'New Apartheid' reigns at University of Waterloo swimming pool
In the name of diversity, the University of Waterloo is practicing a modern form of racial discrimination at the school's swimming pool.
Remember many decades ago when so many people the world over, especially those on the left, justifiably railed against the grotesquely racist system of apartheid in South Africa?
South African citizens were literally judged by the colour of their skin and treated accordingly.
A boycott/divestment/sanction movement against South Africa spread around the globe. This nation was banned from competing in the Olympics and soccer’s World Cup. Tourists shunned this country. South Africa is an undeniably beautiful land, but under apartheid, the politics of this nation were off-the-chart ugly.
It took a few decades, but the BDS movement worked. Apartheid, which was first established by South Africa's Nationalist Party in 1948, was deader than disco by the early 1990s.
Fast-forward to our young 21st century, and it would appear that leftists no longer seem to think apartheid is such a brutal system after all. Segregation is back in style — at least on university campuses. And one of the more appalling examples can be found at the University of Waterloo.
Incredibly, twice a week, this southwestern Ontario institution ensures that the swimming pool is open to black folk only. (Correction: that’s black folx. We get it: spelling doesn’t count anymore. But really, what is “folx”? Is a “K” too colonialist whereas an “X” represents equity? Madness.)
Indeed, these segregated swim sessions are disturbing for those who champion equality as opposed to equity. Twice a week for one hour, only black people are allowed in the pool. Oh, and if a black person doesn’t know how to swim, no problem: he or she can get swimming lessons – provided the instructor is also black! Hopefully nobody drowns in the pool if there’s a lack of black swimming instructors.
And yet, one might ask how could such racist policy exist in a nation that is overrun with Human Rights Commissions and Human Rights Tribunals, whose mission statement is to eradicate all discrimination? (Or is some discrimination OK these days?)
We reached out to the University of Waterloo’s media relations department. Our questions were as follows:
- Is this [black people only] swim real or a hoax? I ask this because the poster that was sent along to me (below) misspells "folks" as "folx".
- Assuming these sessions are being carried out, what is the reason for utilizing the pool for one race only?
- Is this not the very definition of racism — the fact that other races, Asian, white, Indigenous, etc. — are being excluded from swimming strictly based on skin colour?
- Many decades ago, activists justifiably organized a boycott/divest/sanction movement against South Africa for its racist apartheid system. How is your swim policy any different than a form of apartheid (i.e., race-based discrimination?)
- If someone of another race “identified” as being black, would that person be allowed to swim?
And we promptly received an answer. Well, OK, it’s really a non-answer in that it does not address all of the specific questions that were submitted. Here goes:
The University of Waterloo is committed to ensuring that everyone in our community feels welcome in our recreational spaces, including the pool on campus. In addition to the 21 hours of open recreational swimming that is offered to all members of our community each week, the University has added recreational swimming options for family swims, 2SLGBTQIA+ swims, women-only swims and swims dedicated to welcoming Black folx.
Oh, fantastic! We thought the discrimination was merely contained to members of the black community. But no: naturally, members of the spirit unicorn set get special treatment, too.
(By the way, how is the LGBTQ-etc.-etc. policy enforced? Unless one looks like Busty Lemieux, how do the gatekeepers at the University of Waterloo swimming pool know if one is gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender?)
Another query that went unanswered: what about special swim sessions for other identifiable groups on campus such as Asians and Indigenous?
And really, what the hell is the deal with spelling “folk” as F-O-L-X? That is one F-word that is not in our vocabulary.
It’s all so very sad. Half a century ago, Dr. Martin Luthor King Jr. famously opined: “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character.”
Clearly, that dream of equality does not exist at the University of Waterloo. “Apartheid Classic” has been replaced with “New Apartheid”.
It is sad and shameful. And it’s more grist for the mill that so many post-secondary institutions today exist as hives of perverse political correctness and wokeness rather than places of higher learning.
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