The PG Pool is racist [MD]

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many of the dues paying members of this pool saved it from bankruptcy. The community should thank us.

Yes thank goodness a pool club was saved from extinction by being racist. Harming and excluding others can be overlooked so long as a pool doesn't get paved over.

OMG, it wasn't saved from extinction nu being racist. It was saved from extinction from advertising and giving memberships to anyone (ANYONE) who could pay the fees to keep it afloat...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many of the dues paying members of this pool saved it from bankruptcy. The community should thank us.

Yes thank goodness a pool club was saved from extinction by being racist. Harming and excluding others can be overlooked so long as a pool doesn't get paved over.

How? How was inviting everyone in the neighborhood to join racist? I’m not seeing it

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many of the dues paying members of this pool saved it from bankruptcy. The community should thank us.

Yes thank goodness a pool club was saved from extinction by being racist. Harming and excluding others can be overlooked so long as a pool doesn't get paved over.

OMG, it wasn't saved from extinction nu being racist. It was saved from extinction from advertising and giving memberships to anyone (ANYONE) who could pay the fees to keep it afloat...

I think it almost went extinct because it was a segregated pool in a community filled with people of color.

[Anonymous]

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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?

Or aren't bothering to be on the waiting list because they know their kids will be too old to enjoy it when they get off.

It seems like there's an easy solution, which is to offer priority on the wait list to people who live within a certain distance. If the initial reason they didn't give neighborhood priority was racist, and the result of the lack of neighborhood priority is what continues to contribute to a pool that doesn't reflect the neighborhood, then it seems like the solution is obvious.

Initial reason? For years there was NO waitlist. So you’re saying that just a few years ago, when the waitlist started growing, the pool board was deliberately being racist be not prioritizing membership by zip code?

Also I’m not sure there would be as much movement as you think- unless you’re really suggesting they drill down and also prioritize certain races within those zip codes. Is that what you’re suggesting?

I think the PP's zone-based weighting for the waitlist isn't a bad idea. That would ensure representation from Mount Rainier, Brentwood, North Brentwood, Hyattsville, parts of TKPK, and parts of NE DC.

The argument that people in the community didn't want to join this pool when there wasn't a wait list years ago isn't a sound position, in my humble opinion. Today's pool membership rates are $230 per adult for the summer + $70-$140 for dependents in the summer. Back in 2008-2012, Mount Rainier was hit really hard by the housing crash, much harder than other communities in DC/MoCo. I bet a lot of families facing foreclosure couldn't afford these costs even if there wasn't a wait list back then.

This happened to my neighbor who was facing foreclosure, she could afford the pool back then.

Can she now? Does she want to join?

She’s on the wait list and should be able to in 7+ years. Kinda sad how she could get exercise or join this community bc she was poor at the time.

She could get a morning lap membership immediately if exercise is her main goal. Please do let her know.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many of the dues paying members of this pool saved it from bankruptcy. The community should thank us.

Yes thank goodness a pool club was saved from extinction by being racist. Harming and excluding others can be overlooked so long as a pool doesn't get paved over.

OMG, it wasn't saved from extinction nu being racist. It was saved from extinction from advertising and giving memberships to anyone (ANYONE) who could pay the fees to keep it afloat...

I think it almost went extinct because it was a segregated pool in a community filled with people of color.

Do you like basic math skills or just critical thinking skills? The pool was desegregated in 1975. The time when it was in need of new members was in the early 2000s. That is 30 years later. It is not a segregated pool.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many of the dues paying members of this pool saved it from bankruptcy. The community should thank us.

Yes thank goodness a pool club was saved from extinction by being racist. Harming and excluding others can be overlooked so long as a pool doesn't get paved over.

OMG, it wasn't saved from extinction nu being racist. It was saved from extinction from advertising and giving memberships to anyone (ANYONE) who could pay the fees to keep it afloat...

I think it almost went extinct because it was a segregated pool in a community filled with people of color.

Yes, the pool members always conveniently omit this point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm just amazed at these supposed pool members shooting down any and all ideas that would allow more Mount Rainier people to join their private pool.

More community days each week? No
Weight the wait list? No
Separate wait lists? No
Wait lists that give preference to those living within near the pool? No
Expand the pool with the city? No

It sure seems like this progressive pool wants to keep a whole lot of the communities out.

Exactly how far down the waitlist are you?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many of the dues paying members of this pool saved it from bankruptcy. The community should thank us.

Yes thank goodness a pool club was saved from extinction by being racist. Harming and excluding others can be overlooked so long as a pool doesn't get paved over.

OMG, it wasn't saved from extinction nu being racist. It was saved from extinction from advertising and giving memberships to anyone (ANYONE) who could pay the fees to keep it afloat...

I think it almost went extinct because it was a segregated pool in a community filled with people of color.

Do you like basic math skills or just critical thinking skills? The pool was desegregated in 1975. The time when it was in need of new members was in the early 2000s. That is 30 years later. It is not a segregated pool.

https://streetcarsuburbs.news/making-a-splash-prince-georges-pool/

Economics has a way sometimes of changing policy,” says State Delegate Doyle Niemann (D-47), who served on the pool board from 1983 to 1997. “By the time I joined in 1980, the focus was on what we can do to keep it open. There were not enough members to support the pool ”

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:New poster here. I just emailed with a local news outlet about these racial tensions.

Cool. I hope they interview some of the other African American (or otherwise POC) members.

Which local news outlet, PP? We would all like to follow developments.

WUSA 9

I will bookmark their website.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many of the dues paying members of this pool saved it from bankruptcy. The community should thank us.

Yes thank goodness a pool club was saved from extinction by being racist. Harming and excluding others can be overlooked so long as a pool doesn't get paved over.

OMG, it wasn't saved from extinction nu being racist. It was saved from extinction from advertising and giving memberships to anyone (ANYONE) who could pay the fees to keep it afloat...

I think it almost went extinct because it was a segregated pool in a community filled with people of color.

Do you like basic math skills or just critical thinking skills? The pool was desegregated in 1975. The time when it was in need of new members was in the early 2000s. That is 30 years later. It is not a segregated pool.

https://streetcarsuburbs.news/making-a-splash-prince-georges-pool/

Economics has a way sometimes of changing policy,” says State Delegate Doyle Niemann (D-47), who served on the pool board from 1983 to 1997. “By the time I joined in 1980, the focus was on what we can do to keep it open. There were not enough members to support the pool ”

So the pool had membership problems dating back to the 80s soon after it was forced to desegregate?

[Anonymous]

It is racist to say only people from a certain zip code can join.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is racist to say only people from a certain zip code can join.

This would be reverse racism against white people. Not good either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The better idea is to build more pools. If the demand is there (which apparently is), then someone is missing a business opportunity here.

land is scarce

Land is not that scarce. And pools do not take up that much space, even with changing rooms and other amenities. This entire thread is absurd.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is racist to say only people from a certain zip code can join.

This would be reverse racism against white people. Not good either.

Not these days in MR. It’s very white.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is racist to say only people from a certain zip code can join.

This would be reverse racism against white people. Not good either.

Not these days in MR. It’s very white.

Incorrect. Here's the demographics of Mt Rainier:

White: 25%
Black: 45%
Asian: 1.8%
2+ Races: 5%
Hispanic: 32.8%
White non-Hispanic: 18.8%

https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/mountrainiercitymaryland