Posted on 04/07/2012 2:43:19 PM PDT by the scotsman
'A month ago, six African-American teenagers drowned in a single incident in Louisiana, prompting soul-searching about why so many young black Americans can't swim.
When 15-year-old DeKendrix Warner accidentally stepped into deeper water while wading in the Red River in Shreveport, he panicked.
JaTavious Warner, 17, Takeitha Warner, 13, JaMarcus Warner, 14, Litrelle Stewart, 18, Latevin Stewart, 15, and LaDarius Stewart, 17, rushed to help him and each other.
None of them could swim. All six drowned. DeKendrix was rescued by a passer-by.
Maude Warner, mother of three of the victims, and the other adults present also couldn't swim.
The US has almost 3,500 accidental drownings every year, almost 10 a day. But according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the fatal drowning rate of African-American children aged five-14 is three times that of white children.
A recent study sponsored by USA Swimming uncovered equally stark statistics. Just under 70% of African-American children surveyed said they had no or low ability to swim. Low ability merely meant they were able to splash around in the shallow end. A further 12% said they could swim but had "taught themselves".
The study found 58% of Hispanic children had no or low swimming ability. For white children, the figure was only 42%.
"It is an epidemic that is almost going unnoticed," says Sue Anderson, director of programmes and services at USA Swimming.
The swimming body would like all children to be taught to swim.
"We would like it to be like seatbelts and bicycle helmets," says Ms Anderson.
But the situation in the US can vary hugely even within a single state.'
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.co.uk ...
It absolutely is not a racist question but only a question of a statistical fact.
A a scuba instructor rarely did I have a black student. But when I did the checkout dives at the end of the class were the funniest thing.
Anybody else in the class would either drive themself to boat or have a family member take them and drop them off and pick them up upon the boats return EXCEPT if that person was black.
Then the whole family would pile onto the boat, dressed in their Sunday best to watch the “crazy” family member jump off it into the water.
This was NOT an isolated incident but every time I had a black student.
>> “This was NOT an isolated incident but every time I had a black student.” <<
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You’re right.
Just go to the beach. How many black people do you see? I rarely see any.
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Sounds like you had the soul of a sprite as well.
Just your description of your friend’s sunburn makes me hurt.
With a sunburn like his he couldn’t even lie down to sleep. I’ve had some bad ones but none that bad.
My mother hated the sun and never exposed herself to it and when she died at 91 her skin was like a 40 year old’s.She had warned me but————.
I think because he had a sort of rare type of blood that they needed, they tended to call him in at too close intervals. Then when his strength flagged, they still kept calling him and he went on. It seemed odd to me how often they called him.
Tail of the bell curve?
Statistical variation?
Strength and perseverance?
My friends in the Navy passed, they just had to work harder at it.
Most cities have free swim lessons at their pools. The pools are swarming with black kids. They like to be in the water but a lot don't see a need to swim. You can give the damn white kids a hard time without swimming.
Sooooo, let’s talk about polka music.
As for swimming lessons costing money, that is BS, you can't teach your child on your own without spending a dime, or get a friend to do it.
When I was growing up in Bell Gardens CA, there were public swimming pools all over the area(Bell, Southgate, Compton, all sh** holes today), we called them plunges and used them every summer and for parts of the winter. Most of the kids taught them selves to swim and taught their younger brothers and sisters to swim.
Although many blacks and mexicans(we didn't have hispanics then)lived in the area, very, very few of them ever came to the plunges. There was no discrimination, they simply were to busy terrifying the neighborhoods to go swimming.
According to the esteemed halls of academia, everything is caused by and results in white racism as you adroitly point out. To expound further, lets look at a simple chemistry problem(you know the answer so you get credit already.) When two molecules of hydrogen combine with one molecule of oxygen the resulting substance is : A, Water. B, helium. C, White racism. The answer of course is C.
ML/NJ
It’s the not wanting to get their hair wet sine many spend hours getting it to do what they want it to do I’ve been told.
What about the Eskimo-Americans? Transgender-Americans? Wetback-Americans
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well...obviously your last example swims just fine. Duh.
Well, I’m white and I have never been able to float.
I’m one of those that sinks to the bottom of the pool and stays there if I try to do a back float or a dead man float. I have also always amazed people when they find out how much I weigh. I have always weighed 15-20 lbs more than I look. I can get my weight down to the point I look like a nazi concentration camp survivor but still be over weight according to the doctor charts, and I’ve done it. I used to run a lot of long distances and I was very very thin.
People have told me its my bones. Supposedly my bones are thick and have less than normal hollow space in them. But there is something different about my muscle too. My muscles are stronger than it seems they should be based on their size. I have always been able to match the strength of guys with much larger muscles than me.
I’m a white man that can’t jump OR swim.
I’m beginning to not really care lately.
Race and genetics are contributing factors.
Less body fat and higher bone density do contribute the buoyancy of the human body. While all can be trained how to swim, beginning stages take more work for lean bodies with denser bones to tread water to remain afloat.
Additionally, water conducts heat far greater than air. The less fat layer on the skin allows the body to lose heat much quicker in the pool for the same muscular physiques.
It is also difficult for many African Americans to keep their hair without extensive effort when they frequently wash it in chlorinated water.
There is a reason behind the black hair product market. One of the reasons hair styles such as ‘corn rows’ are popular is to lessen the risk of drying out their hair.
Many such names come from Islamic writings, just as many white Americans are named from Biblical names. There also are many African Americans named after Biblical characters as well.
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