Join the Revolution and Like Turtleboy Sports on Facebook, and/or follow us on Twitter.
Want to have your business advert viewed over 2 million times per month? Email us at Turtleboysports@gmail.com for more information, and check out our website about types of advertising we offer.
Update: the two people pushing to take down the racist/offensive blue lives matter ribbons, are a married couple:
That’s how one vote became two votes. A married couple of social justice warriors teamed up to do this.
Turtleboy went to Royalston for the first time ever when we did our zip trip/bone ride through Northwestern, MA. We visited nine towns that day, and Royalston was the worst. Keep in mind, Winchendon, Gardner, and Athol were all on this trip. And Royalston still got last:
TB Zip Trip: Ranking Northwestern Worcester County From Nicest To Crappiest
Because Royalston has EASILY the worst roads in the entire state of Massachusetts.
And this is what your average neighborhood looks like on Royalston:
It’s smaller than Colrain, and we never thought we’d write about them. But then today we saw this story:
Athol Daily News: With pressure from a group of concerned residents Tuesday night, the selectboard ordered that all the blue ribbons on the town common be removed on Friday. The ribbons were placed by members of the Blue Ribbon Initiative two weeks ago. The Blue Ribbon Initiative was created by two women from New York, a wife and mother of a police officer, who wanted to do something positive and show support for members of law enforcement. The project has since reached 18 other states.
OK, so what’s the problem? Five cops were just killed in Dallas for the crime of wearing a uniform to work. Three more were killed in Baton Rouge. Anyone with a brain would say that it’s a good thing to show support for the police considering that there are so many people out there who wish to do them harm.
The first controversy for the Royalston ribbons was the fact that they were placed without a permit. The town bylaw regarding the use of town property states that, to post anything on the town common, or any other town-owned property, it must first be approved by the selectboard through a permitting process.
OK, so the selectboard passes this common sense permit and everyone is happy. What’s the problem?
Police chief Curtis Deveneau said that he had received a phone call from Jessica Wilhite, a Royalston resident, the wife of a local State Trooper and a member of the Mass. State Police Wives group and subsequently, the Blue Ribbon Initiative, asking how to go about putting the ribbons up around town. Deveneau said he would have to consult the selectboard about it. As a result, the request was to go before the board at their Aug. 30 meeting; however, upon arriving, the selectboard observed the ribbons were already in place. As they were already in place the board took no formal action either way regarding them. At the close of Tuesday night’s meeting board members Christine Long and Linda Alger said they would have approved the request without a second thought or considering that they might offend some people.
Problem solved. Plus, this is Goddamn Royalston. There’s literally no reason to go to Royalston unless you’re looking to go drunk fishing with Brett Killoran. No one lives there, so you just put the ribbons up and everyone moves on with their lives. So again, what’s the problem?
Wilhite said she had spoken with both Deveneau and DPW/fire chief Keith Newton about the ribbons and admitted that she was preparing for a vacation when the ribbons were placed and at the time the concept that anyone would be offended by such a positive message didn’t even cross her mind. “I’ve had local officers drive through and tell me that it felt wonderful to see the support on the town common,” she said. “I never meant any disrespect by putting them up.”
As of the end of August the towns of Gardner, Salisbury, Hopkinton, Phillipston, Montague, Lunenburg, Hardwick, Marlboro, Leominster, Carver, Sturbridge, Athol, Orange, Ayer, Princeton, Harvard, Brookfield, Townsend, Becket, Dalton and Oak Bluffs were all in approval of the blue ribbons. Only the Hubbardston selectboard struck down the request as the board in that town told the group that they don’t traditionally support such a cause.
Oh cool, all these other towns are doing it too. Except for Hubbardston? What the hell is your problem Hubbardston? I thought all the problem selectman from that area lived in Barre.
Residents Nancy Ferron and Joan Katz led the opposition against the placement of the ribbons, asking for their immediate removal. Both women expressed that they do support the local police department, but were curious how anyone could make such a personal statement on town property.
Wait….what??? How is supporting the police a “personal statement.” The cops work for us. We pay them to protect us. A general and communal show of support is the exact opposite of a “personal statement.”
Ferron and Katz both used the word “visceral” to describe the response they felt when first seeing the ribbons around town. “I understand there is a significant amount of people who support the blue ribbons but there is also a lot of people who are against them,” said Ferron.
No. Just no. No one is against them. It’s just Nancy Ferron and Joan Katz. Two anti-police busy bodies who spend their time finding out ways to be a pain in the ass to normal people.
“Considering the time that we are living in with police officers and people of color being murdered, I think it’s an emotionally tense time, and I speak for myself although I can say others have agreed, it’s sort of an in-your-face kind of display. I personally am very uncomfortable with it given the dynamics going on. With the Colin Kaepernick thing and the body cameras in Boston, I would prefer not to see town property portend to represent the entire town.”
Just a reminder that four paragraphs above they said this:
“Both women expressed that they do support the local police department.”
And now they’re saying that blue ribbons in support of these cops that they claim to support are offensive. Yup, that makes sense.
Check out Royalston’s Wikipedia page. Let’s look at their demographics:
“As of the census of 2000, there were 1,254 people. The racial makeup of the town was 98.64% White, 0.08% African American, 0.56%Asian, 0.16% from other races.”
Just over 1,200 people live in Royalston, and 0.08% of them are black. According to my math, guess how many black people live in Royalston? One. Ya got that? They’ve got ONE black person that they are protecting from these harmful ribbons. Oh yea, and there’s nothing racist whatsoever about two white women assuming that black people will automatically find offense to a show of support for the police. I mean, all black people hate the cops right? At least that’s what Colin Kaepernick has been saying. And God knows Colin Kaepernick’s refusal to stand for our National Anthem should dictate whether or not people in Royalston support their police department.
Newsflash Nancy and Joan – you are the racist ones. You went out of your way to move to the whitest town in Massachusetts. There are many cities and towns in this state with large minority populations. You purposely chose not to live in any of them. As a matter of fact you moved to the ass crack of nowhere on the New Hampshire border, so that you could be as far away from black people as possible. But please, tell me more about how you’re uncomfortable with ribbons supporting the police. Because it sounds like you’re uncomfortable living around black people. Just sayin.
Long asked the rest of the board where they stood on the issue. Selectman Jack Morse replied that, “As a selectman I won’t get started on where I think the police department can go, and I don’t think this is the place to get started, because personally, I don’t think they are shooting enough.”
“I don’t think they are shooting enough.” This man is a Goddamn American hero. We’ve been saying that for months now. Cops put their lives in danger to preserve the lives of assholes who are trying to do them harm, because they don’t want to be the next Darren Wilson. If you fight a cop, you die. Don’t wanna die? Don’t fight cops. End of story.
Katz replied that she would never be against the police but noted that by putting the ribbons on the town property it means the whole town is in agreement on the topic, “Aren’t I a part of the town?” she asked.
You’re 0.08% of the town. Your stupid opinion is meaningless in a democracy. Go pound sand.
Ferron added that the request to remove the ribbons was not about “dissing” the police. “It’s about a national discussion that needs to happen.”
I keep hearing about this “national discussion.” As a matter of fact I see people having these discussions on social media every day. How long do they have to go on for before we agree that the discussion has taken place?
Resident Steve Chase stated that there is a negative connotation with blue ribbons too, noting that the Blue Lives Matter and All Lives Matter campaigns began after the Black Lives Matter movement for negative reasons.
Scratch that – make that THREE assholes in Royalston who have too much free time on their hands. Blue ribbons commemorating the many police officers who have been killed in the past year as a direct result from black lives matter LIES, have “negative connotations.” Ya got that? This is a negative thing. Might as well be a swastika.
“People coming through town are not going to see this as a welcoming town.”
People coming through town? Who the hell “comes through” Royalston? Here’s a map of the area:
You got a lot of people doing the Warwick-Winchendon shuffle? Seriously, if you live in Winchendon (sucks to be you) then you can what you need in Gardner. If you live in Warwick then you can go to Orange. They’ve got a Walmart in both of those place. Literally NO ONE would ever go to Royalston except for people who live in Royalston. No one in the history of this nation has ever “come through” Royalston, and that includes the Native Americans.
“It puts the town in a bad light. If I was a person of color coming into town I would duck my head down low and keep driving,” he said.
Oh look, a white guy talking about what he would do if he was black. Do you know Steve Chase? Because based on this comment any rational person would reach the conclusion that he’s a racist piece of garbage. That’s what real racism looks like. A white person who tells you how ALL black people are feeling. He assumes that the imaginary black people who will be “coming through” Royalston will all will be intimidated by these memorial ribbons. But anyone who has actually interacted with black people understands that this isn’t true. At least not for ALL black people. Steve Chase wouldn’t know because he obviously hasn’t had the one black guy in town over for dinner yet.
Steve Chase is exactly as you pictured him:
That is the face of a white man whose entire understanding of people of color comes from his many leather bound books. Not surprisingly he is a college professor and “advocate”:
Steve Chase is the founding director of Antioch University’s environmental studies master’s program in Advocacy for Social Justice and Sustainability. He teaches courses in Organizing Social Change, Political Economy and Sustainability; Leadership for Change; Diversity, Justice, and Inclusion; and Nonprofit Organizations and Social Entrepreneurship.
How many SJW buzzwords can you fit into your bio without actually interacting with people of color? Answer – all of them.
“I think it’s grand that you want to keep everything fine in our sweet little town but there is no Royalston bubble anymore,” said Katz. “I’m glad so many of you can say ‘this isn’t happening in Royalston’ and can divorce yourselves from that when it is happening everywhere else in the world. My request is don’t put political or personal statements on town property.”
Jesus H. Christ, she just doesn’t shut up. Hey Joan Katz, last year the Royalston Police saved five people from dying, including three small children:
But I guess this means nothing to her. Because, ya know, black lives matter. She was reading about it on the Huffington Post.
Anyway, the board that claimed they supported the ribbons ultimately ended up voting to take them down because gutless people find it easier to give into racist “social justice warriors” rather than do the right thing:
Long said that the number of ribbons put up did make her take pause to consider the broader implications. “You say you are not a part of Blue Lives Matter but that seems to be what it is tied to in people’s minds. So in the future I will give a lot of care to these kind of decisions,” she said. As a compromise, the board agreed to allow the ribbons to remain up until the end of this week, but must be removed by Friday, in time for the fair being held this weekend. This includes the ribbons also placed around the South Royalston village. Wilhite said that, as a Royalston resident, she would like to be allowed to leave half of the ribbons in place. Alger replied that the issue is all or nothing.
Keeping them up for a week and then taking them all down is a compromise? Are these people on crack? The three person board of selectmen is in this picture:
The guy in the walker was the only one of the three that voted to keep the ribbons up. The one who made the comment about cops not shooting enough. His name is Jack Morse, and clearly he’s good shit. The short gray-haired woman, who apparently decided to dress in stalkings and her leftover wallpaper, is Christine Long. The woman on the right, who oddly resembles every elementary gym school teacher ever, is Linda Alger. These are the two MORONS who gave into a mob of three SJW’s and agreed with them that “blue lives matter” is offensive. According to Christine Long, she still supports the cops though:
“The fair is the big issue, I understand,” said Wilhite. “You don’t want people coming into this town and not seeing support for law enforcement.”
The board took offense to this statement with Long saying, “I think Curtis would tell you that we show nothing but support for the police.”
Yup, you show “nothing but support for the police.” And you do that by taking down ribbons that were designed for the sole purpose of showing support for the police. Hey idiot, you can’t have it both ways. I know you’re really old, and you probably have never been on social media before, but the Internet is about to destroy you. Check out the comments on the Athol Daily News Facebook page to get a sneak preview. Anyone with a brain knows that you can’t claim to support the cops while taking down ribbons that support the cops, simply because a bunch of racist white people trying to alleviate the guilt they have from living in an all white town made you take the ribbons down.
Christine Long’s term on the Selectboard ends in April of 2017. She’ll be up for reelection. ANYONE in Royalston who wants to take her down will get the full support of Turtleboy. Do it. Take out papers and add her to the Turtleboy Sports Graveyard.
We urge you to support the Turtleboy Sponsors by doing business with them. Without them none of this is possible. Click on any of them to check out their sites or Facebook pages.
Wormtown Brewery, Union Tavern, Bennie’s Cafe, JJM Insurance, Smokestack Urban Barbecue, Smitty’s Tavern, Julio’s Liquors, The Gun Parlor Range, Attorney Anthony Salerno, Rotti Power Equipment in West Boylston
Want to have your business advert viewed over 2 million times per month? Email us at Turtleboysports@gmail.com for more information, and check out our website about types of advertising we offer.
28 Comment(s)
Looks like the liberal crowd from Amherst, Northampton have infiltrated the area.
I own a beach front vacation home in Royalston. I wanted to bring my internet girlfriend Fiesty there so we could drink pina coladas out of coconuts and have sex on the beach but I had to break it off with her because she was way to clingy. I STILL LOVE YOU FIESTY!!!!
Banger parade begins at noon
Latin kings line up first with 10 cars and 8 motorcycles pre registered
Bloods line up second with 12 motorcycles and 6 cars
Crips line up last with 6 cars
The red neckers said they were coming with 23 trucks however they have not paid so no teller
I love men. In blue, like really, really love them
They are usually very intense and love to keep at it
Soooo awesome ladies everyone should have the pleasure
Petersham is another town that has the ribbons in the center.
These idiots. I plow for royalston, the roads suck. They actually paved the common then it looked too new. Soo they voted to lay pea stone on it to antique the fffing brand new pavement. People drove over it for a year. Basically taking half the life off the brand new road. Also look into the eagle sanctuary with no trails or roads on it. Meanwhile they patch potholes instead of repairing. The dpw workers have their hands tied.
Who cares Royalston is literally nothing.
Not that I’m supporting him, but the guy pictured in the article here is not Steve Chase from Royalston. The picture you posted is some guy from Keene, NH, and I’m guessing he doesn’t deserve the slander of this article…
Maybe it’s my short attention span but all I got out of this story is blah, blah, blah K-9 officer Viktor is FUCKING AWESOME!!!!
Here is the good news, apparently people are lining up to take the ribbons & put them on private property. I assume there are more blue ribbon supporters than not. They should start a petition to have them step down or Vote all the selectman out of office. Time to stand up to these foolish SJW’s & get back to the America that is NOT OFFENDED BY EVERYTHING..
Not all of them. Leave that fine upstanding American man in place.
Attention all Bangers
Low rider parade in Royalston on Sunday September 11 meet at the common at noon.
Blunts for everyone free forties to the first 50 cars
No worries this be a cop free zone
First place for loudest radio
First place for loudest exhaust
Banger parade
Sell-out lemmings, who are part of the official PC herd. Pitiful to say the least.
Would it be ok to put up Black Lives Matter banners on town property? hmmmm ? My guess is yes, they would all embrace it
Steve Chase is a skip noodle MORON!
Over/Under on ‘Number of Cats Owned’ by Christine Long?
12 cats. And they’re all fat.
I performed a Mountain Dew spit take after reading this comment.
Sorry – that had to sting 😉
Great story Turtleboy way to keep the public inf……………………WAIT A FUCKING MINUTE!!!! Do you know what this story and the latest news from Immokalee Florida have in common? Neither do I because neither place is relevant and nobody gives a fuck what’s going on there!!!!
Every private residence should cover all trees with blue ribbons, give these losers the big finger.
YES! Paint the town Blue! Blue porch lights on 24/7. Blue spotlights on private flags 24/7. Blue Halloween lights and Christmas lights — leave up until Easter then call them Easter lights. Get local businesses to put up blue lights and put Support the Blue on their signs. So tired of a handful of people dictating what the majority can and cannot do on things that do good and support good people just to feel powerful.
Entertaining article, by the way, Turtleboy. Every town has those who experimented with corn cobs as teenagers and haven’t been able to remove them to this day.
Disban the police and let the get tho bangers from Worcester do their Christmas shopping in this shit hole of a town.
Sunday, September 11, 2016, low rider parade all welcome need low rider with fancy lights, loud muffler and plenty of base!
All gang bangers invited!
More freedom moochers
That’s not Steven Chase of town
Linda Alger and Christine Long are not a married couple. Your screenshot shows it is the two complainers Nancy Ferron and Joan Katz who are married. Just saying…
I totally agree that it’s crap that the ribbons can’t stay up!
Oh. God that explains everything!
Good on Jack Morse, and shame on the others for bowing to social justice nonsense.