Black basketball player harassed with racist chants

I believe I said some time ago that my posts had become very, very infrequent due to lot interest on my part--keeping up with Fayette County's news is kind of tiring, and unfortunately, this blog started to feel more like a chore most days than something fun.

But leave it to Connellsville high-school students and their horrible racism to draw me out of retirement!

During "Hick Night" at Connellsville, which already means we're off to a great start, Connellsville high-school students shouted racist statements at visiting players from Uniontown.

The parents tell the Uniontown Herald Standard that Connellsville students yelled chants including "Build that wall!" and "Get them out of here!" at black Uniontown players.

Look, I'm not gonna sugarcoat it or spare anyone's feelings here--this is horrible, disgusting, and downright unacceptable. What bothers me the most is that "build that wall" was a prominent slogan during Trump's campaign dealing with building a wall along the US/Mexico border and here, it's been turned into a phrase meant to single out and target non-white people, and that's something I find very troubling. I had enough issues with the phrase and campaign promise to begin with, but to turn it into something to ostracize those of other races is even worse.

I have many, many reasons why I find President Trump disgusting, and this is one. But beyond that, my heart aches for people like those players and others around the country who have faced similar harassment between the election cycle and now who are being singled out and made to feel as though they are lesser than and don't belong. But Trump isn't the only problem--these behaviors are taught, and people need to take a close look at what attitudes and behaviors they're passing on to their children and what those children are putting out into the world. These teenagers and their parents both should be ashamed that this is the way they behave in public at a sporting event, which, despite competitiveness, should be a relatively lighthearted event where everyone can enjoy themselves.

Fortunately, the students were told how their actions could be perceived, but frankly, if this happens again, students need to face some sort of punishment.

And fellow white people? You're not better than anyone because of the color of your skin, so shut up.