Not just the symptoms

As a young man, I revered the Confederate flag. As a wiser and older man, I better understand the traitorous, destructive idea of preserving white supremacy that that flag represented. It was intended to destroy the United States of America.

Events of recent weeks including protests, riots, and looting are the result of a legacy we have inherited from our forefathers. My friends, relatives, and acquaintances on Facebook, in conversations, and in other forms of media want to talk about these unpleasant events instead of the underlying problems; 400 years of slavery, segregation, Jim Crow laws, job discrimination, and housing discrimination have left us with this problem.

No one is now a slave or slave owner, so many believe there is no problem. Talking about looters and rioting is not a discussion of how we make this country whole and not two societies. Time to discuss the problem and make it better. I have heard harsh words from Black leaders that hit me like a sharp needle. As much as I didn’t want to hear those words, I needed a better understanding. Maybe we all need a slap in the face to wake us up.

Mr. Jack Mayberry wrote an opinion printed in Sunday’s paper directed at the Black community regarding Black-on-Black crime. It stung a little like a slap in the face, but his words should be heard. Bottom line is we all need to wake up and start a dialogue on how we can make this one nation. Houston, we have a problem, and we should look for ways to solve it. Let’s make that effort on how to make it better and not just discuss the symptoms. BRUCE OWENS

Benton