Private Pool Bans Minority Campers

[Kevlar281]

Originally Posted by knight_shadow

For those that say racism doesn't exist...

I know right. I can't believe there is not one white kid attending that camp.

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by Kevlar281

I know right. I can't believe there is not one white kid attending that camp.

If there isn't, is that racism in your mind?

[Kevlar281]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

If there isn't, is that racism in your mind?

It was a joke. This is what I consider racist.

[AOII_LB93]

Originally Posted by Kevlar281

It was a joke. This is what I consider racist.

Wow...just wow. I hope the kids who did it get caught.

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by Kevlar281

It was a joke. This is what I consider racist.

Congratulations on finding white victims of a perceived hate crime. Your point?

[knight_shadow]

HUNTINGDON VALLEY, Pa. – The head of a private suburban Philadelphia swim club on Friday defended its cancellation of the memberships of dozens of minority children, saying safety, not racism, was the reason.

"We deeply regret this whole situation," John Duesler, president of the board of directors of The Valley Club, told reporters Friday afternoon at the entrance to the club in the leafy suburb of Huntingdon Valley.

[ full story ]

Nice attempt at spinning this, I guess.

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by knight_shadow

HUNTINGDON VALLEY, Pa. – The head of a private suburban Philadelphia swim club on Friday defended its cancellation of the memberships of dozens of minority children, saying safety, not racism, was the reason.

"We deeply regret this whole situation," John Duesler, president of the board of directors of The Valley Club, told reporters Friday afternoon at the entrance to the club in the leafy suburb of Huntingdon Valley.

[ full story ]

Nice attempt at spinning this, I guess.

I understand and can relate to both sides of the issue. But I think unfamiliarity and unwillingness to share (based on social class and race) are what breeded the contempt. Safety is just a more PC catch word.

I hope this situation is handled somehow and this relatively uninteresting story dies down.

[KSigkid]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

Other than that, this story doesn't move me.

Originally Posted by DrPhil

this relatively uninteresting story

Haha, don't hold back, tell us how you really feel.

[KSigkid]

Originally Posted by knight_shadow

Nice attempt at spinning this, I guess.

They should either hire a competent PR person, or at least put a gag order on this guy.

[Little32]

Originally Posted by knight_shadow

HUNTINGDON VALLEY, Pa. – The head of a private suburban Philadelphia swim club on Friday defended its cancellation of the memberships of dozens of minority children, saying safety, not racism, was the reason.

"We deeply regret this whole situation," John Duesler, president of the board of directors of The Valley Club, told reporters Friday afternoon at the entrance to the club in the leafy suburb of Huntingdon Valley.

[ full story ]

Nice attempt at spinning this, I guess.

A friend and I were discussing this and one of the questions we had was if any other camps had visited before hand. I will have to forward this article.

Also @Phil I suppose it is ok to be blase about this story, but these are real children who are being affected by what they perceive to be racism and/or classism (whether that perception is accurate or not). Though I guess we can all agree, based on available information, that even if the club owner's response was not motivated by race, the responses of some of the patrons were. Note the children's response to their, to use Morrison's term, "disallowing." That is always noteworthy.

[DrPhil]

This is a relatively uninteresting and nongroundbreaking story to me, so are the reactions to this incident that I've heard elsewhere. A lot of people (not here but elsewhere) are very outraged, not because these are kids but because people are easily outraged over race relations.

My apathy toward the story as reported and people's responses is separate from the social significance of the alleged incident and how it should be handled.

[33girl]

Originally Posted by knight_shadow

HUNTINGDON VALLEY, Pa. – The head of a private suburban Philadelphia swim club on Friday defended its cancellation of the memberships of dozens of minority children, saying safety, not racism, was the reason.

I think that saying they cancelled their "memberships" is a bit over the top and improper spin by the AP. Membership in a private club is something individuals apply for. These children were being permitted to swim there for the summer ONLY - on Mondays ONLY - because of an agreement a camp they were attending made with the club. It was more like having a day pass.

Not that I don't think the whole thing is ridiculous and racist, but the appropriate terminology should be used. Implying these children were "members" inflames the situation further.

[Elephant Walk]

While I completely disagree with the racism on all fronts:

I hope the pool's decision is not struck down by the courts. It is a private institution that receives no tax dollars. It should "theoretically" be able to serve whoever it wants. The consumer (both white and black) can act in response to this. But it is a private institution and the government should not be able to have any say in whom it serves. Whether that will happen or not is another case. (And it won't.)

[Kevin]

Originally Posted by Elephant Walk

While I completely disagree with the racism on all fronts:

I hope the pool's decision is not struck down by the courts. It is a private institution that receives no tax dollars. It should "theoretically" be able to serve whoever it wants. The consumer (both white and black) can act in response to this. But it is a private institution and the government should not be able to have any say in whom it serves. Whether that will happen or not is another case. (And it won't.)

I agree with that. Even the restaurant in the notorious Katzenbach v. McClung case (where the SCOTUS said that racial discrimination in places of public accommodation was a burden on interstate commerce) was able to avoid the effect of the court's pronouncement by becoming a private club which only admitted whites.

I'd think though that business would be pretty bad for a club openly discriminating against blacks. No one wants to be associated with that. That's probably part of why the private club has done a 180 on its decision. No doubt many members cancelled their memberships over this incident and would continue to do so until something was done (I would).

[33girl]

Originally Posted by Elephant Walk

While I completely disagree with the racism on all fronts:

I hope the pool's decision is not struck down by the courts. It is a private institution that receives no tax dollars. It should "theoretically" be able to serve whoever it wants. The consumer (both white and black) can act in response to this. But it is a private institution and the government should not be able to have any say in whom it serves. Whether that will happen or not is another case. (And it won't.)

I agree with this. But they will definitely lose in the court of public opinion. They very obviously were trying to garner some good PR from doing this in the first place (oh, look at the country club helping out the poor underprivileged children). They lost on multiple fronts - from the outside people who think they're racist, and from members who will probably pull their memberships either because a) they're ashamed to be associated with the club or b) they're aghast that the club lowered itself to letting the lower classes through the doors in the first place.