VT English students examine themselves and life in general from outside the box.
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Post
When I was younger every year I would always show sheep at the Virginia State Fair for 2 weeks. During the weekdays everything was fine and the exhibitors were free to do what ever we wanted during times we weren't showing but during the weekends especially at night the police would ask us to leave early and go to our hotels before it got dark. When I was younger I never questioned why we were supposed to leave early but as I got older I began to wonder why. When one of my parents friends told me I was shocked. Gangs would come onto the fair grounds and look for exhibitors and would harass and torment them calling them names and throwing things and create a big ruckus. Apparently many of the African American gangs associated farmers and stocks men with the south and would target them. Every year there was usually at least one gun fight and the cops eventually sent out armed cops to patrol the fair grounds to try to keep order.
Apparently the gangs thought that all the showsman were from the south and held a confederate attitude, which was not true at all. The exhibitors come from all around the state and I have never met a single one who was racist they all are friendly people who are fun to be around, yet many of the gang members associated farmers as raciest and would target us. I think it is a shame that they felt that way but changing an entire groups opinion is a lot harder than changing a single persons opinion.
When I was younger every year I would always show sheep at the Virginia State Fair for 2 weeks. During the weekdays everything was fine and the exhibitors were free to do what ever we wanted during times we weren't showing but during the weekends especially at night the police would ask us to leave early and go to our hotels before it got dark. When I was younger I never questioned why we were supposed to leave early but as I got older I began to wonder why. When one of my parents friends told me I was shocked. Gangs would come onto the fair grounds and look for exhibitors and would harass and torment them calling them names and throwing things and create a big ruckus. Apparently many of the African American gangs associated farmers and stocks men with the south and would target them. Every year there was usually at least one gun fight and the cops eventually sent out armed cops to patrol the fair grounds to try to keep order.
Apparently the gangs thought that all the showsman were from the south and held a confederate attitude, which was not true at all. The exhibitors come from all around the state and I have never met a single one who was racist they all are friendly people who are fun to be around, yet many of the gang members associated farmers as raciest and would target us. I think it is a shame that they felt that way but changing an entire groups opinion is a lot harder than changing a single persons opinion.