Racism. The answer is racism. Saved you a click.
I came here to say this. Thanks for getting there first.
That was a really interesting read and yet again racism is the foundation of another major part of American society. What a shame we don’t have public pools anymore. Ugh.
We still have them, just less of them.
There is still one where I live, and I read the other day that my town is building another one on the other side of town. So at least some places still have them. I remember spending my whole summer at ours in my hometown, but I haven’t been to my local one in the 10 years I’ve lived here. Not sure how I would go about being comfortable to go by myself as a young adult, though I know no one else there actually cares. Nice read by the way.
I spent so much time at our neighborhood pool as a kid. We would get dropped off by a parent and then they’d come pick us up either around dinner time or when a thunderstorm rolled in. Other days, we would go after dinner and stay until it got dark and the pool would close.
I just looked it up, since my hometown had budget issues a few years ago, and it is now owned by the YMCA.
As Whites withdrew from public pools and parks, taxpayer funding and support for pools dwindled. In Cleveland, the city’s recreation budget was cut by 80%.
Classy bunch.
They seem icky and unsanitary like I’m swimming in a public toilet. They were fun as a kid before I started viewing them that way.