Judging from the reports I’ve seen about the controversy over the Valley Swim Club in Huntington Valley, Pennsylvania over the last couple of days, you would think that we’d taken a step back in time.

Minority children crying on camera over being ejected by the club, angry protestors picketing outside the facility, club members, and the club president himself, trying to justify the clubs actions… yes, Jim Crow is definitely making a comeback. Isn’t this supposed to be the year 2009? Aren’t there laws against this sort of thing? Where are Al and Jesse when you need them?

OK… stop. Everyone just stop, back up a bit, and take a few deep breathes before we all hyperventilate and pass out here. Let’s take a closer look to what’s actually going on.

You’ve heard the story by now. Children from the “Creative Steps Day Care” center, which is comprised mostly of minority children, were ejected from the club last Friday after complaints were issued by some of the club members. 

According to one tearful young boy interviewed on camera (as any member of the media can tell you, crying children are guaranteed to tug at a viewer’s heart strings), club members were overheard asking each other “why all the black kids were here” and that some woman worried aloud that they would “do something” to her child. 

Days later, the day care center received a full refund of its check in the amount of $1,950, with no explanation.  The center was informed that they were no longer allowed inside the club.

Surely, there’s no other explanation here than racism, right? 

Wrong. Here is what the media is glossing over.

The first thing is that the “Creative Steps” kids were not the only ones who received their deposits back and asked not to return. There were two other day care centers whose invitations were canceled as well. Neither of these day care centers was comprised of minority children. 

The second thing is that, according to the staff, the club realized that they would be unable to accommodate all of these children, and canceled their invitations due to safety reasons. Can you imagine what would have happened if one of these kids had drowned because there weren’t enough life guards on duty? 

Also, the complaints that the staff received from the members weren’t about the kids being black, it was about the sheer number of them in the pool at once. The members were unaware that the club had issued these invitations, so they were probably surprised at the sight of a bunch of kids streaming in and jumping into the pool at once. Wouldn’t you be?

The third thing is that the crying child on camera said that he heard members of the club making the comments, not any of the club staff.  Were some of those club members bigoted? I think so, yes. I have no reason to believe that the kid was lying.   However, that doesn’t mean that the club itself is responsible for those views.

This brings me to the comment that the president of the club, John Duesler, made in which he stated that the children would “change the complexion and atmosphere” of the club. While the word “complexion” has different meanings, and one of them does mean the color or texture of a person’s face (though not necessarily in a racial sense), it can also mean “the general attitude or inclination towards” something, in this case, a future potential club member’s attitude towards the swim club.   

Would you be more… or less… inclined to join a swim club if you knew that it would be taken over by a bunch of screaming kids at certain times of the week? Be honest now. 

Some well-meaning club members have argued that the president chose his words poorly and as a result, his comment was taken out of context. I disagree. 

I say that if people had just stopped to think for a few seconds about what he was trying to say, rather than getting emotional and flying off the handle, this mess could have been avoided. It’s easy to tell someone in hindsight that he should have “chosen his words more carefully” when you’re not the one that has to give the statements. Maybe you should brush up on your vocabulary.

Also, to those club members who were interviewed in front of the protestors, criticizing the club president while defending the club itself… cut the crap. 

I realize that you were nervous standing in front of those protestors. I could tell just by watching you. I don’t blame you for being nervous, and I commend you for at least having the courage to go out in front of them.   But I’m sick and tired of watching people, who have nothing to apologize for, bowing and scraping before some special interest group (or mob) in the hopes of avoiding their wrath, and making statements along the lines of:

 “Mr. Duesler’s words were taken out of context, but it was a very, very dumb thing to say. We’re all friendly here”. 

Please, spare me.

 If you really feel that the Mr. Duesler did not mean what the protestors thought he said, if you believe that he did nothing wrong, than stand with him instead of throwing him to the wolves while you make your getaway. If I was the president, I would’ve kicked you right out of the club.

And finally, this last bit is for you, Senator Arlen Specter. I suspect that you’re getting involved in this because you’re fishing for votes under the guise that you’re “defending the downtrodden”. The last thing we need is for some mis-informed, self-righteous, turncoat politician like you sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong. Don’t you have another massive spending bill to pass somewhere? Concentrate on that, instead of sending nasty-grams to Mr. Duesler.  Let the parties involved resolve this.

There’s no racism involved here folks, move along.

Sources:

Swim Club Accused of Racial Discrimination Against Kids: Susan Candiotti and Jean Shin, CNN.com, 07/09/09

Swim Club President Denies Racism in Pool Controversy: Susan Candiotti and Jean Shin, CNN.com, 07/11/09