Woman says 'Pool's closed' notice is racist

Discussion in 'Ethics, Morality, & Justice' started by angrybellsprout, Jul 15, 2008.

  1. angrybellsprout paultard since 2002 Registered Senior Member

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    A New Braunfels woman is outraged over what she considers a racist attempt to intimidate her grandchildren from using her subdivision's swimming pool.
    Mary Alice Altorfer is hosting a visit from her two grandchildren, whose father is African American. The children swam at the River Tree subdivision pool every day for about a week before someone posted a flier on the pool gate bearing a picture of a black man with a large afro haircut, his arms folded across his chest and the words "POOL'S CLOSED" superimposed.

    "I didn't even get the implication at first — then it hit me like a club," Altorfer said. "I was furious. These are two little kids, and it just makes me angry. I was shocked and angry and hurt."

    Altorfer said only one black couple lives in the subdivision of 172 homes, which average about $200,000 in value, and they never use the pool. She added that the only African Americans who have used the pool in recent weeks are her 6-year-old granddaughter Isabel Martinez and 9-year-old grandson Nicholas Martinez.

    "I guess whoever put that up probably didn't like our color," Nicholas said. "It made me kind of upset."

    Altorfer filed a police report Monday afternoon. She said the officer who took the report was unsure what laws the posting of the flier violated but promised to research it. The officer could not be reached for comment.

    Mel Soderberg, a member of the River Tree homeowners' association board of directors, said he got a call asking if the pool really was closed after another resident found the flier on the gate to the pool area.

    He removed it and later showed it to Altorfer.

    Soderberg said it quickly occurred to his wife that the flier was aimed at Altorfer's grandkids, who are visiting from California.

    "It was upsetting for both of us," he said. "I'm sorry it happened, and I hope they catch whoever did it."

    Nicholas and Isabel said the attempt to intimidate them did not work. They were back in the pool Monday afternoon.

    "They're not keeping us out of the pool," Altorfer said. "This granny got mad."

    http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/metro/stories/MYSA071508.METRO.poolflier.3e50740.html
     
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  3. Enmos Valued Senior Member

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    "I'm sorry it happened, and I hope they catch whoever did it."

    Exactly my thoughts.. what are yours ?
     
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  5. Ophiolite Valued Senior Member

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    She could just post a photo of a stereotypical white male, with the caption 'Mind's Closed'.

    [P.S. For a suitable fee I can send a self portrait.]
     
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  7. spidergoat pubic diorama Valued Senior Member

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    I put up a sign at work at the eyewash station. It was Bill Cosby saying if you discharge this eye station for any reason contact so-and-so...
     
  8. DeepThought Banned Banned

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    A terrible tragedy.

    The pool should be destroyed and replaced by a memorial garden.

    I hope they catch the guilty party.
     
  9. Enmos Valued Senior Member

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    Bit extreme.. sarcasm ?
     
  10. vslayer Registered Senior Member

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    so, they closed the pool, and this woman is complaining that there was a black guy on the closed sign. who is racist?
     
  11. Bells Staff Member

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    I think many of you are missing the point. The pool was not meant to be closed.
     
  12. DFSDFDFSD Registered Member

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    ugh so a black guy with an awesome fro is telling black people they're not allowed in the pool?
    Obviously not!
    where did it even say black people aren't allowed in the pool.
    It just said 'pool's closed'.
    Because that's so racist apparently
     
  13. spidergoat pubic diorama Valued Senior Member

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    It's a sensitive issue, since for a long time, blacks were not allowed in public pools. This is the source of the notion that many of them cannot swim.
     
  14. Tiassa Let us not launch the boat ... Valued Senior Member

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    Notes on a notion

    The flier in question, via KENS 5 television, San Antonio:

    Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!


    As a personal comment, it seems very difficult to figure a reason for the sign that isn't racist. Certainly, there are possible explanations, such as someone with absolutely no clue about civics and American history thinking he'd written a great joke and having no idea that he could possibly offend someone.

    And, given the state of American education, it is certainly possible.

    But still, the idea that it was a funny joke seems a bit of a stretch. It is unkind to presume such stupidity about our neighbors. Flip a coin: Is it worse to be thought of as racist, or stupid?
     
    Last edited: Jul 16, 2008
  15. codanblad a love of bridges Registered Senior Member

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    if the person's putting up a racist sign, why didn't they just put 'pool's closed niggers' or something like that?
     
  16. angrybellsprout paultard since 2002 Registered Senior Member

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    I think what Tiassa means by saying that the sign is racist is that if the black man in the suit said that the pool was closed, then obviously he is only talking to the other blacks because Tiassa believes that whites don't need to give a damn about what a black man has to say.

    Oh you say the pool is closed, but you're black so fuck off.

    Right Tiassa?
     
  17. Tiassa Let us not launch the boat ... Valued Senior Member

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    If the pool was actually closed, you might have a point. I say "might" because if the pool was actually closed, we probably wouldn't be having this discussion right now.
     
  18. lepustimidus Banned Banned

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    I think that the perpetrator of this horrible crime needs to be hunted down like the dog he (I'm pretty sure it's a he, since only white males do terrible stuff like mentioned in the OP), and hung, drawn and quartered. Each part of his body should then be impaled on posts at the four corners of the United States of America, to warn off any individuals who may be racially insensitive.

    But seriously, Tiassa:

    No. If the sign had said "Pool closed to niggers.", your assumption that the flier was racist might be more than just an assumption. Simply because a black male negro with arms crossed was portrayed on the flier (essentially a 'keep the hell out' symbol), does not automatically mean that the sign is stating that the pool is closed exclusively to negroes.

    In fact, I could take your bullshit logic further, and claim that the flier is sexist. After all, the person depicted on the poster was a black male. Hence you should conclude that the pool was closed exclusively to black males. So technically, this granny shouldn't have given a shit.
     
  19. Tiassa Let us not launch the boat ... Valued Senior Member

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    The way of things

    Then blame Mel Soderberg, who never should have shown her the flier. Or maybe the person who called Soderberg to ask him if the pool was really closed. After all, what the hell is so hard to understand about a sign that says, "Pool's closed"?

    Of course, when it's Don King, or whoever, telling you, "Pool's closed", it might occur to someone to wonder why. Why not Colson Whitehead, or Barack Obama? A black man with a bad afro and a crappy suit, pushing a message that is far from professionally communicated, printed on three-punch paper has some pretty deliberate implications.

    And go ahead, if it makes you feel better, to wring your hands over how the flier so unfairly victimized men. I care. Really, I do.

    It is almost striking that you have no valid alternative to offer. But that's pretty much the way of things, isn't it? You can call bullshit all you want, Lepus, but you're not really offering anything substantial, are you?
     
  20. angrybellsprout paultard since 2002 Registered Senior Member

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    Funny that the only blacks in the housing area were the grandchildren of that mestizo woman, yet someone else called to ask if the pool was closed?

    Get over yourself racist idiot.
     
  21. Tiassa Let us not launch the boat ... Valued Senior Member

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    You can do better than that ... can't you?

    One thing at a time:

    • The first paragraph of your post is inaccurate.

    • The second paragraph is rather disconnected from the first; if there is a connection, you'll have to make a better effort to communicate it.​
     
  22. Moo2400 Guest

    Deliberate implications, huh? Or are you just trying to see what you'd like to see here?

    Honestly, when I see that picture, I see the words "POOL CLOSED" and a black man in a suit with an afro standing there with his arms crossed. It does not suggest that the pool is closed to blacks. It does not suggest that black people should not swim. It does not suggest anything whatsoever to blacks - it merely suggests that the pool is closed, even if it's actually not!

    If anything, the black person in the background gives the impression of a bouncer more than anything else. It honestly boggles my mind how anybody could misconstrue that as racist for it suggests absolutely nothing negative about blacks. Although it does not surprise me that some manage to twist the actual meaning of it so that it does fit their preconceived notions.
     
  23. Tiassa Let us not launch the boat ... Valued Senior Member

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    So ...?

    So what, then, would you theorize is the point of such a sign?

    So what is the actual meaning?

    You can certainly tell us all what you think the sign was not about. So what was it about?
     

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