inside the pool hall you don't see racism too much. i gotta admit i'm grateful for it
Racism
- Thread starter Fatboy
- Start date
I've played and worked in a couple states, including California and the South, and never heard anyone seriously throw out the race card. Anyone who knows anything about the history of pool knows great players of many races have made their mark in the game.
ShootingArts said:
So make a sign over the table, no Masse shots, no dripping tentacles on the table. Several thousand eyes can't be as good as one dominant eye or they wouldn't have so many perhaps, so ask for a spot of say 1500 or so. These little details can be worked out for a fair game. But just calling the droopy Vespa Minor or Plegia card is bullshit. And it isn't pool.
Get with the program and just think and shoot straight, anything can be played.
I think the OP is worth revisiting...this post reflects my experience in the pool world.
pt....gambled in Harlem....and south of Seven Mile Road after dark
Any endevor that allows you to be humbled on a regular basis has no time for such things. Yet another reason to love the pool hall.
Do you mean sports bar and grill?
Racism here in the Ozarks has all but disappeared, at least as far as pool play goes, and that includes gender bias, as well. The only problem we have now are the league players. They're every where. You can't swing a dead cat by it's tail without hitting one.
Why, just the other day I saw a bumper out in the back parking lot (just the bumper. It wasn't attached to a car) that had a sticker that read, " I'd rather be deed than play on a league." (I know. I didn't think much of it either.)
But what are you going to do? They get together on Wednesday, and Thursday nights, drink like there's no tomorrow, and make little minor leaguers until the cows come home. I never seen the like.
On the other hand, if they were to pull up stakes and leave our former pool hall (now sports bar and grill) it would probably close. Then I'd have to play at home, and I don't have a pool table at home. Maybe I should go over and talk to one of them. Get to know them a little better. Who knows? :smile:
"Compton safety", I like it.
I'm a Colorado native, never lived anywhere else. You'd think life here at the foot of the Rocky Mountains is fairly benign, easy goin', and for the most part it is. It's a melting pot of races and cultures, politics, societal traditions and norms, religious beliefs, etc... but racism is alive and well including in the billiard community. No one is ammune. It's an evil that has to be endured, that's just the way it is. Sad really, it's not so prevalent that it would keep you away from the game but it does rear it's head. The best you can do is beat back and play on
Leave it to Hu to come up with a new wrinkle on racism.
The upside to knowing the creatures from Vespa Minor is that they are great baby sitters...they cannot only keep an eye on your kids....they can keep several.
Born raised and lived my whole life in Texas.
The term "n-word pool" was something I commonly heard when I first started playing...in bars, the VFW hall and clubs.
I haven't heard it as much in the past twenty years as now when I play, I am in a pool room where the quality of play greatly exceeds those locations of my early years.
I have never heard that term uttered by anyone that could actually "play".
Perhaps there is less racism in the pool room because it seems the general public views anyone that can play is a con man of some sort. Therefore we as a group are look down upon anyway.
Jimbo
The term "n-word pool" was something I commonly heard when I first started playing...in bars, the VFW hall and clubs.
I haven't heard it as much in the past twenty years as now when I play, I am in a pool room where the quality of play greatly exceeds those locations of my early years.
I have never heard that term uttered by anyone that could actually "play".
Perhaps there is less racism in the pool room because it seems the general public views anyone that can play is a con man of some sort. Therefore we as a group are look down upon anyway.
Jimbo
Leave it to Hu to come up with a new wrinkle on racism.
The upside to knowing the creatures from Vespa Minor is that they are great baby sitters...they cannot only keep an eye on your kids....they can keep several.
I do miss his posts here, Hu is truly a very interesting guy. I have had the fortune of corresponding with him for many years. I have even traveled to Louisiana a few times to hang out with him.
I will say Hu makes a mean dish of Red Beans and Rice.
At my age (very old) and having been active in the pool scene for over 70 years, I have to say, the subject of racism has been beat to death on this forum. I think it is just the new digital information age of computers, that has brought it to the forefront.
As many have said, a mans ability to play, and his personality, far outweighed the color of his skin, or his place of birth. I cannot remember racism ever being a subject of interest during my days..You were judged by the way you played, and how you conducted yourself. Sure, there were always racial slurs, (such as nig--r pool) especially in the deep south, but they were mainly used to describe a style of safety play, which only became prevalent in recent times.
I cannot remember racism ever being a major topic of conversation, while we were sitting around discussing the latest match-up, or who beat who!..No one cared about those things in the good old days..If they did, we kept it to ourselves as it should have been!
As many have said, a mans ability to play, and his personality, far outweighed the color of his skin, or his place of birth. I cannot remember racism ever being a subject of interest during my days..You were judged by the way you played, and how you conducted yourself. Sure, there were always racial slurs, (such as nig--r pool) especially in the deep south, but they were mainly used to describe a style of safety play, which only became prevalent in recent times.
I cannot remember racism ever being a major topic of conversation, while we were sitting around discussing the latest match-up, or who beat who!..No one cared about those things in the good old days..If they did, we kept it to ourselves as it should have been!
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At my age (very old) and having been active in the pool scene for over 70 years, I have to say, the subject of racism has been beat to death on this forum. I think it is just the new digital information age of computers, that has brought it to the forefront.
As many have said, a mans ability to play, and his personality, far outweighed the color of his skin, or his place of birth. I cannot remember racism ever being a subject of interest during my days..You were judged by the way you played, and how you conducted yourself. Sure, there were always racial slurs, (such as nig--r pool) especially in the deep south, but they were mainly used to describe a style of safety play, which only became prevalent in recent times.
I cannot remember racism ever being a major topic of conversation, while we were sitting around discussing the latest match-up, or who beat who!..No one cared about those things in the good old days..If they did, we kept it to ourselves as it should have been!
What he said. I grew up in Texas, learned to play in Temple and A black man taught me a lot about pool and gambling. You were judged by your level of play not your skin and like the above poster said, if racism was in those pool halls it was kept to one's self not spoken.
This was in the late 50's and 60's.
The money's always green!
I had some green money once....but I blew it.
For what it's worth, I will say the same as others in this thread. It never really mattered much. There were groups of course - that bet together and if you were not of that persuasion you couldn't get down, but it was all good - no different than a tight nit group of friends as afar as I was concerned. The ONLY thing that I can add and I'd imagine it was the same in various places is that the " black " players could come to wherever to gamble without worry - the same WAS NOT TRUE for the white players going to certain spots in DC. There were several spots in DC that were big action spots but if you were not brought there with somebody from there you WERE NOT welcome and you WOULD NOT leave with the money regardless if you won or loss. To be fair there are still spots on the opposite end of the spectrum around me, it's understood and all good as far as I know.Bottom lin there were ( and are ? ) spots in DC you just don't go unless invited. Overall though, no racism - everyone's money is green.
I've heard the term "nigger pool" more than once. Apparenently, safety play makes us crackers mad as hell.
I gave some money to Two Tooth Sally, once. And she blew it. :grin-square:
Back in my time in the service, 67 - 70, you were either a splib, chuck, spick or gook. God forbid if you were a redhead. Times have changed. When the $hit hit the fan I didn't give a rats a$$ what color you were as long as you had my back. I would never use the N word today and hate it when people do. Anyone who says they never did is lying or they were raised by saints IMO!
Today I would never call someone a spick or a gook or anything that offends someone. BTW don't call me white. I'm not white. I'm dark skinned compared to paper. Not dark dark but more tan looking. I'm part Polish and part black German with a little mutt mixed in.
Back to Fatboy's post I get what he's saying but we still have a ways to go. Playing pool today I don't care what you are as long as we get along. If we don't get along it's not based on the color of your skin. FWIW I don't play well with others. Mostly because I can be a bigger a$$ then you if you're a a$$ towards me. In other words don't fug with me and I won't fug with you, period and I'm not ten feet tall. Far from it.
Willie Munson has a few war stories about how it was back in the day being a man of color. He has wondered out loud to me what would have happened if he would have won the U.S. open back in the 70's.
Yes, times have changed just not enough IMHO.
Today I would never call someone a spick or a gook or anything that offends someone. BTW don't call me white. I'm not white. I'm dark skinned compared to paper. Not dark dark but more tan looking. I'm part Polish and part black German with a little mutt mixed in.
Back to Fatboy's post I get what he's saying but we still have a ways to go. Playing pool today I don't care what you are as long as we get along. If we don't get along it's not based on the color of your skin. FWIW I don't play well with others. Mostly because I can be a bigger a$$ then you if you're a a$$ towards me. In other words don't fug with me and I won't fug with you, period and I'm not ten feet tall. Far from it.
Willie Munson has a few war stories about how it was back in the day being a man of color. He has wondered out loud to me what would have happened if he would have won the U.S. open back in the 70's.
Yes, times have changed just not enough IMHO.
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