Tennis: a snob sport for the upper class?

[Bartelby]

The upper classes have long since done with caring about the great unwashed except to beat them with a long stick, feed them corn syrup and pay them next to nothing.

[ollinger]

^^ As ever, a nuanced perspective.

[max]

Originally Posted by Bartelby

The upper classes have long since done with caring about the great unwashed except to beat them with a long stick, feed them corn syrup and pay them next to nothing.

I think this is really about as good as you can get to the marrow of the truth in just one sentence.

[TERRASTAR18]

Originally Posted by stapletonj

tennis was racially segregated in the american south (no blacks in the country clubs)...tennis was religiously segregated in the american north (No Jews in the country clubs) at the same time.

There was little racial segregation or race problem in western europe at the time. Of course, blacks were less than .1% of the population there. Europe had all kinds of problems with Jews, Catholics vs. Protestants, etc., at that time. Not excusing the racism in the american south, it was a bad thing, a shameful thing. Just pointing out that western civilization across the board at that time was much less tolerant than we would like to think.

(2013-50=1963, 7 years AFTER Brown v. Board, racially integrated colleges were the norm, althogh uneasily so still, even in the South)

50 years ago there were very few public courts in the USA.
Ergo, private clubs only, ergo, elitist image
nail up a basketball hoop anywhere for $10 and a $5 ball
(1963 prices) and you've got a place to play.
See how the elitist image exists?

there was plenty of prejudice in england and europe and there still is today.

[stapletonj]

My first sentence was perhaps misleading.
I was referring to the more overt racial bias/fear/hatred, such as "whites only" bathrooms, drinking fountains, lunch counters, etc.

[max]

In the south side of Chicago, as a white man I once had racial epithets shouted at me by a couple of young black men and they also threw the rocks of railroad ballast at me.

This was a surprise to me, since I was merely walking down the street, minding my own business and heading to a used bookstore.