I am 65 years old. I was raised in the turbulent 60s and 70s. My father was a Cincinnati policeman and the most racist man I have ever met with the possible exemption of my grandfather. <\/p>\n
I cannot imagine my father on patrol. He never had anything but vulgarity to say about blacks.<\/p>\n
Luckily, I had many other influences in my life. In particular, there was Mike, an employer and also a mentor. Mike talked of the Golden Rule: Treat everyone the way you want to be treated. That stuck with me, and I have tried to live it ever since.<\/p>\n
I went to college in the 70s, a strange time when greed and activism were strong cultural adversaries. I met African Americans and realized that they had many of the same problems, anxieties, and attitudes that I had. I became friends with many of my black American classmates, and I did not blow up as my father would have said.<\/p>\n
After college I had many co-workers, some black, some white. I had many bosses over the years, and only one of them was a black man, Clarence, one of the best bosses I have ever had. <\/p>\n
In 65 years, I have made friends with many people, black and white and noticed very little difference in the quality of the friendships.<\/p>\n
I think racism is a learned trait that is just despicable. There is only one race, the human race. Treat people right and they will treat you right. <\/p>\n
I, being a white person, can never know the challenges that racism presents to black Americans. <\/p>\n
The videos that have brought into the open the police brutality to black Americans are shocking and enlightening. <\/p>\n
I have studied economic data and there is no doubt that racism severely limits the amount of wealth that blacks can accumulate. <\/p>\n
A black Americans economic opportunities are severely limited by discrimination.<\/p>\n
Black Lives Matter is a movement that is overdue and very timely.<\/p>\n
Jeff RichardsMoscow<\/p>\n
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See the original post here: <\/p>\n
Letter to the Editor: Black Lives Matter is overdue - The Clermont Sun<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I am 65 years old. I was raised in the turbulent 60s and 70s Continue reading