It's funny he should mention Dorney Park, because that's instantly what I thought of when I read the title of this article.

My girlfriend and I went there a couple years back and were ASTOUNDED by the amount of bla-, er, African American parents that were letting their kids go on the water rides that couldnt swim. We were next to the bottom of a pool where they would land on inner tubes and water slides into about 4-5 feet of water, and it was like a skit out of SNL.

They would flip off the tube, or get dumped into off a slide, and then start doggy paddling and gulping water and the lifeguard would have to hit an alarm and dive in after them. The worst part about it was, the parents that were in line for those rides had to stand there as part of the section of the line, so its not like they didnt know what was coming!

The wave pool was even worse! As soon as the alarm would sound to start making the 1-2 foot high waves, someone would start drowning as soon as the first one hit, and thrashing like crazy, and the lifeguards had to dive in and shut down the wave pool. It was the craziest thing we ever saw.

Savage, you started this thread off on the right note. Here is a guy working to make a difference in our world.

But after a few moments, the thread devolved into a base argument. I applaud those who tried to move it to a higher plane. Good job, you're helping to make things better.

It is time we move to build people up and praise them for taking a stand, for doing something, for getting involved, for making a difference even if it is only in one person's life.

Why isn't this for ALL RACES? Why are only the blacks worth saving? What about all the other kids drowning? They just aren't "Important" as "Blacks Only"? Take out the "Black Kids", and "Replace" with "White Kids", and would it be called? "Racist"? THIS SHOULD BE FOR ALL KIDS! No matter what race!

"Why are only the blacks worth saving?" HAHAHAHAAAAAH! You know America does not feel that way.

And the reason they are focusing on blacks is because many blacks do not know how to swim. It's not in our culture. And if you live in New York, practically every drowning incident involves a black child or teenager.

I'm pretty sure he's focusing on African Americans because of both his personal experience and the fact that a disproportionate number of drowing victims are black.

How do you correct/balance disparity without focusing in the area that creates the disparity? And African-American isn't indicative of citizenship, it's an attempt at speaking to nationality since many can't trace their direct root to their ancestral home nation due to events that occured here 200-400 years ago.

I thought most of them detested swimming. Not good for the skin and hair.

Kurt....you're an idiot....

I would like to set an organization to combat the murdering of white people. I bet that would get a GREAT write up in the MSM. The kid is racist, plainly.

Vic...Sit down.

Kurt...you must be loads of fun at a party...Jeez

Uhm, only stem drowning of Half Americans & of a certain race? Sounds like a racists. I would think we would ALL want to stem drownings from people of all races and not just of those of politically correct label themselves as half Americans "African-Americans".

Lighten up, buddy. All he or anyone else is recognizing is the uniqueness of his position as a black athlete competing in an Olympic swimming event and the opportunity that doing so provides to raise awareness and inspire parents (and their children) to make sure kids learn how to swim. That he's stressing, at least in public statements, his interest in the prevention of drownings of African American children, specifically, is a reflection of the statistically significant higher occurrence of such drownings, and it shouldn't be misread through paranoid racist eyes to mean that he, by contrast, doesn't care about the drownings of non-black children.

Last I checked, blacks with US citizenship are not half Americans but full Americans as with the rest of the Citizen population.

First off, considering that most black people living in the United States today are descended from individuals who were "made" American against their will, I'd say they can damn well call themselves whatever they like. Secondly, if you're a believer in the strength and fortitude of American democracy, you wouldn't be so incensed at so trivial a thing as compound ethnic terms. That you're feigning victimhood by this slight only suggests to me that, deep down inside, you rather despise America and what it stands for, namely: freedom, individuality, and respect for one's neighbors. So again, stop being such a coward and lighten up. You're making the rest of us Americans look bad.

Yes an we can start with that Jackass in Colorado!!!!! Since he killed 12 whites a few days ago!

Terra, An Olympian is so rare in the % of the population, they are ALL unique no matter the race. You are stuck on race, time to get beyond race and not just wish to stem drownings of one race, rather we need to stem drowings of all races.

Yep, Shanta, I am no fun at any Politically Correct Parties but any regular party, we can have fun.

Vince, that is an idiotic statement to call people idiots who want to stem the drownings all of people no matter their race.

The key ssue is how many black kids get a change to swim in a pool? Very small percentage and running through the sprinkler is about the extent. When more blacks get access to the pool they will blow the Michael Phelps types out of the water. Look at football and basketball, not racist just call then like you see it.

Just like anyt sport they need to learn to squim early and often.

IXL, Millions of people learn to swim without access to pools. They are called lakes, ponds, rivers, oceans, seas etc. You mean before the invention of the pool, no one knew how to swim? Are you just waiting for the Government to teach your children to learn to swim at the neighborhood pool? Try responsibility. stop trying to make excuses, people around the world of ALL races learned to swim without access to a pool. In fact, saw plenty of children swimmers in city open sewers in Caracas (I dont think they had much access to pools)

Race / Class, Race / Class, Race / Class, Race / Class. I swear NBCnews (liberals) just loves to divide our country every chance it gets. The "fact" that a study shows that blacks are more likely to drown doesn't mean a darn thing. This guy should be raising awareness of drowning preventions for ALL young people in this country, not just blacks. If this "study" is accurate, I wonder...whats the root cause of more black kids drowning? Is it because they are more likely to be poor? Thats what NBCnews wants you to believe. Is it because they don't learn how to swim? maybe...but whose fault is that? THE PARENTS! I propose that they are more likely to drown because they are more likely to have PARENTS (single parent) that are less attentive than their "white" counterparts. Whatever the heck "white" means.

Millions of people learn to swim without access to pools. They are called lakes, ponds, rivers, oceans, seas etc.

According to U.S. census data, 58% of blacks live in metropolitan areas, places not usually known for their "lakes, ponds, rivers, oceans, seas, etc." It's very clear that there are socio-economic factors at play in determining the occurrence of drownings among African-American children. To ignore the statistics is foolish.

Are you just waiting for the Government to teach your children to learn to swim at the neighborhood pool?

Given that most metropolitan areas in which the majority of the African-American population lives don't have public swimming pools (much less access to affordable swimming lessons), I'd say that having the government step in to fill the void by providing funding for such pools and lessons is a great idea. Of course, you paranoid, anti-government types will confuse yourselves by mischaracterizing it as an "evil of socialism" (or some other such non-sense), but the rest of us common-sense types will just have to resign ourselves to, yet again, rolling our eyes at the tinfoil hat crowd.

Try responsibility. stop trying to make excuses, people around the world of ALL races learned to swim without access to a pool.

Actually, according to the World Health Organization, drowning is the third leading cause of unintentional deaths globally, so it sounds like drowning is a world-wide problem. Also, access to pools isn't the issue, so much as access to a large body of water, in general (and again, see above for why that's a problem).

kurt go jump in a lake. you obviously failed comprehension in school if you ever went for that matter. you're such a dumbass and doesn't even know it. that's the worst kind. the one's that don't know that they don't know! but i'm sure you know you're a hater.....

The "fact" that a study shows that blacks are more likely to drown doesn't mean a darn thing.

It doesn't?

...whats the root cause of more black kids drowning? Is it because they are more likely to be poor? Thats what NBCnews wants you to believe. Is it because they don't learn how to swim? maybe...but whose fault is that? THE PARENTS! I propose that they are more likely to drown because they are more likely to have PARENTS (single parent) that are less attentive than their "white" counterparts. Whatever the heck "white" means.

You're missing the point, dum-dum. The point is that regardless of the reasons, black children are statistically more likely to drown, which means that focusing on the prevention of such drownings is an admirable thing. And again, just because this guy is trying to raise awareness specifically about the high occurrence of drownings among black children doesn't mean he doesn't care about, say, drownings of white children. You're saying that, not him. Given the statistical disparity, the extra attention is justified.

It's also hilarious that you're using cynical quotes around the words "fact" and "study" in your post. That alone speaks volumes.

excuses, excuses, excuses, "no access to pools", then "no access to large bodies of water". People learned to swim in small canals and little ponds. Are you just waiting for that Govenment handout in providing transportation at taxpayer's expense to a "large body of water"? The problem is not lack of pool access or lack of access to a "large body of water" but rather a lack of responsibility of some adults toward the raising of their children.

Kurt,

I think Cullen Jones will indeed accomplish the goal you set out. I learned something from this article. I never knew the disparity in swimmers among races and cultures was so great. And I never knew the reason - fear - was so prominant among blacks. That was probably news to you too. That last part - fear - is a big deal, probably for the 40% white non swimmers too. Possibly 'handed down over generations." That is such a big deal and you just ignore it to make your point. He may well be pointing out the biggest reason for non-swimming, ever! Why not start with his best connections first?

Your equality rant is simply off-base. When in the world have not iconic leaders reached out to their personal cultural base to correct cultural perceptions that are harmful? By your standard, MLK was a racist. Don't go there.

Gotta run, adult swim is 12-1 and I don't want to miss my laps.

It seems a little on the twisted side I'll grant you, but I get Kurt's point. If a white individual said he/she was going to work to reduce ___— in white American's, they would be branded a racist and people would be screaming that it was unfair.

You may not like the fact, but it's true and you really can't deny that.

The problem is not lack of pool access or lack of access to a "large body of water" but rather a lack of responsibility of some adults toward the raising of their children.

That may well be a contributing factor, but it still doesn't matter. Whatever the reasons for drownings among African-American children, I think we can agree with this guy that trying to reduce them by raising awareness of the issue is an admirable thing. In trying to make this out to be some kind of "reverse racism" episode (and in the process, missing the whole point), you're justing proving yourself to be a paranoid malcontent swinging at shadows.

If a white individual said he/she was going to work to reduce ___— in white American's, they would be branded a racist and people would be screaming that it was unfair.

I think that's probably true, but I think it misses the greater point about the differences in socio-economic justice as it relates to race in the United States. Given the significant disparity between whites and blacks as it regards economic power, political representation, and upward mobility, I don't think it's at all wrong for African-Americans (or white Americans, for that matter) to want to specifically advocate on behalf of causes that are designed to better the lives of minorities. I think white people (and I am one) need to stop imagining that such efforts are somehow designed to be, not simply advantageous to minorities, but somehow secretly detrimental to white Americans.

Being of European descent, I don't think that most white people feel the same kind of tie to their ethnic and racial identity that African-Americans do, especially given their much more universally shared experience as it regards social and economic justice. When the playing field begins to level off (and thankfully, I believe it's started to), I anticipate that we'll begin to see the focus on racial identity among African-Americans taper off. For now, though, we've still got a long way to go. For now, just lighten up and let people celebrate their identity and focus on bettering their own communities. Doing so will, in the long run, be beneficial to everyone.

Hmm....seems to me that if someone in a position of some influence wants to spend their time/energy/other resources in improving the lives of ANY people, that's totally their own business. I guess no good deed goes unpunished, at least in some warped minds.

need to stop imagining that such efforts are somehow designed to be, not simply advantageous to minorities, but somehow secretly detrimental to white Americans

We can thank Ronald Reagan and all the rest of the racists, bigots, and misogynists behind the "Southern Strategy" for that perception...

I am a bit confused. Black people do not have access to pools, lakes, ponds, rivers or oceans to learn to swim, yet they have access to pools, lakes, ponds, rivers or oceans to drown?

My guess is that maybe since the parents cannot swim, they cannot teach the children to swim. But since a white person is almost twice as likely to know how to swim, then they are almost twice as likely to teach their children to swim?

A good way to get lots of black kids into swimming is to have a black swimming star, then they will want to take it up and will learn how to swim. But I imagine that he is too clean cut for most black kids to look up to, probably seen more as an uncle tom or race traitor by many blacks because he is doing something perceived as a white activity. Probably not enough money or fame in it for them either.

Most people learn to swim in a pool. Hopefully you monkeybrains won't crucify me for saying most.

Thank you Terra for nailing it in 2.14. The rest of you go jump in a lake!

IXL, actually "most" people who learn to swim did NOT learn to swim in a pool. Years of living in South America and the Middle East can attest to that. It is usually canals, rivers, lakes, marshes, oceans, seas, bays, sewer drains etc people learn to swim rather than pools.

I am a bit confused. Black people do not have access to pools, lakes, ponds, rivers or oceans to learn to swim, yet they have access to pools, lakes, ponds, rivers or oceans to drown?

I think it has to do with regular access, i.e., learning to swim and becoming familiar with the water most often requires regular access to pools or lakes, whereas drowning can happen on a person's first and only experience in water.

I googled public pool and random locations and the ones i checked had public pools... including Shreveport...

There may be some evolutionary based physical differences which no one wants to acknowledge.

Black physiognomy may allow them to run faster and jump higher but that same advantage in muscle mass and bone density may cause those of African descent to sink where Europeans and Asians would float.

Africa has many rivers but most are shallow and are the abode of crocs and hippos which still cause many deaths each year. Ability to swim would be of little advantage.

Kurt, the article is about the United Staes not the South America Amazon or the Sand Dunes of Middle East. People learn to swim in pools, go outside of your house once in awhile.

kurt, dude, lighten up. as many of your counterparts on this post have said ure missing the point. first off, im african american. i nearly drowned in a RIVER up here in southern maine about 2 summers ago. the only black person in the river. cullen is not racist towards other non blacks that cant swim. think about it. Michael phelps has access to the same statistics (70/40) as cullen. so why isint mr. phelps advocating a cause to lower that 40% for his white brothers children? hmmmmm? because the sport is not in jeapoardy of loosing white swimmers because thir parents (as someone posted earlier) taught their kids to swim at a higher percentage than black parents. i do agree with one thing u said about the parental issue. it SHOULD start with the parents but if my black mom and dad grew up listening to lynnard skinnard, abba, and ozzie and not lil wayne, ll cool j and nelly, and my black classmates (and some white ones now a days lol) DO listen to the latter, then either i find a way to change my music listening to fit in or continue in the BLOODLINE of my parents music listening. ure rite kurt this article IS about the USA and not other countries but as another reader stated, we were (our ancestors) were brought here against our WILL. so u have to go back thru the bloodline BEFORE we came over to target the problem. THe stats speak for themselves. crocs, gators, hippos, etc, our ancestors swam but they did it in self made boats to get across the nile not the way mr phelps would do it because of FEAR of being killed and that FEAR of water is associated with what cld be in it to kill you. now we know that there are no such creatures in pools today or were there ever except in the movies but that fear has transcended thru the bloodline along with other physical factors as someone stated (bone density) which is somewhat true. so cullen is attacking WHY mr kurt, WHY black kids are in that 70% amd addressing it to perhaps bring about a change, a positive change for america. and again i say, im a black man and i admire phelps. i think hes a phemominal athelete but why is HE not raising awareness for the 40% And why would cullen be an olympian racist in a sport that is dominated by whites??? thats like dirk or yao not liking black people that play in the NBA??? again ure missing the point. one blk kid dead one white kid dead, all the same because some american lost a child. a la Colorado.

To pass the class, our school also required that you be able to tread water for 20 minutes. I never saw those kind of issues on the mile swim that you mentioned though. Did you have to do a particular stroke in a certain amount of time? I ask because we were allowed to use any stroke we wanted as long as it took (even if it ran past the class time). I'd rather do side stroke for a mile any day over running, but that's just me :).

Rick, sorry to inform you that the "Bird of paradise has not yet found my nose". We wish all US Olympians success in London no matter their race ... and yes, we want to stem drownings of people of ALL races not just certain people this racist Olympian wants. I wish him well in his swimming as with the rest of the US Team.

Just cant stop digging can he? And he really cant see the problem with his views. You address a problem where it is and don't pretend or address a different problem. 70% of young black children cant swim compared with 40% of all children and there are specific reasons why that are different from those of others, but Kurt wants the guy to pretend that every group has the same problem and focus on the 40%. When Bush gave aid to Africa to address AIDS because it was a serious epidemic there compared to here, was he being racist or Kurt's thought logic would only have become twisted in happen chance he was black and addressed the problem? Sometimes racist people cant see themselves except that they notice few to no one else is seeing it there way or supporting them.

You attack where the problem is or where its most serious - that's just common sense!

So is the desparity between the black and white kids that win Gold Medals for running really fast......

Definitely, someone who is in a state of panic and fighting for their life can be very dangerous even unintentionally when someone is trying to help them. The brain kicks into survival mode and everything else goes out the window...

Regardless of race, teaching kids with a low body fat percentage and high muscle density to swim is very difficult. They do "sink like rocks". And then, of course, panic.

The "traditional" way of teaching swimming is to teach floating first. Works great IF a kid can naturally float. If not ... you need to teach them to swim first. Yes, that's harder and some kids just don't want to try.

Once they are comfortable swimming, you can then teach floating. You would ask why? Well, floating (even learned floating) is much less energy consuming than swimming and can keep one alive much longer.

I hate generalizations! That said, blacks have a LOWER BODY FAT than most other races. Thus, they sink. When teaching swimming lessons, I had to coach the children on the "dead man's float". Most black (and several white) children had difficulty, because of their lack of body fat. I just moved on, and got to treading water/American crawl, and nearly all the children were the same. Regardless of race.

really, your playing that card??? its ppl like you that perpetuate and keep racism alive and well in the U.S. keep on reminding everyone what a bitch it was... why not put a positive spin on it instead of griping about the past.

Proud Canadian!!

What positive spin does one put on oppression? And what is there about being Canadian that could possibly make you proud? The bar must be set really low.

Oh,please...'All the white kids belonged to country clubs that barred blacks from membership,that's why blacks can't swim'.Get down off the cross,someone else needs the wood.'It's WHITEYS' FAULT!!' Creeks,ponds,rivers,the Gulf of Mexico-none require membership fees.Go rent a room overnight at a local cheapo motel in order to get access to a pool....naw,easier to remain a Professional Victim.

Do tell-how many African-American children have YOU taught to swim? (crickets chirping..... until he/she comes back with the info of the ginornous public pool he/she constructed and maintains....)

I am white, grew up in a white neighborhood and the only pool around was the ymca 2 miles away.I went to swim lessons there for about 8 weeks when I was in first grade and that was all my parents would spend. Alot of the neighborhood belonged to the swim club, but alot didn't. My parents didn't have the extra money so we never joined. When I was in high school we had to pass the swim test or take 1 semester swim class in order to graduate. I took the class and still almost drowned 1 summer. To this day, I can only float, alot of my "poor" white friends can't swim either. It is not a race thing, it's a poverty thing. Plus you have to access to a pool almost every summer.

Possum, you're hemmorhaging. Take a deep breath and loosen that hyper tight sphincter. If you don't want to take ownership of this nation's shameful treatment of blacks, fine. The truth remains that blacks suffer to this day from the discriminations and prejudices visited on them by a country that was more than willing to exploit their labor while denying them the fruits thereof. Creeks, ponds, rivers and cheapo motels? Really, that's your answer to their need for equal access to swimming venues? what a self righteous a$$hole

Blaming current inability to move forward and participate in anything on past wrongs... Seriously!!??

To me, that would be MORE motivation to go out and do those things that were forbidden in the past....

Also, one does not need a swimming pool to learn how to swim... There are objects in nature known as lakes, rivers and coasts...

Tell me, how many rivers, lakes and coasts are within walking distance or accessible by public transportation in the ghetto or housing project nearest to where you live?

You missed the second line of my remark... Please read again and ponder...

Also, you make it sound as if ALL Black Americans live in the ghetto or a housing project and they do not.

Tell me, how many rivers, lakes and coasts are within walking distance or accessible by public transportation in the ghetto or housing project nearest to where you live?

If there WERE any, they would probably be polluted to the point of unswimmable!

I grew up in a rural area in the South, and the only ready access I had to a body of water was an algae-filled irrigation pond. I tried it once and emerged covered in green slime. It isn't just urban areas - it really is a matter of affordability. There was a public pool in town, but we couldn't afford the membership. We traveled very rarely, and when we did go where there was water, there wasn't time or a swimming tutor available. It's hard to learn to swim when there are NO opportunities to do so.

Tranquil......the only person in this thread expressing themselves as self righteous is you. Do you need some help understanding what that means?

Regardless, I agree that good deeds should be color blind. I'm sure this athlete is a great guy and wish him the best, but this attitude that it's ok for blacks to be racist is only perpetuating the issue.

As far as opportunity for black Americans, they have just as much opportunity to work and go to school on loans for 80 hours a week.......like I did. Chances are, if they do this, our "shameful" history will not hold them back at all.

It is about access. Most people learn how to swim from your parents. If they never learned how to swim, that makes you much less likely to. This isn't a racial issue we are dealing with folks, its one of the effects of history and he is trying to balance it. Seems like any NBCnews headline with the word Black or White or Latino is bound to turn into one, mostly based off your own insecurity. The kid Jones is just trying to do a bit of inspiration to correct a disparity, and everyone jumps on him calling him racist when really you are not comfortable enough in your own skin to not get offended by something so miniscule.

He never said "only" he said Black, SPEAKING TO THAT SEGMENT PARTICULARLY, NOT EXCLUSIVELY!! If I say I like Asian women, that doesn't mean I don't like Latino, Black, or White women. It just indicates one group that I do. Jones just recognizes that as a major minority of being a Black swimmer, he is more likely to inspire Black youth. The same way Jeremy Lin inspires millions of Asian fans, but at the same time he has millions more general fans. But even he acknowledges that he's gotten a lot of attention due to his race, since there are plenty of black point guards that have better stats than he.

You seeing his comment as racist just justifies his statement even more. I wish him the best and hope his great swimming inspires everybody.

some groups never have been an aid to our country.In some groups,most of the males between 20-60,have hardly done a damn thing

Yeah you hate filled "F" ...... And ONE group was never enslaved/tortured/raped/and legally murdered for Centuries in this country either.

Fueler...why are you turning something into a race issue? How about if Michael Phelps decided to take on the mission of teaching African-American children how to swim? You wouldn't have a problem with that I bet. The point is, the reason he's choosing this demographic is because they are the ones that are in need BASED ON THE STATISTICS. Clearely all children need to learn to swim to prevent tragedies, but with 60% of drownings being African American children any reasonably educated person could see that swimming skills are skewed and that they need attention. Quit fueling ignorance.

You know who I'm talking about,I take it

Might make sense if white kids drowned at THREE times the rate of other kids. Since they would be the majority, then the news would not need to read that way. When you read news about reducing the effect of acid and heroin consumption in young teenagers, there is usually no need to add white in the headline as that is the majority. That's one advantage of being in a majority group, the issues that are addressed that particularly ails you do not need to be specially labelled.

Which is why we didn't see this news anywhere recently: "Another white gunman kills 12 and wounds 32 in Aurora". Just how it works when in the majority.

AmericanBro...

You must be referring to our Native American hosts who endured more barbarity and slaughter than any other group in the Western Hemishpere...

Richter.....you are subtle, but I get it. Could you imagine what the news would look like if we reported on every black that killed someone else? Would we have room for any other stories?

Don't be so angry. Racism is racism, whether it come from a black, white, brown, yellow or red person. Stop making excuses for your own race. When they are wrong, they are wrong.

There would actually not be anything wrong with Phelps making the same statement, for white or any other children. Yest, I'm sure you'd hear just as many people complaining as you see here if Phelps did say that, but that's what our point is. Race is not an issue in this statement. So stop reaching...

Because its reverse racism? The idea that we should only do things to benefit one particular group of people is in itself racist. He could have held classes at the public pool offering swimming classes for all children, but chose to only focus on blacks. Thats racist. Just like having scholarships for only blacks. Then when you point this out, as Im sure I will be, you get flamed as a racist. Im a racist for calling out your racism......

it's really wierd, but in my mind you are BOTH right. how is that possible????

Because in politics there's no right answer....

"reverse racism" - a racist term that indicates that it is incorrect to help people disproportionately negatively affected by racism. "reverse racism", inherently indicates that the only "proper" way to practice racism is white to non-white rather than the inverse.

He's not opening up a pool and saying no whites can swim there. He's doing public speaking to share his experience of being an African-American boy who almost drowned and then moving on and becoming an Olympic swimmer. It's no different than a gay celebrity promoting the "it gets better" campaign to gay teens. That's not saying that depression is ok if a person is not gay; it's just a special message from someone who has been there. I mean, if a mom who has lost a child to a drunk driver speaks to other moms in that situation, is she excluding those who lost a spouse from drunk driving? No, she simply has a message based on her experience.

If you see racism in his actions, you are being really silly. He's not excluding anybody. He simply has a special message based on his background to others who share his experience.

This Country, whether your race minded brain can grasp it, isnt just black and white. Theres hardly any such thing as white either. Italians hardly consider themselves on the same level as "The English" who settled this Country. Im Scandinavian, "white folk" cant even pronounce my last name. There are plenty of other people who, as a group, do poorly on standard examinations do to language barriers and poor upbringings. A widely ignored fact is the number of whites on govt aid. Yet there are TONS of programs to lift up ONLY blacks. What about the Mexicans? Chinese? Peruvians? Russians? All the other poverty stricken immigrants who fall through the cracks in the public education system....oh thats right you dont care about them cause they arent the same color as you....

I understand what you are saying about reverse racism, but you have to remember that for many years the media including CNN had stated that Blacks need to learn to swim because Blacks drown more frequently because they are afraid to swim and are usually non- swimmers. This Olympic swimmer put more emphasis on blacks because they are usually non-swimmers and hate to swim. THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH RACISM

I think its not that we should "only do things to benefit a particular group". Its that we should do things to address a situation that is THREE times worse than the norm! How blind can you folks be to even twist this. In the article Black kids are THREE times more likely to drown - that is why he is addressing the special problem and given his special experience on the issue. If he were white and addressing this disturbing statistics many of the embarrassing racist whiners here would actually not see anything wrong with what he is doing and might even find it laudable. Now he is racist because he is particularly helping black kids who are three times more likely to drown and not have learnt to swim.

See J, you say that. But the second you hear on the radio that a local group has started an all white program for blah blah because its an epidemic you be madder than hell.

A widely ignored fact is the number of whites on govt aid. Yet there are TONS of programs to lift up ONLY blacks.

Can you show me ONE publicly funded program that is ONLY for blacks?

This Country, whether your race minded brain can grasp it, isnt just black and white.

It is white OVER non-white OVER black and indigenous.

Theres hardly any such thing as white either. Italians hardly consider themselves on the same level as "The English" who settled this Country

I don't see a category for "Italian" on a census. You're either white or you're not. Globally, I do see a hierarchy amongst people typically considered "white", but I don't see it in the US.

Tek I guess we all look the same to you. Hispanics also used to be under the White category on the Census as well. The Census is just lazy. You cant take 1/4 of the planet and call them white, then another 1/4 and call it black. Do you think Jamaicans should be lumped with Kenyans just because theyre both black? No because what the metrics are being used for may be sensitive to differences in those two populations yet you clumped them together as black so the metrics are useless. Its bad statistics. There are Russians in bad neighborhoods too that do just as poorly as blacks. Yet the Russian children are white, so they get grouped with the educated English thus giving them no aid.

And It would take me forever to make a list of government aid directed towards blacks because there are a TON. If you're denying this then you're ignorant to the facts or just dont care to look into it.

http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/aframfam.htm

Heres a link to a research site talking about govt programs for blacks. They exist whether your argument likes it or not.

So, he doesn't care if white kids drown? Seems pretty clear to me.

Heres a link to a research site talking about govt programs for blacks. They exist whether your argument likes it or not.

Ohhh man...

So

1) If these programs HURT THE AFRAM community more than they helped them, it makes your point moot.

2) These programs weren't and still aren't just for African Americans. The biggest beneficiaries of Affirmative Action have been white females. Affirmative Action Policies have also helped (and hurt) Asian Americans, Native Americans, and Latinos.

In fact, your whole article seems to support my assertion, that being non-white, but especially black, is the burden in this country. Quote from YOUR SOURCE:

While some African Americans have worked their way into the middle and upper classes of society, they are finding that they are now facing new barriers because of their race. For example, racial profiling by police and discrimination in mortgage lending and by insurance companies have especially hurt blacks as they moved into the middle class.

“Once African Americans worked their way into the middle and upper classes, they encountered a new set of problems that they hadn’t experienced before,” she said. “They found that they still don’t have the same opportunities as whites.”

Many scholars have debated whether African Americans’ lack of success in American society was mostly because of their race, or because of their lower social class, Jewell said. The problems that middle class blacks face today show that it is indeed race that has hurt blacks in the United States, she said.

The American government, with all of its rah rah about "integration" and "post racial society" has FAILED black people (although I'm not sure why black people would trust the same government that oppressed them in the first place to do anything postiive). In fact, this article asserts that black people SHOULD RELY ON THEMSELVES TO DO THINGS, i'm sure while ignoring the baggage of being called "racist" by the white people who promised them things would be better and then failed them. This swim program, started by Mr. Jones, intended to help children of color learn to swim is an excellent example of the types of programs to be set up - and it doesn't say anything about white people not being allowed to join - although we know they won't. Historically black colleges have educated people for over a century, and the percentage of whites there who typically get a full ride just for being white are still astoundingly low.

The failure of government programs to help African-American families means that the Black community itself has to come up with strategies to improve their own situation, according to Jewell. Government social programs are still extremely important, but they must work in cooperation with existing institutions in the African-American community, such as the Black church.

Isn't that what a lot of "conservatives" talk about?? Black people not "relying on handouts and entitlements"?? Not spending your precious tax dollars (like black people don't pay taxes) on doing stuff for citizens of this country? But when a black person who "pulls them self up by their bootstraps" and does exactly what you all supposedly wanted him to do, now "its racist".

I want someone to outline exactly how you want black people to act in this country. Because I am extremely confused.

You simply said they dont exist. I pointed out that they do. I said nothing of the outcome of the programs. Thats a whole other conversation. Feel free to message me if you would like to communicate further in a friendly level headed convo.

And this guy isnt pulling himself up by the bootstraps, hes doing a good deed, but only for blacks.

Because we are all racists

That is a Good point bill from MS .... but there IS a reason why that is..... it's called American History (Institutionalized Racism, etc. etc.), and Stereotyping. For some STUPID reason there's this stereotype that Black Folks can't swim or are not good swimmers, which of course is ridiculess. Basically I agree w/you. His efforts should be directed at EVERYONE with maybe a little emphasis on the black community because of those statistics.

Maybe if you spent more time reading the entire article and actually comprehending what is written you wouldn't have posted such an idiotic comment. Did you miss the part in the article that noted that 40% of WHITE children cannot swim while 70% of African American children cannot swim? Perhaps because so few of American Olympic swimmers have been Black, the reporter took the opportunity to highlight his cause. Did you read the part that informs that he became a swimmer precisely because he almost drowned as a 5 yr old? What a miserable loser you are to try to turn this story into a racial issue...USA! USA! USA!

(Our colors are RED, WHITE & BLUE)....

NB820.....ummm, there is a racial element to this story only because the subject of the story is about race. Did you not read it, or do you just prefer calling people losers?

I do applaud your excitment for the games though. I hope he and the other U.S. participants do very well.

Do you seriously think people want to be racist. Backward thinking as you put it ? Its everyday life that causes the many view points. Look around, Don't you see what going on right in front of your eyes. (and ears). Tell it to people like radical Louis Farrakhan. The new Black Panther Party to name a few.

Actually my black coworker saw the headline and thought it was inapproprate to only offer the classes to black kids.

Yes, and believe it or not (especially you racists).... There are MANY black folks out there who feel that it should'nt be limited to just black kids. And I am one of them.

Let's see you drive into downtown Richmond, VA or Baltimore, MD into a predom Black neighborhood and you are not and simply ask for directions...

Let's see what kinda welcome-wagon reception you will receive.

What the HELL are you talking about?????!!!!

i dont see any mexicans speaking here. what are you talking about pained?

I wish I could catch Pained1 in/by some water to see if his ideas float.

So you are saying if there were two turntables, a mic, a forty and an AK in the pool, this would solve the issue?

Maybe there is a certain segment in our society that needs to get out more instead of segregating ITSELF and wollowing in self-pity and having an "I am owed something" mindset that is now a cultural damnation and target for the GOP.

Until people themselves decide to get up, go out and see there is a bigger world other than the block or the hood they live in, nothing will change.

Yep, blue-eyed devils are the cause of the world's problems...

Okay, so by your logic, implying that black people should get sick and die is better than teaching kids how to swim?

Common sense is an endangered species...

until you drop the us and them attitude...things will never change .. I watch The First 48... I see that its 90% blacks commiting murder...But where the hell are the parents of these kids??..

Proud white Canadian

That's one of the most ignorant and assinine comments i have ever heard. So you are saying that black folks are "typically" racist. I bet you wish that were true, but it's NOT dumbass .... Just as I KNOW that not all white people are stupid racists like yourself.

Graeme... Simply put...

Black households in the US are disproportionate to all other ethnic groups in the US for unwed pregnancy and single-parent rasing kids (usually the mother).

Breakdown of the family unit and plain disregard for respect of others and responsibility across the board in a certain segment in our society is to blame... Bill Cosby even said it so NUMEROUS times.

Like I said - so typical.

I hope Phelps does put a plan together to help only whites.

What's good for the...