In the summer of 1985, I was in Louisville, KY playing in a sandbox by myself under the close watch of my uncle who at the time was in his sixties. Two white kids approached me and started talking to me calling me 'Boy' and asking me what I was doing in 'their' park. I said "Just playing." The moments in between are vague to me, but they said something to the effect of "Niggers weren't allowed in their park" and then they then started to kick and punch me. One of them even spit on me. They called me 'nigger' repeatedly. I will never forget that day. I looked to my uncle through the sand being kicked in my face and he looked on helplessly. I didn't understand why he wouldn't help me.
When they were done beating me up, I got up crying and they ran off laughing my uncle helped me brush off and I asked him why and he said, "That's the way things are down here. If I had touched one of those boys we would have had a bigger problem on our hands." I didn't understand the difference between black and white. People are people I thought. No one is different and we all bleed the same and die the same way so what is the difference?
Let's go forward to my first grade year (it may have been) in Lunenburg. I got punched in the head by a high school student and called a nigger. Yes, a high school student. I cried from the bus stop all the way home and asked my grandmother why. She said, "Danny, baby it's not what you're called. It's what you answer to. Are you a nigger?" I said "Mom, I don't know."
There were so many examples of that word being thrown around to me in Lunenburg and in fact, not just in Lunenburg to be fair but it's a culture. Racism is taught. You aren't born with 'culture'. Culture is a learned behavior. With all this said... let's move on.
Unless you have been under a rock for the past 3 weeks, there is a situation brewing in Lunenburg about 13 year old Issac Phillips. Here's the original story.
http://www.sentinelandenterprise.com/breakingnews/ci_24537685/lunenburg-mom-racist-graffiti-aimed-at-her-son
We go from this....
Vigil in Lunenburg Town Center
To when it is revealed that the last two games will be cancelled...
You get people posting vile remarks about the family and about people who side with the family.
Now here we are.... as it turns out in a strange development. Issac's mother may have done it all along and in fact, may have had help along the way in making this happen and guided police and the FBI towards the football team in a hoax. Some people are cheering for an arrest to be made. Does this solve anything? While I do hope one is made, does it bring the games back? Does it change the facts? If someone else had done it would people still be championing an arrest? If it were a football player would there still be this bloodlust? People forget the independent situation in Worcester.
“I remind everyone that an investigation into racial harassment is on-going,” superintendent Loxi Jo Calmes said in a statement on the district’s web site. “A separate investigation concluded that Lunenburg players did in both the varsity and junior varsity games direct racial slurs toward Worcester South players. Referees and our own team members confirmed that fact. That is why the apology was issued by the Athletic Director to the players of Worcester South.”
Lunenburg as a whole turns a blind eye and looks for the specific. Since no one can name a specific player, it didn't happen. No one cares to address. I do know coaches there and I had one of them as a coach when I played there and I even played semi pro with some. The coaches ARE NOT accountable for what is taught at home. Look at the word 'culture'. It is ongoing and enforceable. Bottom line, I feel if you didn't grow up there or have a child move through the system there... keep your mouth shut. You may 'know' one or two people there or just because you may get the inside hearsay from a few people that don't amount to a thing. There is history there. You don't know it. The media doesn't know it either.
This situation hits home for me. As a mixed heritage person (African-American/Spanish descent and as a Lunenburg alumni) that went through those halls and experienced racism there. From the name calling, the awkward stares when talking about slavery during Black History Month, and the 'Go Back To Africa!' yells when other kids got mad at me. Hell, once in 4th grade a kid got pissed that I got the part as Santa Claus in a school play and said "Santa isn't black!!" The kid made such a stink and guess who got the Santa part in the SAME play next year? He did. Guess who was Rudolph that next year? Yeah.... you guessed it. Me. When I asked why? They said "He knew the lines better." Right. Let me address the 'Black people love to cry racism' card. Ok, this is my FAVORITE. That usually comes from people that aren't of color. That is like skinny people telling obese people losing weight is as easy as just getting up from the table. Or to just take the fat jokes with a grain of salt. Or why do overweight people need special accomodations? There's no need for that. Take what everyone else has and deal like everyone else. Obese people act like their special. All those are valid right? Course. If in fact black people are so quick to rock the racism card.
Second, I'll address the 'Let's make fun of the situation'. First off, you're just a straight up asshole. Yeah, I said it. You're an asshole. I'm not going to even speculate who is involved in the spraying of the house but there are no winners here. A town is divided, people who otherwise don't know about racism have had no choice but to pick a side (and some that have) had to have egg on their face and feel like pawns in a selfish game, and lastly don't know where to turn. It's personal to many that went to school there. We (as I am one of them) feel a loss. There may be a child that may truly be getting bullied for being LGB or a different race and will now be afraid to say a word because they will see the seething hatred that is out for this family ESPECIALLY if they are on a sports team.
Third, let's address 'Place the blame before the real issue'. We need to look at the larger issue. There is the issue of racism. NOT football. NOT coaches. NOT Senior year, and certain ONE person. There is a legit and real problem in Lunenburg. I'll let the words of Stephen M Flaherty, 20 years old(also a Lunenburg alum a decade after me by the way) speak:
"As horrified as I am to see hateful, racist words spread across the home of one of our own, unfortunately I can't say I'm surprised," Mr. Flaherty said. "Nor would many others who have walked the halls of Lunenburg High School. Because as shocking as it is to see hate speech in bright Lunenburg-blue graffiti, hatred isn't only present when it's out in the open. I've heard the n-word spoken by many of my peers. I've heard 'faggot' shouted down the halls. I've heard the disdain in people's voices as they talk about the neighboring 'ghettoes.' But, we've been taught to see racism only as individual acts of meanness, not in invisible systems of dominance and privilege. While I did not always feel accepted in Lunenburg, I recognize that I had it easier than some others, because I have had the privilege of being white in a town and a larger society where white is the majority, the invisible norm, to which any others are measured in contrast."
*Taken from the Telegram and Gazette dated Thursday 21Nov13
We as a society must get better. I was going to attend the vigil. I really was. I thought about it then I realized all would change once there was a 'verdict' handed down. Once the games were cancelled, the hatred began. Can you IMAGINE if someone else had done it? This would have still been the outcome. People still would hate, there would still be people screaming for an arrest, and people would not be thinking about the larger issue at hand.... there is still the issue of racism in Lunenburg that will now be swept under the rug... again.
Fourth, ask almost ANY person of ethnic background that attended school there and they will not be surprised about this. Not necessarily the 'spraying', but the racism. They have all experienced it. They got the name calling. The subliminal racist remarks. There was an uneasiness about being a student of color walking the halls. I will say, the Class of '97 was awesome. We had a camaraderie for the most part. I'm sure even as years went on, some of the people outgrow the racism they were taught or sought out in the world as teens.
This goes deeper than a game, deeper than a joke, deeper than a stupid meme where you can be an ignorant asshole and poke fun, or even deeper than a town. This is someone's heart. This is my heart. This is the heart of that 10 year old that walks the halls of Turkey Hill that was called a nigger last week and was about to tell the assistant principal but is now afraid to talk because of how people are reacting on Facebook and seeing what people are posting. This leaves long lasting scars that cut deep. It's deeper than whatever you think you know. As a parent you know a game. You know what goes on a college transcript. You know what will be on a college video for recruiters. As an alumni that was kicked repeatedly for over an hour in class in fifth grade cause a kid was 'convinced as a black kid I had an extra bone in my leg that I could jump higher and dunk' and that same day he tripped me on the way to recess cause he wanted me to break that bone and see if I could still walk without it. Scars run deep.
