The PG Pool is racist [MD]

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s been disturbing seeing PG Pool members actively disregard the documented racist history of this pool.

It’s clearly not an environment that seeks to be inclusive.

Running a waitlist is not racist.

[Anonymous]

Most clubs are difficult to join. It's by design. I don't see racism in this particular case.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The PG pool has the same legacy racism problems that other private clubs have.

It is widely hated in the neighborhood because we know we’ll never get off the wait list.

Some people want to have a constructive conversation about what the pool could do to address its racist history. There are a bunch of good ideas out there. None of them move most of us neighbors up the waitlist though.

Mt Rainier has its fair share of useless busybodies who just like to complain and the pool is an easy target.

I don't think that's true, given the circumstances here.

1. Fifty years ago, PG Pool had racist policies.
2. They changed those policies in 1975.
3. In the 1990s through 2010-11, membership was so low that there was no waiting list. This wasn't a short-term occurrence, it lasted for decades. Anyone, of any race, could (and did) join just by signing up and paying the fee.
4. The pool recently has become more popular, and there's a wait list, that's open to all.

In other words, this isn't a "legacy racism problem" - it's a racist past that has been addressed, and now race-neutral factors have combined to create a wait list, and inhibited people in the neighborhood (and everywhere) from joining. But having a wait list isn't evidence of a legacy racism problem. It might be if there's been a wait list going all the way back to 1975, but the extended time period where anyone could join really eliminates that argument (for anyone who's honestly thinking about this, anyway).

Do u think ppl who were excluded from this pool for decades would suddenly feel welcomed to join after 1975? Racism takes a long time to work it’s way out of the social fabric of a society.

As someone who belonged from 2010-2014, absolutely. This isn't some uptight MoCo private pool; it was known as the hippie pool. Incredibly laid back, and diverse (as far as I can remember).

We moved far enough away that it was too geographically inconvenient to continue our membership, and now belong to one of those uptight Bethesda pools (after 6 years on the wait list). Other than the fact that we can walk to the current pool, PG Pool was better in every single way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s been disturbing seeing PG Pool members actively disregard the documented racist history of this pool.

It’s clearly not an environment that seeks to be inclusive.

Please explain how the "documented racist history" pertains at all, or is relevant in the least, to the waitlist and membership of the pool today.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s been disturbing seeing PG Pool members actively disregard the documented racist history of this pool.

It’s clearly not an environment that seeks to be inclusive.

Please explain how the "documented racist history" pertains at all, or is relevant in the least, to the waitlist and membership of the pool today.

I haven't seen anyone disregard the history on this thread. It has been acknowledge repeatedly.

I do see some people disregarding the present, though.

[Anonymous]

So the PG pool IS racist? Currently IS racist?

Or it WAS racist until 1975, 47 years ago?

Which one is it, OP?

[Anonymous]

This makes me so happy that we have a neighborhood pool.

[Anonymous]

If you have a history of racism and no history of redistributive justice then…

[Anonymous]

A pool cannot be racist, a pool is not a living thing. It is a bucket of water.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s been disturbing seeing PG Pool members actively disregard the documented racist history of this pool.

It’s clearly not an environment that seeks to be inclusive.

Please explain how the "documented racist history" pertains at all, or is relevant in the least, to the waitlist and membership of the pool today.

I haven't seen anyone disregard the history on this thread. It has been acknowledge repeatedly.

I do see some people disregarding the present, though.

Pretty gross racist gaslighting going in here. There have been plenty of posts denying the pools history of segregation while other posts having to point out that the pools website even admits to it.

Thanks for letting POC know that they’re still not welcome.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you have a history of racism and no history of redistributive justice then…

Finish the sentence, please.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I mean, for the 2 adults and 2 kids, the membership fee is $650/year. Given the strong correlation in the DC area of race with income, is that fee something that Black community members can afford?

This isn't some luxury pool, btw. It looks like it barely scrapes by.

Well it's a chicken and egg thing isn't it.

If people like you think Black people can't afford the pool, they won't accept Black people as members.

Also, it's not cheap for most families, even those that can afford it. If you were Black, would it be a priority to pay for a pool with such recent racist history?

Probably not when they can go to the free DC pools instead. Pools need money to function- so you either have public pools subsidized by the local jurisdictions or you have private pools where the costs are covered entirely by its members. It would be great if the PG government would build more pools so there were more accessible and affordable options available for its residents.

And the other PP is right that the long waitlist is a somewhat recent development. By the way some people talk you’d think the pool was entirely comprised of legacy members and black residents have had no opportunity to join.

You know that not all Black people are poor right? And racial disparities are not just about socioeconomic differences?

DP. Of course, generally. But in Mt. Rainier, the lower income families definitely skew toward people of color. The single family homes are pretty evenly distributed among white, black, and latino owners, but a large portion of the Mt. Rainier citizenry is in the large apartment complexes that are almost all black and latino (although more black, I think). I'm sure the apartment dwellers have far less income. BTW, the large apartment complex right next to the PG Pool has its own pool, although I rarely see anyone in it. It doesn't have a life guard, so I don't know if that's cause or effect or irrelevant to usage.

The apartment pool isn't operational most of the time, probably because these are low-income apartments.

It must be sad for all the Black and Brown children in these Mount Rainier apartments to look out the window and watch all of these white kids cool off from the horrific heat in your pay-to-play pool (PG Pool) across the street.

PP here. Agree. I'm also the PP who joined about 15 years ago. I've always been heartbroken at the thought of the kids in those apartments watching pool members come and go.

+100 Weight the waitlist and do outreach to the apartments.

Outreach? Do you think they are somehow unaware there is a pool there? Why don’t you do a little survey and find out what the barriers are- e.g. how many are toiling for years in the waitlist vs. simply can’t afford it or don’t want to?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The PG pool has the same legacy racism problems that other private clubs have.

It is widely hated in the neighborhood because we know we’ll never get off the wait list.

Some people want to have a constructive conversation about what the pool could do to address its racist history. There are a bunch of good ideas out there. None of them move most of us neighbors up the waitlist though.

Mt Rainier has its fair share of useless busybodies who just like to complain and the pool is an easy target.

Maybe stop making bad faith accusations and you'll have a more productive conversation with the community. Just a thought!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s been disturbing seeing PG Pool members actively disregard the documented racist history of this pool.

It’s clearly not an environment that seeks to be inclusive.

Please explain how the "documented racist history" pertains at all, or is relevant in the least, to the waitlist and membership of the pool today.

I haven't seen anyone disregard the history on this thread. It has been acknowledge repeatedly.

I do see some people disregarding the present, though.

Pretty gross racist gaslighting going in here. There have been plenty of posts denying the pools history of segregation while other posts having to point out that the pools website even admits to it.

Thanks for letting POC know that they’re still not welcome.

Talk about gaslighting! Running a waitlist based on the order of adding yourself to the list is not racist.

[Anonymous]

An actual legal analysis would show there's no discrimination traceable to the de jure segregation of 50 years ago, that there were several decades since then when there was very little interest in the pool outside the immediate neighborhood, AND one obvious solution to any suspected discriminatory admissions policy is open enrollment with a race-blind wait list, WHICH THEY'VE ALREADY DONE. But none of that is as satisfying as calling people racists.