Confederate Flag

[Jim Page]

Gene wisely wrote:

(08-12-2015 12:34 PM)Gene C Wrote:  I disagree with your comment above as an American who has lived most of his life in the south (Maryland, Florida, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentuckly, and even Virginia). I know some people feel that way, but it's not limited to the south, and it's not limited to white folks. I'm sorry you think your corner of the word feels that way. As a White Southerner, I find that comment inacurate and offensive. I also find it inapropriate for the discussions this forum was designed to promote.

I'm probably one of the few members of the forum who ever had a chance to meet and have a conversation with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I was only 12, but was present when he and my mom had what could have been a disagreeable encounter in a restaurant in Tallahassee.

Dr. King, who was accompanied by Andrew Young, Jesse Jackson, and an older gentleman who's name I can't remember, did something in the otherwise empty restaurant my mother took issue with, and she walked over to his table and upbraided him for it. She did it in a kindly way, and it was obvious to all that her objection had nothing to do with anyone's race.

Dr. King apologized for his behavior and went on to say something VERY MUCH like what Gene posted. I thought that entire encounter was embarrassing at the time, of course, being a kid, but have thought about it a lot since and am glad I was lucky enough to be there. He complimented my mom on being able to see beyond a person's race and thanked her for her treating him as a gentleman.

--Jim