Before starting ,you should know that I am a white male, living in St Petersburg. I moved here from Pennsylvania in 1994. While growing up I had no colored friends or students in either Elementary, High school or College. My first experience with people of color occurred in the Army. I had no problems nor did I feel that I should treat them differently than my white friends.

When I got out of the service, I met and worked with a few colored, and had one especially good friend whom I socialized with, in my home and out in the public arena.

We stayed in contact for many years, till he moved away. >From that point on I had no occasion to associate with people of color.

Over the intervening years I found that their Given name” was changing. We now had to call them “Negro”, as per the NAACP. Then several years later they demanded to be called “Black”. That lasted for several more years until they now demand to be called “African American”. The only thing we can not call them is the N bomb. Of course they can use it among themselves, and on TV and in movies. If we use it, we are RACISTS. I find all this very strange since none of the rest of the Americans hyphenate their origin and attach it to their name. Scratch that. I now see that the Illegal Mexicans and Legal Latinos want to be called “Latino Americans” Before long there will be no REAL Americans. I have come to the conclusion that by doing this they think they can demand special treatment. Maybe they can. It seems our Legislators give them whatever they wish, in an attempt to get their votes.

As you may have noticed, they have been allowed a “BLACK CAUCUS” and now a “LATINO CAUCUS”. Can you imagine the yelling and screaming if we all of a sudden, had a “WHITE CAUCUS”?

I am sure you can all remember when Miss America was composed of white women. Many years ago the NAACP and Civil Liberties forced the inclusion of Black contestants, and were not happy till a Black woman won. Of course this sort of backfired since she was later disqualified. Now they have a “Black Miss America”, which white contestants are not allowed to take part in. Can you picture the yelling if we had a “White Miss America”? As you can see, there is a definite double standard. And they call us RACISTS. Can you say after me “Cake and eat it too?”

Blacks are continually complaining that they do not “Get what we deserve” because of their skin color. Think back. Everything they have gotten, starting with Lincoln, was given to them by WHITE MEN. The Constitution was changed. Laws were passed. All giving them more than they earned. A goodly number are still living on the Government’s dole.

Strangely enough, we are not allowed to celebrate Lincoln’s Birthday—or Washington’s. BUT we have to celebrate Martin Luther King’s. Not only that, we now have a whole MONTH dedicated to Black History. We now also have Black Lawyers, Black Journalists, Black everything. But no one can have a White anything or we are RACISTS. Each day there is something else for them to become “DISSED” about. A cartoon, a picture, a word in a book, a joke. Where does it end? What happened to our most precious “FREEDOM OF SPEECH”? People are afraid to even refer to Black people without looking around to make sure they are not heard. Now people are afraid to NOT vote for a Black person for fear of being thought a RACIST. The word is capitalized since it is almost treated like a RED BRAND on your forehead.

Now to the flag. About 16% of our population is Black. Yet, as you can see from my previous statements, they are exerting MUCH more pressure than the other 84%, and getting away with it.

A group of people who had a history that involved 13 States, are being castigated for wanting to preserve THEIR history. Part of that history is represented by the Confederate flag. The Confederacy fought for “State’s Rights”, and lost. I have heard that War called many things. The War of Northern Aggression. The War between the States. The Civil War. I even heard it called, “That Recent Unpleasantness”. BUT I have NEVER heard it called “The war to free the slaves”.

Blacks, Black organizations, and weak kneed Legislators around the country are changing laws stopping Southern peoples from recognizing THEIR History. When will we ever see a “Southern History Month”? As you can see, from reading the Newspapers, and viewing on TV, the screaming has already started about the FLAG at rt 75 and rt 4.

I never saw anyone yelling at the Black Power flags, or the Mexican and Cuban flags that fly all over Florida. It seems that if you are a “MINORITY” you can GET anything, and complain about EVERYTHING, then our “Concerned “ legislators will rush out to make sure they get their vote. When do I, a member of the White Majority, get my needs fulfilled?

I say, FLY THE FLAG . Give the MAJORITY a chance to be heard, for a change.