Editor’s note: Steve Ushioda recently unearthed this letter he wrote to the Swarthmorean in 2011 that was, for some reason, never published. It seems sufficiently relevant that we decided to publish it now, nine years later.
To the Editor,
A 4/10/11 letter to the editor bemoaning the “white social landscape” and characterizing Swarthmore as a “gated community” caught my interest and reminded me of my own minor story.
I have lived in South Philadelphia, West Philadelphia, Overbrook, and Mt. Airy, as well as Media, and the only possibly racially motivated street incident I’ve ever experienced has been in Swarthmore! A foreign female friend and I were on a relaxing stroll about the neighborhood. Not once but twice that day I was hit by large, heavy water balloons hurled by teen boys driving what was presumably their parents’ dark blue Ford SUV Excursion. They laughed as they sped away down Harvard. I reluctantly mentioned this to the local police people (who politely declined to execute any enforcement actions). It wasn’t that big a deal. Nevertheless, it made me look over my shoulder more often when out for a walk. It was also very humiliating.
I never thought I would be crotchety enough to write a letter to the editor complaining about the delinquent kids in town these days. But parents (those parents, especially) should teach their children to respect others who are smaller and of a different race, especially when they are driving SUVs and the victims are humble pedestrians. This sort of behaviour could prove dangerous if a frail or unstable person were targeted.
Don’t get me wrong: I am always up for a fierce, fair water balloon fight under customary rules on the streets of Philadelphia or any other American city. I’m not against fun. And these kids may have cared less whether I was Black/brown, white like them, or Asian-looking. I can’t prove this was a bias crime.
But incivility affects us all. If any other minorities have had similar experiences in this tranquil town and are willing to share, perhaps we can put a stop to this, gate or no gate.
Steve Ushioda
Media
