by
John Stevenson
In this
year’s Iowa State High School Boys Basketball Tournament, rivals Valley High
and Des Moines North High faced off in the first round. Valley High’s school colors are orange and black,
but for this game many of their fans turned out in patriotic red, white, and
blue.
Some
supporters of North High charged racism.
Huh? Erin, one of the North High
moms, is quoted: “For the supporters of one team from a primarily white part of
town to paint themselves as the ‘team of the USA’ it strongly implies that the
other team, the less white team, is less American.”
On the
other side, Valley High student Mallorie said “This country is the United
States of America and our colors are red, white, and blue no matter what color
of skin you have or what race you are. The intention to offend anyone…was nowhere
in the thoughts of any of our student body. Why would it be? We all live in
America.”
Valley
High’s student body is 76% white. North
High’s is 31% white (28% Hispanic, 25% Black, the remainder are other
races). Some of the reporting says that
North High has a significant but unspecified population of refugees, but I’ve
been unable find any data on this. So
the thinking goes that displays of patriotism by Americans, in America, is
offensive to minorities and refugees (if there are any refugees in Des Moines). An odd concept that refugees would resent the
national symbols of their refuge, but let’s forge ahead.
Complainers
at North High included the assistant coach, but not the head coach who said
that he did not notice the USA apparel or see sinister intention by the Valley High
students, “...we are proud of our
diversity at North High…” So not all saw
it the same way.
There
were, of course, the inevitable allegations of racial slurs, including the
chant “deport them.” These may have been
imaginary, since none of the officials, administrators, or teachers present said
they heard any such thing.
Apparently
Valley High supporters come decked out in USA apparel for games they believe to
be of special significance. (Probably a
more likely occurrence in the heartland than here on the left coast.) For example, they did it for their football
game against Dowling Catholic High earlier this school year. More on that in a moment.
Probably
the most discouraging comment came from North High student DeNasja: “Even if
that was their theme for the game, I feel like they should have switched that
because everyone knows North is a more diverse school.” Translation: minorities and refugees (if any)
are rightly offended by American patriotism, so don’t display America’s colors.
Sadly,
Valley High’s student council was moved to send the usual obligatory and
groveling letter of apology (“deeply sorry if we have offended anyone”) but
also pointed out “we have traditionally dressed in such a fashion for great
games such as the one last night.”
Was it Valley
High’s motive to demean North High for their diversity? Well, remember Dowling Catholic High? Dowling is 87% white compared to Valley High’s
76%. That would seem to militate against
the claim of racial motivation for wearing the red, white, and blue.
But the
bigger picture. The complainers claim
offense at having to view the red, white, and blue. They go beyond being unsupportive, or even
indifferent, but instead are hostile to America’s colors. Or at least hostile to having it displayed by
a group perceived as whiter (and therefore more American?) than they are. This is very sad, because it says that we are
no longer a melting pot but instead a hopelessly fractured society.
And a
solution. Note to the offended: embrace
your national colors. The Harlem Globe
Trotters wear red, white, and blue. If
they can do it, so can you. The flag is
our common ground. The red, white, and
blue belongs to all of us. Join up.
For
those who care, Valley High won the game 57-55.