There were a couple of REAL good candidates for this week. During a lesser week, they would both take the title as co-recipients. However, given the controversy that has followed the latter, the first one I am mentioning lucked up and got runner-up instead. So congratulations to 17-year-old cheerleader Chelsea Steele for earning her one way ticket to the lake of fire!
It seems Chelsea was looking for some quick money and a good time so she did the unthinkable. No...not what you would normally think is associated with "quick money and a good time". Last Friday, she and three friends stole $147 from some kids, one of them was in a wheelchair, who were selling T-shirts and hats for a fundraiser at a neighborhood pool. After feigning interest in the items and making small talk, Chelsea snagged the money, hopped in a car and sped off.
Now let's dissect this real quick like. Let's look past the most obvious fact that she was stealing. How about the fact that she took money FROM A KID IN A WHEELCHAIR! I've done some a few despicable things in my life, but NEVER in a million years did taking ANYTHING from a handicapped person EVER cross my mind. Heck..I won't even park in handicapped parking (although the $100 ticket for doing so is already a pretty good deterrent). What could have possibly been going thru her head to think that that was okay??
Then there is the fact that she wasn't alone in this caper. She jumped in a car filled with three other friends and sped off. So apparently at least three other girls were in on it and cosigned the crime. Fortunately for them, none of their names have been released. Yet. It doesn't matter though. If they also thought that what Chelsea did was fine and appropriate, then they too will be joining her on her journey to the lake.
The far and away winner though is the Valley Swim Club in Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania. If you haven't heard the story by now, the folks at the Swim Club showed that racism is still alive and kicking. Blatant racism too. They accomplished that by not allowing a group of "diverse" children from a local day care to swim in their pool.
Now when I first heard of the story, I have to be honest and say that a common stereotype came to mind. Especially when I saw the picture of all the children. I thought that maybe the boushee folks at the swim club were a little intimidated because all these darker-skinneded children came to the pool and started acting a fool. That wasn't the case at all. The pool staff even stated that all of the children of the Creative Steps Day Care were well-behaved. So with their behavior clearly not an issue, there was only one thing left, right?
Well not according to the swim club. They claim that they revoked the day care's privileges and returned their check because they underestimated the capacity of their facilities and realized they couldn't accommodate the number of children. One small problem with that: What facility do you know would ever allow a group to come into their location without knowing in advance how many are going to be in the group? That's how many places base their fees is according to the number. I'm willing to bet they knew full well how many shorties were coming.
What it comes down to is the rich folks didn't want to be sharing their private, members-only pool with a bunch of kids with some natural tans. I'm guessing there may have already been at least one or two families of color that were members at this club. You know...because they didn't want to seem ENTIRELY racist. They had to have a couple of token members. But when the group showed up with a lot more than the members bargained for, they weren't having it.
The stepfather of one of the children has already filed a complaint with the Human Rights Commission. That's a start, but I'm sure lawsuits are soon to follow if they haven't already. What needs to happen is this segregated Valley Swim Club joint needs to be shut down. I take that back...sue them first and take them for all their worth. THEN make sure they get shut down. If they think their water is too good to share with everybody then see how they like it if they can't use it at all
