There was a day and age when I was a pretty angry young man and then I met a pretty little redheaded girl.
You see, I grew up the son of a U.S. Enlisted Man. You can check out the pay scale on the internet. The check isn’t much better today.
I was angry I didn’t get a car until I paid $1,375 of my hard-earned paper-route money for one.
I was teased about my high-water pants as my legs grew faster than momma’s ability to keep me in bluejeans.
And we lived in a part of town that was definitely salt-and-pepper.
And then there was my claim to civil rights fame in West Point, Mississippi.
Do you know who was one of the first four white boys to be whipped by a black teacher in the West Point School District one afternoon?
His picture is to your right.
My country
I’ve started this column three times: first after the riots this summer, the second was the Wednesday after the Presidential Election and the third was after the storming of the Capitol.
You see, what I am about to say will be offensive to some and embarrasing to others.
There is a fear in America that is rising rapidly and something must be done about it.
That fear translates to anger and hate toward others. All who read these lines have seen it this summer. If you are honest you have seen it over your lifetime.
I don’t want this to be column about race. playing the race card is just as easy for a white boy as anyone else.
It’s not about your politics. It’s evident Washington is out of touch with the rest of the world and especially rural America.
It’s not about religion. American’s have been fat, dumb and happy for far too long. We all know there are consequences for sins of omission as well as sins of commission.
No, this column is about anger and hate.
My President
Please look at the photo of the middle aged white man above.
Do you think I voted for Trump or Biden?
But let me say right here I have a deep hope that President Joe Biden will be a good leader and firmly believe he will also work to “Make American Great Again.”
But as I have been disappointed by Trump, Obama, Bush, Clinton, Bush and even Reagan, I have learned not to put too much faith in one man.
Hate is a very personal thing and while we like to point to white hoods and black clinched fists, it goes much deeper than those symbols.
I hope you will read up on Joe Biden and learn what he has suffered and what he has excelled at over the past 50 years in government.
I hope you will also delve into what drove Donald Trump to seek the presidency and find it in your heart to forgive him.
More than anything, I hope you realize Joe Biden is your president, my president, our president, whether you voted for him or not.
My community
Please take another look at the guy in the photo on your left.
He was born white in the Delta, is a product of public schools and a middle class home and been blessed with a loving wife, four boys and a career that has spanned three states.
No, I wasn’t born in Clarksdale, but I got here as fast as I could.
I see things changing in Clarksdale and many of those changes are good. We need to build on them and not let our anger, our hate of others, color our view of the world.
Let me urge you to refrain from anger and turn from wrath, it leads only to more evil and destruction.
Now is the time to build, grow and show other there is something very special about the this country we call our home.
There is anger in America. How will you respond?
Floyd Ingram is Editor of your Clarksdale Press Register. Call him at 627-2201 the next time you get angry at something in Clarksdale.
