“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” — Martin Luther King, Jr.
(Well, I have three children, but I really don’t see why I can’t have the same dream.)
On the night of Tuesday, February 5th, I witnessed the single most disgusting act ever that I have seen within the confines of our nation’s borders. It was a willful act of racism so vile that later I found myself checking and re-checking the video I had taken just to make sure that I was not hearing or seeing things.
The incident occurred at the Brother Martin vs. St. Augustine varsity basketball game, hosted by St. Aug. My son and BMHS team captain, Peter, was fouled when springing for a layup. As a result of his legs being swept while he was high in the air, he came down on the court extremely hard and suffered contusions of his hip and thigh. However, in the moments immediately following – as he was forcing himself to overcome the pain and get back to serving his team – a woman in the stands who was supporting the St. Aug team shouted, “Yeah, that’s what you get for being white!” To think that any adult would revel in a child’s injury and then insinuate that he deserved it because of the color of his skin is utterly revolting.
My wife and I are devout Roman Catholics who have taught our children to respect all human beings regardless of the color of their skin and to strive regularly to do what they can to bolster racial harmony. This incident is the insult of all insults and the shock of all shocks to my family. I in no way expected to attend a high school basketball game only to see my son become the victim of racial discrimination. Moreover, no one who is part of the Brother Martin High School community would ever do something so unconscionable. We bring benevolent spiritedness to the events we attend, never hatred.
Ametur Cor Jesu, Ametur Cor Mariae.
