opinion

Grandview Golf Club racial incident was another embarrassment for York County

Watching the video of a confrontation between a group of African-American women and members of the Chronister family – who operate Grandview Golf Club in Dover Township – I kept thinking, “What were they thinking?”

How could the golf course owners be so obtuse, so tone deaf, so clueless to how their actions would be perceived?

THE LATEST: Golf club called cops on 5 black women members, apologized, and now defends itself

More: Grandview Golf Club gets national attention after police were called on black members

Update: Golfer behind 5 black women who had cops called on them says they weren't playing too slow

I mean, hello? Starbucks? Were they aware of that highly publicized Philadelphia incident in which two African-American men were harassed by store employees, who then called the police to eject them?

In some ways, the incident at Grandview was worse.

The ladies, part of a group of experienced golfers called Sisters in the Fairway, were members of the club.

More: Police called on black members of Grandview Golf Club, but no charges will be filed

More: 5 black women allege racist incident at York County golf course. Here's what we know.

They said they were the only group of African-American women playing on that sunny Saturday. Yet they were singled out for “slow play,” though the women insist they were not playing overly slow. The course rules stipulate finishing in 4 hours, 15 minutes. By the end of the front nine, they were easily on pace to finish in time.

They said former York County Commissioner Steve Chronister told them to hurry up on just the second hole. By the turn, they were confronted by Jordan Chronister, who owns the course with his wife JJ.

Police were called. The women said they were offered a refund of their memberships.

It was ugly.

And ridiculous.

And what were they thinking?

It’s hard to imagine such a response to a group of white golfers.

Steve Chronister is not a bad guy. I know him a little. My son shadowed him as a student in the Future Leaders of York program. Chronister worked hard to improve the education that York City students receive.

But he has a gift for gaffes.

Remember the time he questioned the need for library funding, saying that he wasn’t much of a reader, that golf was his pastime, and that the government wasn’t subsidizing his greens fees?

Remember the time he said he deserved a raise because it was a difficult full-time job – after initially running for commissioner saying it was a part-time job at most?

Sometimes, he’s his own worst enemy – and that certainly was the case here. In a video of the confrontation posted on social media, he can be heard telling Jordan Chronister to let the police handle the situation, “This is what she wants. This is what she does for a living.” He was referring to golfer Sandra Thompson, an attorney who has run for judge and is president of the York NAACP.

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It’s an outrageous statement. What’s wrong with what she does for a living? Is there something wrong with defending civil and constitutional rights? Is that less noble than, say, selling houses or pizza or scheduling tee times?

What was he thinking? Why would he even think or say that – especially in front of a camera?

Open mouth, insert foot.

But sadly, I can’t say this incident surprises me.

Too many York countians are, at best, tone deaf about racial issues, and, at worst, outright racist (read the Facebook comments on stories about this incident).

This is a community that erupted in violence in the 1960s because of racism – resulting in two deaths – and then elected as mayor one of the instigators of that violence against the black community.

This is a community that let those two race riot murders languish unsolved for three decades because many, including said mayor, considered it “even” – one black person was killed in the riots, one white person.

This is a community that steadfastly refuses to do anything substantive to dilute the concentrated poverty of the African-American community in York City – despite well-researched suggestions by urban expert David Rusk.

This is a community whose attitudes about race are so regressive that York College – which has an African-American woman president, no less – refused to allow the public unfettered access to an important art exhibit last year by Paul Rucker that focused on slavery and racism. The school made the wrong call to limit access, but the racial climate in our community made that decision at least somewhat understandable.

This is a community in which, the day after Donald Trump’s election, students at York Tech walked through the halls saying “white power.”

So, this Grandview incident is another national embarrassment for our community.

The day after the confrontation at Grandview, JJ Chronister, who co-owns the course with her husband, provided a statement apologizing for the treatment of these five ladies.

It was the right response.

On Monday, the club released another statement undercutting the apology and all but blaming the victims.

What were they thinking?

Scott Fisher is opinion page editor and community engagement editor. Email: sfisher@ydr.com. Phone: 717-771-204.