I try to keep my focus on the Sun’s coverage area. I do. That’s all of Northern Santa Barbara County, plus Nipomo.
But sometimes, something happens outside of those boundaries that really gets my wingfeathers flying across the keyboard.
This week, I’m particularly disheartened/outraged over the comments being made in relation to some Cal Poly football players who were recently arrested on suspicion of robbing a fraternity house and/or other crimes.
Are they guilty? Are they not?
To folks posting online, it doesn’t matter.
What matters most, it seems, is that some of the photos that have accompanied stories about the alleged incident reveal black faces.
San Luis Obispo is one of the whitest cities in the state, and that’s not a matter of opinion. It’s fact—and one that I’ve mentioned before in this column. What also, sadly, seems to be fact is that white people see black people and automatically label them as thugs, as if white people have never been accused of attempting to rob houses before.
Read this comment from one online outlet, CalCoastNews. Someone identified as “Gordo” wrote: “20 years ago I attended a seminar presented by the County of San Luis Obispo and the state of California. During the seminar there was a presentation on methods to increase the racial diversity of San Luis Obispo County. One method that was described to us was an increase in the number of scholarships for minority youth from the inner cities. Clearly some of these youths are the type of thugs that we are reading about in this article. I wish I could say I was surprised by what I read but I am NOT as I frequently walk downtown San Luis and see other people who can only be characterized as street thugs wearing their Cal Poly clothing, suggesting that they are students at that University. I will also be cancelling my alumni membership when it is due later this year as the University is creating an unsafe environment with these types off recruitments.”
Let me highlight part of that. Gordo sees “other people who can only be characterized as street thugs wearing their Cal Poly clothing.” What, I wonder, suggests their thuggishness to Gordo? Could it be the fact that their skin doesn’t match the skin of pretty much anyone else around them?
This is just one quote out of many floating around online right now. I would encourage you to read more so you can see what garbage people to the north spout, but I think you’ve got the gist.
The Canary is yellow. Send comments to canary@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Aug 14-21, 2014.