Good morning, and welcome to a great tale of someone getting what they deserve.
You may remember back in the summer when the Valley Club was terribly unkind to children swimming in their pool who were not white. If not, you can catch up, in order, here, here, here and here.
The Valley Club is filing for bankruptcy. That won't get them out of on-going (Federal) Justice Department investigation, and they're still going to have to pay the (State) Human Relations Commission a $50,000 civil penalty for race discrimination. The bankruptcy court will decide if the suits from the children's parents will be allowed to proceed.
The really fun thing here is that they knew they had money problems, which was what caused the Board to set up a deal with the Creative Steps Summer Day Camp (and others) to USE their pool for a fee. In the case of Creative Steps, that was $1,950 for a one-a-week swim day for the campers.
So let's recap: white people have money problems. Try to cut a deal with minority group. Are rude and nasty to little kids. People protest. Charges are files. Club goes bankrupt. The sole thing that could make this even more perfect would be if, in bankruptcy court, the club itself was sold to a consortium which turned it into a swim club where all people were welcome.
President Carter spoke eloquently. There is no doubt that he is correct.
I'm hoping that President Carter's comments lead to a legitimate discussion and condemnation of not just racism, but the misogyny, homophobia, Anti-Semitism and other bigotries that afflict so many Americans Republicans.
I listened last night to some of the right wingnut talking heads explaining how it wasn't really racism, it was a true objection to "their country" being sold out from under them. Funny, all of the wingnuts seem to be white folks. Mostly men. One of them said Carter's comments were surprising, since none of this came up during the campaign.
Idiot.
I remember being called names because I was doing voter registration for the Obama campaign. Generally two words, the first starting with an "N" and the second being "lover". I heard candidate Obama referred to as "boy". I heard the term "the coloreds". Appalling.
It was no better in terms of what was said about Hillary Clinton: as if it is the "duty" of women to be subservient to their husbands, only allowed to stay home and raise kids. As if women should not be allowed to have thoughts of their own, much less elective office.
Now, this is America, and we have the first amendment, and people therefore have the freedom of speech. And I believe that's a good thing, right up until it crosses the line into incitement to riot, physical threats, and treason. There is nothing to be done about people who are small minded bigots, except to call them what they are.
It goes back to the discussion of what it really means to be a Democrat, and to believe in the Party Platform. If you're a long time reader, you know that I'm a proud, liberal Democrat. NOT because someone told me to, but because after a lot of thought and reason, I know that this is the tent in which I belong. The big tent, the one that fights for what is truly morally correct, for the betterment of all. Regardless of colour, creed, gender, sexual orientation, or country of origin. You know what's coming:
What do our opponents mean when they apply to us the label "Liberal?" If by "Liberal" they mean, as they want people to believe, someone who is soft in his policies abroad, who is against local government, and who is unconcerned with the taxpayer's dollar, then the record of this party and its members demonstrate that we are not that kind of "Liberal." But if by a "Liberal" they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people -- their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, and their civil liberties -- someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a "Liberal," then I'm proud to say I'm a "Liberal."
It's time to stand up again - be PROUD to be a liberal. To say to the wingnuts: NO, not this time. We know you for what you are, with your unnatural attraction for a world that thankfully died many years ago de jure, and now must die for ever de facto.
Our President, the leader of our party, the leader of the free world, in his speech to Congress last week said that we will call you out when you lie. I stand proudly with my president. I stand proudly with my retired President Carter. I am Spartacus.
[T]he staff at Girard College, a private Philadelphia boarding school for children who live in low-income and single parent homes, stepped in and offered their pool.
"We had to help," said Girard College director of Admissions Tamara Leclair. "Every child deserves an incredible summer camp experience."
The school already serves 500 campers of its own, but felt they could squeeze in 65 more – especially since the pool is vacant on the day the Creative Steps had originally planned to swim at Valley Swim Club.
Next, Arlen Specter has launched an investigation. In a statement, he said:
The allegations against the swim club as they are reported are extremely disturbing. I am reaching out to the parties involved to ascertain the facts. Racial discrimination has no place in America today.
The Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission will immediately investigate, chairman Stephen A. Glassman said Thursday.
Allegedly, this group was denied the use of a pool based on their race," Glassman said. "If the allegations prove to be true, this is illegal discrimination in Pennsylvania.
Yesterday, I couldn't say much more than "appalled" because the idea of harming children (physically, emotionally, in any way) makes me more sad than words can say. This incident also brought up ugly memories which I haven't thought about in years.
When I was in college, South Boston had to integrate its schools. A group called Restore Our Alienated Rights (ROAR) was formed to keep black children out of ostensibly white schools. They held big rallies and made the papers, but quietly, groups of them liked to go to the schools, and when the buses arrived, pelt the children with rocks. "Normal" people, myself included, would don helmets and thick coats and we'd help shield the kids from the buses to the buildings. ROAR didn't last long, but it was horrible. You may think this was the 1940's, but it was the '70's.
I was so thrilled today to see the new pool location, the governmental action, and even the grassroots work (there are message boards, Facebook pages, and there was a protest at the racist club yesterday afternoon.)
It gives me honest hope that SOMEDAY racism, and all other forms of bigotry will die.
I report with great personal sadness that in the city that brought us the Continental Congress, the signing of the Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution, racism is still alive and well.
The Creative Steps Day Camp paid more than $1900 to The Valley Swim Club. The Valley Swim Club is a private club that advertises open membership. But the campers' first visit to the pool suggested otherwise.
"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." [...]
"There was concern that a lot of kids would change the complexion … and the atmosphere of the club," John Duesler, President of The Valley Swim Club said in a statement.
I had thought these days were gone. This is appalling in ways I cannot even verbalize.
