I mostly agree with you...except the part of the woman telling them to "get, get" and shooing them off like dogs...who does that to whites? I guess it could be a Southern thing...I remember my gran doing that to us kids...the man was an army vet so is it possible they are from some where else and mistook that as disrespect or racism?

There are not enough details from both sides...and of course, the headlines have to be attention grabbers as usual...so infuriating...

@thinktwice If being harassed or assaulted is synonymous with racism, then I have been the victim of racism many times in 48 years. Just because someone is unstable, or an asshole, doesn't mean they're racist.

Reading between the lines, it's my bet that both sides had a part in it. Something out of the ordinary had to have happened for the KoA employee to snap on them. If it was your garden variety racism, why wait until these two particular people show up? No, something happened that my spidey senses are telling me the Richardsons are conveniently leaving out of their story..

@Piratefish true...we never seem to get a clear picture without reading 15 versions of it reported all over...obviously there are many scenarios possible...I looked at pictures posted on their website and did not find any with blacks in them, but there were other people of color, so I think you are correct...my guess both sides said things to escalate the situation...

@thinktwice My problem with this approach is that the admin building I currently work in has over 40 other people working there as well, but not one of us is black. Does that mean one can conclude that we (and the company we work for) are racist then? Of course not, it's logically absurd. By that measure, every place I have ever worked for is racist, because none of them have had a workforce that is at least 12% black. I'm just not buying it, especially when just about every place I have worked for has gone out of their way to attract black talent (I should know, I served on a committee for 5 years that had attracting blacks into the profession as one of it's top goals).

A lot of so-called "evidence" of racism these days is as flimsy as it gets. Some people just seem to want to believe there is rampant racism everywhere, so they look for it, and often where it does not seem to exist (except solely by subjective claim). The lack of black faces in a company photo as proof of racism would never pass as evidence by either legal or scientific standards. It's only "proof" for those who have already made up their minds.

I've seen dozens of stories in my lifetime about weapons being introduced into arguments and disagreements. The majority of the time, it is white on white, black on black, etc., but whenever it is white on black (or any other minority), then automatically it must be racism? Even in cases like this one where there is a distinct lack of any clear, objective evidence that the incident was racially motivated? She spoke to the Richardsons no differently than I have had other whites speak to me on multiple occasions throughout my life. How that "proves" racism seems pretty dubious to me.

I know a divisive agenda when I see one. Populations are so much easier to control when we are fighting with each other. But people will believe whatever they want to believe. Whatever they have been programmed to believe. Critical thinking is all but dead in our ultra-PC society today.

@Piratefish You will get no argument from me that sometimes race is the default for all sorts of issues. It should not be. An example is my husband and his family. He attended school where there were basically no blacks in his school...for a lot of reasons from no jobs for ANYBODY, to not an area where homes were available because they were passed on to family (rural)...he had never had any direct experience with blacks or any other race, including mine...

When I met his family, his dad said he had never met an Oriental...was he a racist? No...perhaps not PC and perhaps a bit ignorant of the facts, but not racist...plus he was from a different generation...

On the other side of that, a lot of people were racist...they had no knowledge, direct experience, and didn't care...they made ugly remarks (Jap, slant eye, etc.) that were only based on my appearance.

When I went to a gas station in Indianapolis, I waited for quite a while for someone to pump my gas...a black man walked out and told me to get going as gooks were not welcome...that was also racist based on hate, fear, whatever.

Most people who use their brain can tell the difference...and reality is, we only get to see the worst most of the time

@thinktwice More precisely, we only get to see one side of the worst most of the time. I love how the elite have managed to convince so many of the masses that inequality is the fault of racists, sexists, and other assorted bigots, when the simple truth of the matter is that this is the way it has been since ancient times: the elite have entrenched themselves into power, then get us blaming each other for how they have been dry raping us for millennia. It's actually quite brilliant.

Not saying that racism and sexism and bigotry do not exist, I just don't think it is the reason for for inequality so much anymore. Being a straight, white male may have conferred certain advantages 50 and 60 years ago, but not so much for most of my lifetime. In fact, I am the target of more and more hatred and bigotry with each passing year, even though I have personally never persecuted anyone on the basis of their race, ethnicity, religion, creed, sex, gender, sexual preference, sexual orientation, or any other demographic. Yet me and millions of other innocent straight white males get crucified as a group almost every day in the media. Gets pretty @$%!& old after a while, and it's no different than stereotyping any other demographic.

Not my fault that this country has mostly been controlled by rich, elitist assholes who also just happen to have the same color of skin that I do. But when you look at other cultures and nations, every race has its elite who have turned out to be tyrants as well. Race has nothing to do with it. It's human nature. Just look at all of the Asian, African, Arab, and Hispanic dictators and despots throughout history and in the world today. But if we can be convinced that racism is what is holding some of the disadvantaged back, we'll be too busy bickering with each other, and focused on the handful of ignorant bigots, to effect real change. And real change requires breaking up elite dynasties that stretch back hundreds, even thousands of years. They fuck over everyone but themselves, then get us blaming each other for it. Brilliant, really.

@Piratefish Let me know if you solve this age old issue...it is brilliant, actually...always needing a scapegoat, and perhaps the new one is now straight white males....do we each get a turn until the groups run out? Seems to be new "groups" appearing all the time...it is a troubling phenomenon...and what happens if you belong to multiple groups? I hate this "identity" politics and support some of the grievances and find some to be off base just as well...

We have to stop the blame game...or should I say, we have to stop buying into the hype and start talking to each other...

@thinktwice The solution is simple, quit playing the game. Refuse to participate in it. When the media is obviously trying to stir the pot, speak out. Shun the people who find racism in everything just as much as you shun a true bigot. They're just as destructive and divisive.

In short, quit letting yourself be played. If everyone did that, we would realize that we all have far more in common with each other than we do with our current masters. Yeah, there are racists, sexists, and other assorted bigots, but simply looking around will show that those people are a small minority, and they're a dying breed. Why pretend like they're the ones who hold power and are driving the rampant inequality that affects more and more of us with each passing year? The wealth gap is just as real for me and millions of other straight white males as it is for anyone else. Racists are not responsible for it, selfish, greedy assholes are. And they'll fuck over a "fellow white" just as quickly as they will an Asian, an African-American, a Hispanic, an Arab, or a Native American. Make no mistake about it.

Just quit playing their game. It really is that simple.

@Piratefish I do confront people on this...but I also hear their stories and have been attacked...I won't be in denial that it is not happening because I can't if I see if myself...I don't watch commercial tv and am not on FB...I mostly read...

I will also tell you that I feel vilified a lot because of money...I don't consider myself a selfish, greedy asshole and I don't think I have fucked over anyone intentionally...and yet, people buy into that narrative as well...

@thinktwice I have been physically attacked three times in my life because of my skin color. I have also worked in accounting and finance most of my life, so I get to see first hand the greed and selfishness of our current economic system. There is no way I can trick myself into pretending the economic elite do not exist, and that they do not enrich themselves at the expense of everyone else. No one should be raking in millions (and especially billions) when many in their workforce need government assistance or charity to make ends meet.

The fact that the wealth gap has grown exponentially over the last 45 years, and that over 95% of all new wealth has gone to the top 1% is not unrelated, an accident, or a coincidence. It's called greed and selfishness, and I have been tracking it as part of my job as a well-educated professional most of my life. (To be clear, I am not referring to a small business owner who makes a couple hundred thousand a year, or a manager who makes $150,000 a year - they are not the problem).

@thinktwice So you're a multimillionaire business owner who has a significant part of her workforce relying on government and charity to make ends meet? Why else would you feel vilified if you're not referring to someone who earns a couple hundred thousand a year and pays her employees as best she can?

@Piratefish oh...agree...misread

@linxminx did you see the pictures of the location? Except for a tiny KOA flag that may or may not have been there, it would look like a huge park similar to those all around lakes in most states. There are picnic tables set up away from the campground, a beach, cabins, and yes, RV's as well...could they have mistaken it for a state park?...maybe...the manager was extreme in her reaction, but of course, we have no real idea of what the couple might have said off video to prompt her to get her gun...

If the immediate reaction to asking someone to please leave is getting your gun, therein lies the problem of gun violence...was is racist? Has it happened to whites that may have wandered in?

Yes, we don't have the whole story, but c'mon, a couple having a picnic is a threat to others how...spoiled mayonnaise?

Your analogy to a hotel setting is odd...one is hardly related to the other...ie indoor space vs. outdoor space...

@linxminx "Campground, hotel, air bnb, managers do have the responsibility for their guests safety."

and using a fire arm in these locations is definitely a concern for safety...

@linxminx I agree that they need to protect their guests...but hotels also have boundaries that indicate visually that the space is private...when I looked at the campground pictures, I couldn't tell how the access road was...was it open, was it marked, etc. I have traveled a lot through some country areas that I was not so sure if I was on private property or not...I do not have the problem when I go to hotels...but that is just a petty point and not relevant to the story...they were greeted with a reaction for which I think the woman wished she had 6 seconds to rethink her action. Thanks for your point...we all can do better by not responding in a knee jerk fashion.