Not what I remember

I realize this is going to be a harsh letter for some to read, but it’s all true. And just for the record, North Little Rock was and still is my home.

In his recent letter Gordon Gondek expressed his dislike of political correctness and spoke of his desire to live in a world where people can say what they think. He also said back in the ’50s and ’60s the only racism he knew of was from those “nutjobs … in white cloaks and hoods.” He must have been in another universe, because that’s not what I witnessed.

The n-word was used any and everywhere possible. The tacky jokes were endless. In grade school our bus used to drive through a poor black neighborhood. Most of the kids on the bus would hold their noses while chanting “peeeee-u” as we drove by. My high school yearbook shows that we had four blacks in our senior class. The only one that was even remotely popular, or even spoken to, was the one who made it onto the football team.

My first job, in 1969, was as a secretary in the county courthouse. On my first day, after the head of the secretarial pool had introduced me to the other employees in our office (three were black), she pulled me aside and explained to me that we had blacks in the office because of “that new civil rights law.” Later that day, an officemate gave me a tour. She pointed out the “colored” and “white” signs on the restroom doors and said, “You don’t have to go by that, but most people do.” I used the black restroom regularly because I was ready to cause a ruckus.

We’ve come a long way since then, but still have a long way to go. I believe our current president is not helping, but that’s another letter.

Mr. Gondek, are you sure you’re ready to do away with any “political correctness” and live in a world where people can say what they think? And most importantly, can you honestly say you didn’t witness any of this type of behavior while growing up? Maybe if you thought of political correctness as common decency, you wouldn’t have such a problem with it.

PAT JONES North Little Rock