A New Braunfels woman is outraged over what she considers a racist attempt to intimidate her grandchildren from using her subdivision's swimming pool.
Mary Alice Altorfer is hosting a visit from her two grandchildren, whose father is African American. The children swam at the River Tree subdivision pool every day for about a week before someone posted a flier on the pool gate bearing a picture of a black man with a large afro haircut, his arms folded across his chest and the words “POOL'S CLOSED” superimposed.
“I didn't even get the implication at first — then it hit me like a club,” Altorfer said. “I was furious. These are two little kids, and it just makes me angry. I was shocked and angry and hurt.”
Altorfer said only one black couple lives in the subdivision of 172 homes, which average about $200,000 in value, and they never use the pool. She added that the only African Americans who have used the pool in recent weeks are her 6-year-old granddaughter Isabel Martinez and 9-year-old grandson Nicholas Martinez.
“I guess whoever put that up probably didn't like our color,” Nicholas said. “It made me kind of upset.”
Altorfer filed a police report Monday afternoon. She said the officer who took the report was unsure what laws the posting of the flier violated but promised to research it. The officer could not be reached for comment.
Mel Soderberg, a member of the River Tree homeowners' association board of directors, said he got a call asking if the pool really was closed after another resident found the flier on the gate to the pool area.
He removed it and later showed it to Altorfer.
Soderberg said it quickly occurred to his wife that the flier was aimed at Altorfer's grandkids, who are visiting from California.
“It was upsetting for both of us,” he said. “I'm sorry it happened, and I hope they catch whoever did it.”
Nicholas and Isabel said the attempt to intimidate them did not work. They were back in the pool Monday afternoon.
“They're not keeping us out of the pool,” Altorfer said. “This granny got mad.”
man....
We gonna have sum fun with this one. >:3
Net users insist 'racist' sign is joke
Members of an Internet group called Anonymous insist the “Pool’s Closed” sign that appeared at a neighborhood swimming pool in New Braunfels this week was not a racist attempt to keep black children out of the pool, but a harmless joke that started on a social networking site.
The picture of a black man with a large afro haircut, wearing a suit, and the words “Pool’s Closed” superimposed was posted at the River Tree subdivision pool days after two children whose father is African American started swimming there. The children’s grandmother, whom they are visiting, interpreted the sign as a way to intimidate the family and keep them from using the pool.
“Pool’s Closed by no means implies racial bigotry,” one person said in an e-mail to the Express-News after a Tuesday article about the incident. “It is an Internet fad (commonly known as a meme) perpetuated by various Internet communities.”
But Mary Alice Altorfer, who filed a police report after the sign was found, said she is still convinced it was meant to intimidate her grandchildren and keep them out of the pool. After reviewing Internet sites, she said the whole “Pool’s Closed” meme smacks of racism to her.
“I spent the day on the computer looking into it,” Altorfer said. “If you really get into it, it is really about as racist and homophobic as it gets. The excuse that it’s all a joke just does not fly with me. I don’t owe anyone an apology. This is garbage.”
On Wednesday, someone posted a new sign by the pool with an image of a woman with a superimposed afro and the words “Pool’s Open.”
Members of Anonymous, who use the slogan “We are Legion. We do not forgive. We do not forget. We are anonymous,” are active on Web sites including one called 4chan.
Members conducted the Great Habbo Raid of ’06 and the Great Habbo Raid of ’07 on the Habbo Hotel Web site. Habbo Hotel is a social networking site for teenagers where users create a cartoon avatar to represent themselves and roam through the virtual world and chat with others.
The Anonymous members all adopted the same avatar of the black man in a suit and blocked access to the pool area of the hotel, shouting at others, “Pool’s Closed due to AIDS.” The swarm of activity caused the site’s servers to crash.
“We all create characters who are black, afro and a business suit cause we feel like it,” a member e-mailed. “No one knows why we do it but we do.”
All the e-mails insisted the character, known as “Nigra Jim,” is not intended to be racist, just an inside joke.
Some said the racially provocative aspect is done for shock value or to be ironic. The 4chan random message board is also peppered with homophobic and racist comments.
After the news article was published, Altorfer said she was bombarded with about 75 phone calls from people, many of whom used racially derogatory words.
Altorfer’s address and telephone number were posted on the 4chan Web site, with encouragement to make harassing phone calls to her home. It was also posted on YouTube.com, where a KENS 5 report on the incident was posted.
It had generated more than 65,000 views and 1,200 comments by Wednesday afternoon.
New Braunfels Police Department spokesman Mike Penshorn said a witness saw the person who posted the second sign on Wednesday, but he did not have a description of the person.
He said the postings may have simply been an inside joke referring to the Internet phenomenon, or the image may have been appropriated by someone trying to send a message to Altorfer’s grandchildren.
“It’s kind of hard to say without knowing the underlying motive,” he said.
He added that whether posting the sign violates any laws would also depend on the motive.
Congratulations 4chan, you even made the news section of America's most prestigious white nationalist publication.
>>Congratulations 4chan, you even made the news section of America's most prestigious white nationalist publication.
Huh, like that's hard to do.
As long it uses da word "nigga" or "nigra" it's still sound like racism here....
And I was wondering what is the polite way to refer the American-Africans here.....
>And I was wondering what is the polite way to refer the American-Africans here.....
What are manners to a community of barbarians?
Huh???
> “They're not keeping us out of the pool,”
You've got AIDS!
"A week ago, New Braunfels grandmother Mary Alice Altorfer had never heard of YouTube."
http://www.herald-zeitung.com/story.lasso?ewcd=b954486549178036&-session=HeraldZeitung:459356981
18e4039E5Mki125621F
>>11
Well there you go. I hate old shits butting into our business, especially black old people (the most irritating kind aside from Chinese and Korean old people).
So, that is why 4chan went down.
So its safe to say that anonymous and 4chan are another product of white nazism.Serves right that 4 chan went down.
Damn. And I just got my confidence in humanity back up to the societal norm.
FUCKING NIGRAS
RETARDS