Ahh, Yes, More Racism!

From Susan Candiotti and Jean Shin CNN
(CNN) - A Philadelphia-area day care center said Thursday that members of a private swim club made racist comments about the center's children, and the club then canceled their swimming privileges.
The Creative Steps Day Care children -- ages kindergarten through seventh grade -- went to the Valley Swim Club in Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania, on June 29.

The day center's director, Alethea Wright, had contracted to use the club once a week. During their first visit, some children said they heard club members asking why African-American children were there.

One of the boys told the Philadelphia Inquirer that a woman at the club said she feared the children "might do something" to her child.

Days later, the day care center's $1,950 check was returned without explanation, Wright said.

The stepfather of one of the children was filing a complaint against the club with the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, the panel's chairman, Stephen Glassman, said Thursday.

The commission is investigating the allegations, spokeswoman Shannon Powers said, and will attempt to resolve the conflict out of court.

Sen. Arlen Specter's office said the Pennsylvania Democrat has sent a letter to the Valley Swim Club president asking him to reinstate the contract with Creative Steps, saying, "I think that you would agree that there is no place for racism in America today."

CNN attempted to speak with club President John Duesler on Thursday. He said he had no comment and asked CNN to leave the club property.

But Duesler told two Philadelphia television stations that the children had changed "the complexion" and "atmosphere" of the club.

A small group of protesters gathered in front of the club Thursday and said they think Duesler's statements prove that the club's action was racially motivated.

"I was hoping it wouldn't be something that was so blatantly apparent. I was hoping that it was overcrowding," one protester said. "When I read the statement by the club president, it made it blatant."

Jim Flynn, who said he was one of the club members who made a complaint against the children, said it was not racially motivated.

"There were a lot of children in the pool and not enough lifeguards," he said. "As general members, we were not told that they were coming. If we knew, we could decide to not come when the pool was crowded or come anyway. We could have had an option."

He said two other day-care centers, neither of which included minority children, had previously been similarly disinvited.

A private Philadelphia boarding school said Thursday that it plans to help the day care center.

"We thought it was appalling what happened," Girard College Admissions Director Tamara Leclair said.

She is meeting with the director of Creative Steps to sign a contract allowing the children to use Girard's facilities this summer, as early as Monday.

"We've had a wonderful response. I even received an e-mail from a woman in Florida telling us we did the right thing. "

Copyright 2009 Cable News Network. All Rights Reserved.

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I was going to edit the above to cut it shorter, but I didn't have time ...and besides, I didn't give a shit one way or other!

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But, since it was about racism, I thought I'd post this and we could all have fun yelling at each other and trying to convince others that racism is a bad thing (or whatever you're wanting to teach others!).

One thing of note ....the swim club is noted as a "private club". Which means, to me, that they can let in who they want and keep out those that they don't like ...sorta' like ones own home.

Ahh, yes, racism is alive and well in the USA. People should be allowed to hate anyone that they want to hate (...regardless of race, greed or national orgin!).

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Baron Max

 

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Hating someone and denying them access are two different things Baron but it still has to be established that this is really a case of not wanting minority kids or not wanting a bunch of screaming kids overwhelming the club which would change its atmosphere.

 

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It's a private club, they can do whatever they want and let who ever they want in. Their doors, their pool, their rules. It's that simple.

 

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Racial and cultural and ethnic and religious segragation is the only way for lasting peace on Earth .....if peace is even possible between humans (which is something I'm beginning to question!).

All the problems in the world, over all of human history, has been caused by an unwanted interaction between either racial, cultural, ethnic or religious groups.

Baron Max

 

No, the only way for peace on earth is racial and cultural tolerance. Segregation will still cause problems. Even if segregated, they will still have to interact with one another, after all we do share this planet.

 

Even with racial and cultural tolerance there will always be a reason to hate and fight but I doubt this world of tolerance will ever cross over so many boundaries we will all live in harmony unless all these boundaries are shattered which means losing ones cultural, ethnic, religious identity which isn't likely nor even desirable. Hey there will always be blue eyes vs brown eyes. Tolerance and blending works in pockets where all parties are prosperous.

 

No, they don't have to interact!! If they do, that's where conflict occurs ...always!!!

Humans can't be tolerant of others ....they can only say it or pretend to be, but they can't really be tolerant of differences. And don't pretend that they can ....because all of human history has proven my point ...NOT yours!

Baron Max

 

I agree ....if we all become "exactly" the same, and think exactly the same, and talk exactly the same, and eat the same food, ......, then maybe, just maybe, we can actually get along.

But ......I doubt it! What about that woman that all the men like and want??? That's gonna' cause world wars, surely.

Baron Max

 

Its not about shattering your boundaries. Its about not looking as other cultures and people as secondary, its not that hard really.

Human history is still young. Its not like my point has not been proven, after all, we are living altogether as 6 billion people and are doing pretty well.

Ya sure, a couple hundred thousands die every once in a while because of some maniac leader, but for 6 billion people, all living together, interacting with one another. I'd say most of us are doing pretty good.

Sorry for being such an optimist.

 

But we do look at other peoples cultures with an air of tolerance and we still fight each other. I don't think Jews and Palestinians fight because they belong to different tribes I think they fight over land and resources. There will always be a reason to fight.

Where are we all doing so well? In the West? Sure but we still find ways to hurt our neighbors and there is always someone to bomb isn't there? In Asia? The Junta and N. Korea take shit out on their own people, Thais fight with their muslims in the South etc. In Africa? There is tribal warfare all the time, sometimes catastrophic as in Rwanda or just plain mean as in South African's setting fire to other african immigrants who go there to work.

 

There's just nothing to say to someone like you ...who can't look at the present state of the world and see what's really going on.

But that's okay, Chris, the world needs ignorant people!

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Baron Max

 

I am not saying that all wars will end. People will always find reasons to fight each other thats obviously inevitable.

There are obviously problems around the world, but compared to the entire world population I would say most people are generally not worried about getting killed the next day.

This pessimistic view of the world is kinda like saying the entire 1st grade classroom of 30 kids should be looked down on because 2 macho kids started to fight over a toy.

 

People help each other out as much or even more than they hurt each other. You just never hear about it because for some reason its more enjoyable to dwell on the bad things.

 

I just stole this from Politics and its a post by Oli but I think it sums things up very well as far as example:

"You should be able to Google it, it was actually called the "Football War".
Panama and Honduras (I think).
It was really about immigration issues, but a world-cup qualifying match between the two countries resulted in rioting by the fans (including those of the away team), army called out, escalation, and within the hour the losing side's air force was in action over the winning side's air space..."

The world at peace does not outweigh the world of struggle. Only in the West can we say this but the rest of the world actually lives in terms of a variety of struggle against something or another. It could be Hindu and Muslim in India, it can be over land, politics, money, food, water but the struggles are there.

 

Shit happens, but we are doing better.

http://www.ted.com/talks/steven_pinker_on_the_myth_of_violence.html

 

I love it when people in the peaceful prosperous West speak for the rest of the world

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He shouldn't be telling us this he needs to go to Darfur and convince them how the world is a much more peaceful place, then maybe the Congo, I'm sure those in refugee camps would be tickled pink. He could say 'hey you won't die of violence but maybe disease and lack of food and water'.

 

Well the West is obviously doing something right.

Listen its not because a small percentage of the world population in Congo and Darfur got the short end of the stick that you need to hate all of humanity and have no faith in it.

Shit happens, its true and it sucks. But to use those genocides as claims that humanity is doomed for extinction is a bit extreme.

 

Yeah they're fighting the war abroad so they don't have to fight it at home or they fight it through proxy. Hey we manufacture more arms than any other nation, we need someone to use them don't we?

I don't hate humanity. Where did you see me say I hated humanity? Humanity is what it is. I don't believe in 'faith' I believe in what is plausible. Where did you see anyone refer to humanity doomed and extinction? :bugeye:

Humanity can easily remain violent without killing every single one of us off the planet.

 

Yes, but you, and all the other extreme optimists, must learn to temper your rose-colored viewpoint with some of that brown-colored shit that keeps happening all over the world.

Optimism is a wonderful thing, but in order to be fully optimistic one must completely ignore all of the misery and suffering ...but to do that is NOT a wonderful thing. See?

Baron Max

 

No, I don't think so, Lucy. The term "violent" might not be the proper term, but if man continues, he's going to make life impossible on the planet. He won't do that by literally killing all the people, he'll do it by using up all of the natural resources, like water, and humans will simply die off. And worse, I don't think man has the power to stop himself from that total destruction ...he can't help himself!

Baron Max