Yes, there is a racism problem in Pendleton County

    In high school, Bob Myers did the production The Music Man and a line from one song has stuck with me over the years.
    “Well, ya got trouble, my friend, right here, I say trouble right there in River City.”
    Many watch the peaceful protests being hijacked by rioters with looting and burning of business and see it as a big city, Democrat problem.
    As Professor Harold Hill sung, “We’ve surely got trouble! Right here in River City.”
    We have racial problems right here in Pendleton County and it is our responsibility to address it and fix it.
    The story above highlights the racial actions that can happen to law-abiding, community supporting residents in our county.
    In June, I reached out to 10-12 people from a myriad of races and life stages to get some feedback for what I had hoped to be a series on issues that are in our county.
    Only Dontaie Allen responded. I applaud the young man for that courage.
    There are racial undertones in our county. They are unacceptable.
    When the local convenience stores went under new   management,   how many thought  or  heard  a   comment   about   the nationality of the new owners? There were many unacceptable comments made simply on the new owners nationality.
    We are better than that.
    I reached out to Pendleton Countians who were uncomfortable making comments about their experiences growing up because they are in a comfortable place now and did not want to stir it up.
    I can tell you as a young basketball coach, I had to deal with a player disliking his teammate simply because of the color of their skin. That dislike festered because of their parents feelings.
    I was a young coach and looking back now, I wish I would have handled it more forcefully as I did when similar issues arose when I was an alternative school teacher. Students love to share the thoughts that they hear and learn from home.
    We are better than that.
    There are people who try to use the Bible to justify hatred and I reject that stance. The Bible clearly says repeatedly that people of all nations will rejoice in Heaven. You might have missed that but it said ALL NATIONS. That is races, countries, etc.
    We are better than that.
    Recently, we are all dealing with the effects of covid but for adopted students of Asian descent to be repeatedlly asked if they were the one who had brought the virus to this country, is plain idiocy. You are a moron if you have uttered these words to a child who has been living here for more than a decade and you thought it was funny.
    We are better than that.
    Racism is not solved by government. Racism is not solved by polictians, actors, sport stars, or any of the things we see on television.
    It is solved in each of our households. It is solved in our conversations and the comments that we allow silently without stepping up and challenging the idiocy of racism.
    It is solved by that person you see each morning when you look in the mirror. THAT is where we solve racism and the person that is vital gets on board and does not accept racial and inappropriate actions and comments.
    We are better than we are now. Let’s be that person and community and not look for others to be the solution.
    We are the solution