Tag Archives: basketball

August 18, 2017 · 06:25

Basketball Court Update: An Activist is Born 


Friends of Padre Steve’s World,

What an exciting day to be alive and to do something that matters for kids. I have written a couple of times about what is going on in my neighborhood regarding getting the kids of our neighborhood a safe place to play. Since I have shared some of the background in those articles I’ll just tell you about the special meeting of our neighborhood association board of directors which was called to discuss the issue. 

Bottom line up front the board is now looking at ways to keep the courts open and plan for an eventful multi-use facility to replace the current tennis courts. The tennis courts are seldom used and the placement of temporary basketball hoops has resulted in a number of good things, although there are some problems which can be worked out. The really good thing is that the kids now have a safe place to play and don’t have to play in the streets since our parks are mostly covered with very nice lakes. In a number of surveys residents have voted by over a two to one margin to keep the courts. 

That being said, a couple of white ladies, including the lady that got me energized about this by coming to my do to complain and enlist me to help get the courts shut down got the first words in. They were negative and one told such a bold faced lie how two blocks away she could hear the kids cursing over her television that most people were shocked. The lady who complained to me went on her usual way to complain about the kids, but other than them most people were supportive and offered suggestions to the board that were generally well received. 

I got to speak to and I have to say that I was persuasive, witty, and even entertaining; and I’m sure that I offended those ladies and maybe a couple of other self-righteous would be dictators. But as Thomas Paine said: “He who dares not offend cannot be honest.” 

So I opened my comments somewhat irreverently, with  with the phrase “May it please the court.” I then introduced myself and noted how long we had lived in the neighborhood and noted that despite the fact that I was a Navy Chaplain with 36 years of military service that I was quite the liberal social justice activist. I then recounted how when I was in Iraq Judy had approached the board about basketball courts and was told by a board member “we have to keep undesirable elements out.”  That brought a gasp from some people and some a number of people nodded their approval. What the people back then said was that they didn’t want Black  kids playing there in so many words even though those are our neighborhood kids. I was able to point out the racism without even saying that word. 

So I continued and pointed pointed out that I wouldn’t have known about the controversy if the older lady hadn’t come to my door to complain about the kids, and pointed her out. That shook her up, she didn’t expect to get called out in public. Later the old bat tried to shut me down by saying “did you say I harassed you?” So I turned and addressed her for a quick moment, and said “yes you did and I won’t have any of it.”  At that the board President told me that I was not to address her but the board members per the rules of order. SoI replied “I do apologize, may it please the court, I was addressing you until she interrupted me so it’s only fair that I be allowed to tell her to shut up.” The board President allowed me to continue and I my words were surprisingly well received by at least half of the board and probably three quarters of the people in the room. 

My only regret is that I didn’t have Judy video my speech, which was longer, more eloquent, and funnier than the others, especially with my satire and ability to respond in the moment with my rapier wit, to the board, the audience, and the old bat. Likewise I didn’t have to threaten to go to the media, the city, or anything, I just spoke the truth and it wa quite the show. The kids and their parents loved it, some people even clapped when I sat down. I am so happy that we often binge watch our collection of all five seasons of Boston Legal. I have to say that I learned a lot from James Spader’s portrayal of attorney Alan Shore. 

The board voted down two motions to shut down the courts and has decided to come back to the issue and study how best to move forward. I volunteered to help out with the kids at closing time and will get a key from the manager tomorrow, heck, I may even get my own basketball to shoot some hoops and get to know them better. 

Over all it was a very nice first outing as a budding community social activist. As one of my friends told me a couple of weeks ago, this might be part of my post-Navy calling. I could see that and I am sure that social activism will be a big part of my life. 

So anyway, I have a couple of draft articles that I am working on and you’ll see those soon. One is about Robert E. Lee, of whose statues there has been so much controversy lately, and another dealing with how I think to best handle the statues. I’m going to hold that last one for a few days to let some of what happened in Charlottesville and other places calm down a bit so it can be read without all the current raw emotions of almost everyone including me overwhelming the message. I have some other articles that I will be producing as well on other hopefully less controversial topics. 

So anyway, until tomorrow,

Peace,

Padre Steve+

4 Comments

Filed under civil rights, ethics, faith, Political Commentary

Tagged as , , , , , , , ,

August 4, 2017 · 06:30

Fighting for Justice in My Neighborhood Update: Let Freedom Ring and I Have not Yet Begun to Fight


Friends of Padre Steve’s World,

Today I made the first step against the racists in our neighborhood who on Wednesday succeeded in convincing the man who put the basketball hopes in our neighborhood to take them down. 

I called the neighborhood association office as soon as it opened this morning to ask what the hell was going on and to express my displeasure in what happened. I’m not going to go into detail today, but according to the lady who works in the office the hoops will come back this weekend. She told me about the alleged complaints and I told her what I had dealt with for a certain older white lady in the neighborhood last week. She knew exactly who I was talking about and she mentioned some of the complaints that were being made against the kids. So I told her about how much worse that I and the kids in the various neighborhoods that I grew up in behaved compared to these kids, and then said but we were white kids in a white neighborhood. She remained silent after that. 

But I was reminded of a story that my late dad told me about a man in his neighborhood in Huntington, West Virginia, who harassed kids for playing in the neighborhood. After being harassed and screamed at by the old man who lived on 18th Street Hill, my dad, his twin brother, and their friends waited until after dark one night when the man went into his outhouse. Once the hatful old geezer was safely in the outhouse they gathered around and pushed it down the hill, with him in it. Then they ran away, and never got caught. To me that was impressive. It wasn’t that they were bad kids, it was just that the old fart was an asshole. Sadly, we have indoor plumbing and no hills in my neighborhood or I would d what my dad and uncle did to the old racist bitch who has caused this situation in my neighborhood. 

But instead of just simply complaining and being a part of the problem I offered a solution. I offered to open and close the gate of the court, and spend time with the kids to make sure things were cleaned up at night and the area was secure. I have other neighbors who are willing to do the same. I also said that the association needs to post the rules about the use of the courts and reiterated my belief that since the developers and city haven’t done anything to give our kids a safe place to play that it was our responsibility to do so. I got no argument. I also announced my intention to run for one of the vacant seats on the homeowners association board of directors. For years people have asked me to do that but I didn’t want to, I just wanted to mind my own business. 

But now it’s different. My wife and I have an investment in this neighborhood. Though I have been deployed, been assigned as a geographic bachelor, and travelled a lot because of my military duties, Judy has lived here for fourteen years and we have been homeowners paying dues to the association for twelve years. We don’t have kids, but the kids of our neighborhood are our kids, and I will be damned if I stand by and let them be treated like crap, as less than human by people who should know better, 

I am hoping that the association will take up my offer and that of my friends to help the kids of our neighborhood. They are good kids, they just need a safe place to play, and if we as homeowners and association members cannot facilitate that then what the hell good are we?

I have become a civil rights activist over the years. I will fight for these kids who are mostly African American, I will fight for women, LGBTQ people, and immigrants. I believe in the proposition of the Declaration of Independence that “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”  To me that means everyone, including the black kids of my neighborhood. They are my neighbors and they are the children of God as much as anyone else. 

That may make me unpopular in some circles but I no longer give a damn, because I share the dream of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal…” 

I re-read Dr. King’s speech last night and as I did tears welled up from my eyes. In fact I had a hard time containing them as I read the majestic cadence of his words: 

I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.”

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood…

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character…

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.

This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

This will be the day when all of God’s children will be able to sing with a new meaning, “My country, ‘tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim’s pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring.”

And if America is to be a great nation this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania!

Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado!

Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California!

But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia!

Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee!

Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

And let me add, Let freedom ring in the suburbs of Virginia Beach Virginia and on on a unused tennis court on which kids can safely play basketball. 

And as Doctor King concluded:

And when this happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, “Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!”

As of now I don’t need to go to my city council member, I don’t yet need to go to the NAACP, ACLU, or the local media, but if I have to I will. I will run for one of those vacant seats on the board and I will speak out every day until I see the dream of Doctor King realized in my neighborhood. 

I will not stop speaking out and I will work with my neighbors to do the right thing for our kids, the thing that developers, the city, and homeowners associations don’t do around here because honestly they really don’t give a damn about the kids. That is evident in the way the these neighborhoods were designed, with lakes, golf courses, and tennis courts, but no ball fields or basketball courts. Don’t get me wrong, I like the lakes, and the golf course, but why the hell should the kids have to play on the streets while unused tennis courts sit idle instead of being converted into basketball courts and a skateboard park? It wouldn’t be that hard, but some of my neighbors don’t want the kids here, so I am standing up today for the kids. I am not going to stop speaking out and I will be part of the solution, not just a complainer. If I am going to complain then I need to be part of the solution or I am no better than the people who do all that they can to oppress others. Actions speak louder than words. 

Anyway. Thank all of you for your kind and inspirational words on this website, on Facebook, and on Twitter. 

Spread the word my friends because in the words of the American naval hero, John Paul Jones, “I have not yet begun to fight.” 

Until tomorrow,

Peace

Padre Steve+ 

7 Comments

Filed under civil rights, Loose thoughts and musings, Political Commentary

Tagged as , , , , , , ,

July 23, 2017 · 06:30

Battling Racism at the Local Level: The Kids are Alright 

Friends of Padre Steve’s World,

I had an interesting experience Friday evening. As Judy and I were relaxing and hanging out with our dogs the was pounding on my front storm door. The dogs of course reacted beautifully, the ran to the door and started to defend the manor. Three madly barking and snarling Papillons can be frightening. At the door there was a short woman who lives down the street from me. I’ve said hello when walking but don’t really know her so I was surprised to see her at my front door. 

She asked me if the kids who play basketball at a newly installed temporary court on our development’s mostly unused tennis courts were too loud. Mind you I live about a hundred yards from the courts so her question seemed to be strange, so let me fill you in on a little background before I go into the conversation that ensued.

We live in a middle class, mixed race community. Many people are military families and most of the rest work in fairly decent jobs or are self-employed. I would say about 35-40 percent of the residents are African American.  Our white population includes a lot of older people and retirees who have lived here a long time. There is little crime and people maintain their property pretty well. I have always felt safe in this neighborhood and have never had a problem with any of the kids in it and we have lived in the neighborhood for about 14 years, my wife living here the whole time while I deployed, traveled, or was assigned on geographic bachelor tours out of state. 

A few years ago a suggestion was made that the neighborhood association turn one of the two seldom-used tennis courts into basketball courts so the kids would have a safe place to play. Since we have lakes that occupy areas that otherwise be parks that could have ball fields, or other places for kids to play it was not an unreasonable request, especially because the closest city recreation center is about two miles away. That initial request was turned down because some people objected saying that basketball courts might “attract the wrong kind of people.” My reaction, as wel, as Judy’s when we heard about that was that it was obvious that the “wrong kind of people” happened to be black kids. 

Well it took a few years but finally a couple of months ago the homeowners association agreed to put up a basketball hoop on one of the tennis courts. It’s actually not much but it is something and there are restrictions on its use. Those who play on it have to be family members of the homeowners association, and have to be issued a key and have to lock up at 9 PM. When the court is not in use it is locked up. So  now instead of unused tennis courts we have a basketball court when any night of the week kids are playing. They aren’t causing any trouble, just playing basketball. It is a joy for me to see. The fact that the majority of the kids playing are black doesn’t bother me, they’re good kids who need a safe play to play. 

So anyway, back to my encounter. The woman began to tell me that she had heard that “people were complaining” about the noise, and she said that she wanted the city to force the kids to go to the recreation center. I told her that I had never noticed anything inappropriate or too loud and that I often walked around the clubhouse area where the court is in the evening and was pleased to to see well behaved kids playing on a court that was almost always vacant before. The woman didn’t appear happy with my answer and I realized what the meddlesome bitch was doing, she wanted people to support her in her attempt to kick the kids out of their own neighborhood. 

She then asked me if the kids were ever disrespectful to me and I got upset. I told her that I see the kids playing all the time and that they are always respectful to e and that I had no complaints. I then told her that I would fight any attempt to close down the basketball court. I defended the kids and asked her “what kind of people would demand that kids not to be allowed to play in their own neighborhood?” I asked, “what do we do when we were kids? Did we not play in our neighborhoods? Were we forced to have to play at a recreation center two miles away from home?” I then preached her a sermon about how for years those courts had been almost never used and that as a dues paying member of the homeowners association that I thought that we had the responsibility to provide a safe place for the kids of this neighborhood to play. I told her that because of the lake and the lack of a real park that the kids don’t have a place to play football, baseball, or soccer other than in the streets and that I wouldn’t let her or anyone else try to shut it down. I told her that I would go to the association, the city council, write the local newspaper, and contact the local television news stations if I heard of anyone trying to shut it down. 

I really don’t think that she expected my response, she backed away and apologized for bothering me. But now I am on guard. I’m going to stand up for our neighborhood kids who need that safe place to play. I am not going to let racist people like her take away one of the few safe places that our kids have to play. 

When I was a kid we played in our neighborhoods, and yes, there were people that didn’t want us playing, but we could play, and we did. I dare say that we were probably worse behaved than the kids on the basketball court. My God we had fights, threw rocks and black walnuts at each other, and ran our bikes into each other’s bikes like we were Greek or Roman galleys. Yes, our parents disciplined us, but we still could play in our neighborhoods, and I’ll be damned if some old racist fogeys try to chase these kids off that court. 

I have been asked a few times to serve on the homeowners association council but never wanted to do it because of my schedule. Maybe I need to run for the next vacancy on it to be a voice that speaks for the kids. 

So anyway, until tomorrow.

Peace

Padre Steve+

4 Comments

Filed under civil rights, Loose thoughts and musings

Tagged as , ,