots Kids Who Might "Change the Complexion" - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

FurnaceFace · 07-09-2009, 12:52 PM

With all the moral high ground and outrage in the other threads already taken, I thought I'd start my own.

Quote:

More than 60 campers from Northeast Philadelphia were turned away from a private swim club and left to wonder if their race was the reason.

"I heard this lady, she was like, 'Uh, what are all these black kids doing here?' She's like, 'I'm scared they might do something to my child,'" said camper Dymire Baylor.

Ignoring the use of "like" in the quote, I still shake my head everytime something this blatantly racial happens in our modern "tolerant" world. The part that really got my shaking my head was this.

Quote:

"When the minority children got in the pool all of the Caucasian children immediately exited the pool," Horace Gibson, parent of a day camp child, wrote in an email. "The pool attendants came and told the black children that they did not allow minorities in the club and needed the children to leave immediately."

peter12 · 07-09-2009, 12:53 PM

Disgusting. Not sure if there is much more that can be discussed...

Igottago · 07-09-2009, 01:08 PM

Obviously disgusting behaviour by this club and its members.

There is one thing I don't get though (I can't access the link from work).

Did the club initially allow the kids in and only tell them to leave after entering the pool? Why did they even allow them enterance in the first place?

Flash · 07-09-2009, 01:14 PM

I can't believe that in this day and age they were told they don't "allow" minorities in the club. Didn't realize Philadelphia allowed segregation.

Rerun · 07-09-2009, 01:18 PM

Wow... that sounds like something out of the 1950's and '60's.
Did they drain the pool afterwards? Sad...

Locke · 07-09-2009, 01:27 PM

Finally, an organization that stands up for itself and what it, and its members believe in.

worth · 07-09-2009, 01:29 PM

So by changing the complexion do they mean some of the black peoples pigmentation is going to leak off in the pool and be absorbed by the white kids and then everyone will be brown?

Gozer · 07-09-2009, 01:35 PM

Dymire?

Thor · 07-09-2009, 01:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by worth

So by changing the complexion do they mean some of the black peoples pigmentation is going to leak off in the pool and be absorbed by the white kids and then everyone will be brown?

The Michael Jackson effect, solid point.

I wonder what he would think of all these young black boys swimming in a pool.

GreenTeaFrapp · 07-09-2009, 01:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thor

The Michael Jackson effect, solid point.

I wonder what he would think of all these young black boys swimming in a pool.

That he needs to pick up more Jesus juice.

Rerun · 07-09-2009, 01:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thor

The Michael Jackson effect, solid point.

I wonder what he would think of all these young black boys swimming in a pool.

Is that what happened to Michael Jackson? He got wet with too many white boys?

Bertuzzied · 07-09-2009, 02:04 PM

I thought from the title of the thread, they were booted because they were peeing and crapping in the pool.

Barnes · 07-09-2009, 02:06 PM

Trying to remember a stand up routine I saw about black people not being able to swim and how they are even conquering Ice hockey and avoiding swimming.

This is rather disgusting though.

alltherage · 07-09-2009, 02:43 PM

I didn't know you could catch black?

zuluking · 07-09-2009, 03:12 PM

Apparently the club also asked other camps to refrain from using the pool due to overcrowding with children (even the pink ones.) The more complete quote indicates the "complexion" was about "a lot of kids" rather than a lot of black kids. Color me not surprised the "race" card was played and skeptical that the quotes are embellished. Less media worthy if it was about overcrowding a pool with kids and the safety issues (not to mention overall craziness that makes a pool less appealing to non-kids.)

Rerun · 07-09-2009, 03:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zuluking

Apparently the club also asked other camps to refrain from using the pool due to overcrowding with children (even the pink ones.) The more complete quote indicates the "complexion" was about "a lot of kids" rather than a lot of black kids. Color me not surprised the "race" card was played and skeptical that the quotes are embellished. Less media worthy if it was about overcrowding a pool with kids and the safety issues (not to mention overall craziness that makes a pool less appealing to non-kids.)

Now there's a twist. Sometimes you can't believe everything you read in the paper.

Bring_Back_Shantz · 07-09-2009, 03:54 PM

Yeah, I wanted to make a comment about there being more to it than the quotes suggest.

Seriously no one unless they were a complete raging racist and absolutely ######ed would make comments like that in today's age of getting busted for the most innocent slip, or poorly chosen words.

That being said, this appears to be one hell of an innocent slip, and some REALLY poorly chosen words, but not the words of a raging ######ed racist. Just a ######.

bcb · 07-09-2009, 10:35 PM

I'm not a racist but...

Devils'Advocate · 07-10-2009, 10:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zuluking

Apparently the club also asked other camps to refrain from using the pool due to overcrowding with children (even the pink ones.) The more complete quote indicates the "complexion" was about "a lot of kids" rather than a lot of black kids. Color me not surprised the "race" card was played and skeptical that the quotes are embellished. Less media worthy if it was about overcrowding a pool with kids and the safety issues (not to mention overall craziness that makes a pool less appealing to non-kids.)

What other camps had an agreement with the pool and had their money returned? I've checked other articles and can't find this information.

The pool had to know the optics were really, really bad when a private pool with predominantly white membership cancelled a contract with a camp with predominantly black members.

Maybe a more responsible pool facility would have CONSIDERED the issue of having that many kids BEFORE signing the contract. IF that was their concern here (safety and appealing to adult membership), they should have made their rules before now. Throwing this concern out after cancelling a contract with a camp of black children seems bogus.

Perhaps the old saying of "Never blame on malice that which you can attribute to incompetence" rings true here. Perhaps there was no racism. But there is no excusing the incompetence.

FurnaceFace · 07-10-2009, 10:50 AM

It's referenced in another article linked at the bottom of the article I originally posted.

http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/...With-Race.html

Quote:

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.