Wrong! Wrong! Wrong!

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What the heck?! This story reads like something out of Birmingham Alabama circa 1958:

More than 60 campers from Northeast Philadelphia were turned away from a private swim club and left to wonder if their race was the reason.

I heard this lady, she was like, ‘Uh, what are all these black kids doing here?’ She’s like, ‘I’m scared they might do something to my child,'” said camper Dymire Baylor.

Well, if that kid’s telling the truth, I’d say, yeah, duh! Race was the reason.

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.”

What are those parents teaching those children..that they would do that?  Those black  parents should be outraged…this is an outrageous story…they don’t allow minorities? Disgraceful.

“They just kicked us out. And we were about to go. Had our swim things and everything,” said camper Simer Burwell.

The explanation they got was either dishearteningly honest or poorly worded.

“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.

What kind of oaf would say such a thing? Seriously? I honestly didn’t think crap like this still goes on…and in a liberal area like Philly, in the deep blue state of PA, no less.

UPDATE:

Irony of ironies: Captain Ed has video, and some information on Valley Swim Club president John Duesler, who made the “complexion” statement. It turns out that he has the same name as the man who ran the O-Positive Obama campaign blood drive in Philly before Barack Obama’s inauguration.

UPDATE II:

Internet detective, Ginger says it’s likely that John Duesler who ran the O-Positive Obama blood drive was probably the son of the Swim Club President.

A couple more things…

A commenter notes that something about this story doesn’t ring true…wouldn’t people who harbor such disgusting attitudes hide them out of fear of legal retribution? That’s a good point, and something I considered.

The story was written from the standpoint of the blacks who were interviewed, but what if they weren’t being strictly honest about what happened? If  the pool attendants didn’t really say that no blacks were allowed at the club that is a scurrilous charge to make. Did the reporter from the Philadelphia News bother to ask Duesler if that was true? If it is true, that is an outrageous thing, this day and age.

Also, as I said in the comments, one thing that has gone unreported is the kids’ behavior when they entered the pool…were they excessively raucous and rowdy? That could be…and that may be why the white kids got out. There are cultural differences that may have been at play.

22 thoughts on “Wrong! Wrong! Wrong!”

  1. If true–horrible. But something just isn’t ringing true about this story. Why? Even those who would harbor such disgusting attitudes have legal fears that keep them from expressing them. If you look at the blatant remarks, again, I’m just not thinking we are getting the whole story or possibly even the true story here.

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  2. This is why they were afraid: http://www.ohio.com/news/50172282.html

    Any large city has TV news. The news is full of urban crime stories, the vast majority of which are committed by blacks. For people who live in the lily-white suburbs this is their only experience of black people, so it’s little wonder they are afraid of black people. It’s not racism, it’s fear, based on the image of black people as criminals presented by the news.

    No, it’s not right, and it’s not fair, but we not going to get anywheree by shouting “raaacist!” when there are reasons other than that operating here.

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  4. I did my own research on this when I saw it on Drudge. I believe the man that ran the Obama blood drive is the son of the the Duesler that is the President of the Swim Club.

    I binged John Duesler on Bing.com and came up with the blood drive website and other sites in the Philly area with a Duesler Jr. I also did a White Page look up for the Philly area and found two Dueslers. I believe they are the same person because one address was for the swim club while the other address was for a residence. The two addresses were very close to each which leads me to believe it is the same person.

    The Duesler in the White Pages is over 65, and there was no mention of him being a Jr. The pictures I have seen of Duesler Jr does not look like a 65 year old man.

    Here is a link to a Dr. Martin Luther King peace seminar that Duesler Jr ran. His picture is in the link.
    http://peaceactionpa.org/Ethnic_Peace_Fest_20Jan08.html

    Here is a link to the White Pages website.
    http://www.whitepages.com/search/FindPerson?firstname_begins_with=1&firstname=john+&name=duesler&where=Philadelphia%2C+PA

    Sorry for the confusion and again its just a theory of mine.

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  5. For people who live in the lily-white suburbs this is their only experience of black people, so it’s little wonder they are afraid of black people. It’s not racism, it’s fear, based on the image of black people as criminals presented by the news.

    I live in a mostly white, conservative suburb, and I can’t believe anyone around here would ever act like that. Most kids never hear about news stories like the one you linked to. My kids have been taught to be color blind.

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  6. But something just isn’t ringing true about this story. Why? Even those who would harbor such disgusting attitudes have legal fears that keep them from expressing them.

    I thought the same thing..but it is a private club….still they could try suing to have the “no blacks” rule changed. I just find it outrageous that there would be such a rule, this day and age. That’s a scurrilous charge, if not true.

    One thing that has gone unreported is the kids’ behavior when they entered the pool…were they excessively raucous and rowdy? That could be…and that may be why the white kids got out. There are cultural differences that may have been at play.

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  7. If this story was about a private swim club in Texas the media would be all over it. If Libtards are involved, best to bury this event.

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  9. NiceDeb,
    the folks over at redstate.com did a retro .pdf cache screengrab after that swim club scrubbed its website off. redstate.com found the .pdf application form listing a “Dr. John G. Duesler, Jr., VC Board President”

    also, since this swim club ordeal MAY be another version of Liberal Racism, did u see the REAL version of Liberal Racism that Ruth Bader Ginsburg said about her concern with abortion originally being for “…populations that we don’t want to have too many of.” ??? wtf???

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  10. Deb … I think you nailed it … wrong, wrong …

    If the club sold summer swimming packages to outside groups, they can’t rescind them ‘cuz the kids were black. That is disgustsing …

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  11. Wrong, wrong, wrong.

    That’s what I suspect the news report is.

    I just saw this on the local TV news in New York. Here are some interesting facts I got from the report:

    1 – the reporters did not give any comments from the Pool Club owners. Nor did the reporters say that they tried to get the Pool Club’s side of this story. Something that unbiased journalist should try to do; especially with such an outrageous story. So, I question if the letter about “complextion” is even real?

    2 – The reporters “interviewed” the camp director (I’m not sure of her title so I’ll call her director). The only thing she kept saying was how these racists were out of touch. But she gave no facts or evidence to prove her charges of racism.

    3 – The reporters interviewed several of the kids who were asked to leave. Everyone of them sounded like they were “coached” by an adult on what to say. Little kids using big words sounds fake to me.

    I suspect that there is a lot more to this story than is being told.

    For example;

    How much did the camp actually pay so far to the Pool Club? Have they made all their payments to date?

    How many kids did the camp tell the pool to expect? Are there more kids than they originally told the Pool Club to expect?

    Were these kids well behaved? Do they know how to behave in public? What agreement did the camp and club have in place to supervise the kids? Were they properly supervised by the camp supervisors?

    Were the kids themselves taught to be racist by their parents – such as “whitey” owes me? Do the parents of the camp kids have racists attitude themselves?

    Also consider that this Pool Club is by membership. If I was paying good money to use a pool that was suddenly overrun by a bunch of noisy disrespectfuly kids I would want them removed or my money back. That doesn’t make me racist! It just makes me want my money’s worth.

    On a final note; I have noticed that it is a common tactic for some minorities (certainly not all, nor even most, just a small minority) to cry RACIST when the facts, if even looked at by the news media, will show that they are trying to divert attention from their own faults or wrongdoings. Does the name Tawana Brawley ring a bell?

    In our PC culture in the U.S. today calling a white person racist is a charge that does not allow for “innocent until proven guilty,” It is usually guilty. period!

    So, I am skeptical of this report.

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  12. Charles you show courage and Common Sense. No matter what race any kid is, if they are being loud and disruptive in a private club’s swimming club, they should be thrown out. If a bunch of noisy disruptive white kids from a camp invaded a private club’s swimming pool, wouldn’t they be kicked out? Shouldn’t everyone be subject to the same rules of conduct and behavior, even black kids?
    And I agree that this whole thing smells wrong, suburbanites and their kids are more aware than anyone else that it is dangerous to be so un – PC, especially when anyone can see it could be a setup. I don’t believe this version trumped up by the MSM.

    But mark my words white folk: Don’t think that a small minority can’t rule over a large majority like 15% Sunni ruling 85% Shia in Iraq, or 20% whites ruling 80% blacks in Souh Africa. They are trying to do it right now. They don’t want equality, they want retribution. And they will continue to try, until we stop them.

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  13. Pingback: More On The PA Swim Club Racial Incident « Nice Deb

  14. Lifeguards at the pool said the kids were well behaved.

    The day camp paid $1,900.

    The “private club” isn’t so private, not when they lease out their facility to other groups. This is what you call a “public accommodation,” which is covered by civil rights laws.

    NICE TO SEE WHAT A RACIST YOU ARE, CHARLES. Must be a typical Christian Republican!

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  15. Charles,
    Nice try. The camp kids paid the entire $1900 to swim at that silly little pool. That’s why they ended up with a refund of the entire amount. In other words, the club had the money in hand well before the kids arrived at the pool.
    I’ve been a lifeguard, swim instructor and pool operator before. At country clubs. For a weekly one-day 90 minute block of time, that’s a blink of an eye in terms of scheduling it. The club took the money? Then they should notify their members about the schedule. Or was club management greedy and wanted to take almost $2000 in a down economy and not let these kids swim?
    The pool is in L-shape. Lap swimmers have the long end and the well (short side of the L-shape) is the shallower end. Proper scheduling could’ve avoided this mess. But if I know one thing about country club folks? They complain a lot about schedule changes. And sometimes outsiders are frowned upon—even if they pay good money. That’s part of why I actually believe that some crappy things could’ve been said by these folks.
    Now, I won’t sit there and just call out every white person I meet as racist. But if I see something that appears racist, I’m not going to bite my tongue for fear of being called “bitter” or “an angry black man” or anything like that. You call ’em like you see ’em? This doesn’t look good for the club. But at least the kids got their money back. Even when it’s in printed articles, you still have folks like you questioning whether they even paid or not. 😉

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  16. IS CREATIVE STEPS A SUBSIDIARY OF ACORN???? MAYBE THEY SET THIS EVENT UP JUST TO STIR THE POT SO TO SPEAK…..SEEMS TO BE A LOT OF THIS GOING ON LATELY –
    $1900 FOR A KIDS DAYCARE IS A LOT OF BUCKS TO PAY FOR SOME SWIMMING. TO USE KIDS AS PAWNS IS SHAMEFUL!

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  17. To THEAVENS who said, “But mark my words white folk: Don’t think that a small minority can’t rule over a large majority like 15% Sunni ruling 85% Shia in Iraq, or 20% whites ruling 80% blacks in Souh Africa. They are trying to do it right now. They don’t want equality, they want retribution. And they will continue to try, until we stop them.”

    …that has to be one of the most ignorant, hateful, paranoid, racist things I have ever read. People like you give good conservatives a bad name.

    You’re pathetic.

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  18. What difference does it make if they were rowdy. I have a friend who swims there, and said the white kids are just as rowdy. Here are the snow bunny’s trying to make excuses for the RASIST behavior of their cousins. Yes all these white kids see are negative reports of african americans in the new. Look at Michael Jackson. He is called a child molester, and now a drug addict, but when Walter dies, he was a hero. Even though the white trash parents of the boys just wanted money. They turned a loving act by Michael to do something nice for their child, into something like that, and of course the media will run away with that story. That is crazy, but that is how white society wants to keep it also. You teach you kids to be color blind, that is a crock of bull

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  19. I believe this is still gonig on because the same rascists that were there in the 60’s have grown up and are still here in 2009. But the sad part is they are teaching their children the same behavior so it will still go on in 2019, 2029, and 2039.

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  20. Actually, I wasn’t making excuses, as should have been obvious from the title of the post, just trying to understand.

    You sir or ma’am ARE racist because that’s all you see in “snow bunny” white folks. I sure hope and pray you don’t represent the feelings of most black people.

    Incidentally, I think Michael Jackson was a weirdo, probably a child molester, and he wasn’t even technically black because he bleached his skin white, why that doesn’t bother his black fans is a mystery to me.

    I didn’t like Cronkite, either because he was a white liberal who probably would have agreed with the bogus crap you just spewed.

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  21. Also, I will say one more thing. When I said that there are cultural differences, I wasn’t kidding…but I wasn’t sure these differences would manifest themselves in children that young. In my own experience, young black kids have been very sweet and well behaved.

    But I can tell you for a fact that there is indeed a difference in the behavior of white and black kids in high school, at least where we live. My kids go to a predominantly white high school, that has maybe 10-15% black kids…more or less. But there is a difference in behavior, the black kids segregate themselves…there’s more swearing and fights, for instance in the lunch room between the black kids, I’m told. Not that white kids don’t also misbehave occasionally, apparently the black kids are louder, and rowdier. Also, it appears that the black kids do get lower grades, and only a very few are in the advanced classes. The school at one point was so concerned that these kids were bringing standardized test scores down, they offered/mandated (not sure which) special test prep sessions to help these kids get better scores.

    None of this is my fault. I’m not a racist because it was pointed out to me, and I’m sharing that information. I think it’s sad, and inexplicable. Same school, same teachers, different outcomes.

    This is a nationwide phenomenon:
    http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31911075/ns/us_news-education/

    And, sorry, it ain’t racism that’s causing it.

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