With the recent stabbings that occurred at the Thirsty Turtle in College Park, rumors are swirling that the polarizing bar will be shut down for serving alcohol to minors. The Turtle has long been known as the easiest spot to utilize your fake I.D. in the region (I've always said that if a girl had a pulse, she could show the bouncer a baseball card and he'd let her in.) The bar is generally packed on Thurs-Sat nights, but also on their $2 pitcher night on Tuesdays and has a reputation for being a "freshman bar" as well as a place to meet women of "ill repute" whom one could take home with little to no effort.
Many in College Park, however, are completely oblivious to the overt racism that goes on at this establishment. Being a person with a diverse set of friends and, as has been on display in this blog for years, a keen sense of racial relations, I was quick to notice the way the bar treats it's non-white patrons. For instance, the bar on most nights has a policy that you must be a student at the University of Maryland to gain entrance, however, white people are never asked to show student I.D.'s while, specifically black and latino people are. I have seen on a number of occasions, droves of white people - most of whom were clearly underage - enter the bar with no hassle at all, while a black friend of mine was given trouble beyond belief at the door. On one particular night, a black friend of mine who attends another University had gained entrance earlier in the night, paid his $5 cover, and shown a legitimate I.D. to get in. When he returned a half hour after leaving the bar, he was told he would not be able to re-enter because he was not a student. No refund was given. He was told that if he did not leave, they would call the police. On another, even more egregiously racist occasion, I witnessed two UMD students in line at the same time, one a white student, one a latino student. Both wearing white t-shirts. The white student showed both forms of I.D. and was let in. The latino student does the same, but was told he may not enter due to a policy they have wherein which "no white T's are allowed".
So, while even the staunchest Turtle-goers would concede there is a certain "douche-factor" to the place, they can write that off as a sort of charm. The racist practices, though, can not be written off. It amazes me how few people are even aware of this, but that really just goes to show how most people are generally only concerned with themselves and their own trivial life-dramas. I'd also like to point out that I don't blame the bouncers for this, because I am positive that they were trained to do exactly that. I personally would never work a job that would require such practices, but, I'm not going to knock a guy for making a buck. This clearly came from management, and management is now getting exactly what they deserve. So sure, I feel bad for the people who made their living at that bar, the people who got enjoyment out of going there every weekend, etc. but am I outraged or even slightly bothered by the place getting closed? No chance. Good riddance, I say.
