I was enjoying my daily dose of Yahoo News this evening only to learn that black people can’t swim, or at least 60% of them can’t. The big plan is to target inner city kids and start teaching them how to swim. I think this is a great opportunity to reach them before a tsunami hits the inner city or pool purchases in the apartment complexes shoot through the roof. I know last time I walked through Atlanta or NYC, I had come close to drowning in the pool just off the patch of a shopping center. It was close but luckily there were white kids there to save me. If I remember correctly there were 5 of them and all 5 jumped in to save me.

Ok back to reality here. This is not higher education or competitive jobs we are talking about. This is water, and if I remember correctly I first learned how to maneuver in water from my bath tub. I eventually lucked out and found a small body of water called a pond. Once I figured out how to kick my legs and move my arms I could eventually go out further into the deeper water. Is this about me? No this is about the want to learn how to swim. For the most part it is free and some town hall’s have indoor swimming pools and offer lessons for free. So why is it 60% of the black population can not swim? Is it possible that rappers on BET don’t normally swim in pools? Is it becuase the motivation to go and get in the water is not there? Is someone holding them back? I guess we will never truly know, but I find it hard to believe this is a real issue we are facing in America.

My concern is basic things like reading, writing, and social skills. I have been to the ocean, lakes, ponds, pools, and even my bathtub and have swim next to every race (except the bathtub). If you are black and reading this and honestly can say someone discouraged you from swimming then my apologies. I am not racists in the bit, but it seems the mainstream media wants to keep putting racial lines out there in these types of articles. If it’s not blacks, then it’s Mexicans, or some other race. Next I am going to read that 95% of blacks can’t ice skate and something needs to be done about it. When are we going to shed this equalness every race is suppose to have? I am not disappointed that I can’t rap, jump high, or play dominoes. I simply never wanted to learn. In fact if I drove my truck up and down the road here and asked all the kids over for a pool party (majority being black) I bet no one would say yes until I said I had beer, and even then they will only drink my beer and ask to hold a dollar.

Some of us want for other things in life. No one is shut out from swimming unless they continuously piss in the pool or can’t stop splashing. Swimming is not a rich disease, and it’s not something other races say we can’t let them do this becuase it’s our secret in case we all want to leave for Cuba one day.

They also went as far as to talk about segregated pools in this new report. I hate to break it to people but the segregation started to stop in 1965. Sure we still have limited racism, but does this really stop people from learning how to get in the water almost 45 years later? Thats two generations and in the inner city it’s more like three. I would easily say by the 80’s the practice of true racism (in many places) and open separation was virtually gone accept maybe in Mississippi. So can we play the race card? I firmly don’t believe we can here. My parent’s didn’t teach me how to swim. I simply just went to water like most normal people do.

Perhaps I live in a secluded world, but when I go around the United States in my travels the country is never anything like the media continues to portray it. They keep us thinking misery, racism, and fear to keep the ratings and bucks rolling in. If you’re black and want to learn how to swim come on over. I will gladly teach you. That offer will probably go unanswered though. If you take me up on it then you better not splash or piss in my pool.