Trembling with fear as he stood precariously on his tiptoes, the rope tightening with every stumble. Gerald could hear the sounds of laughter and chiding erupt behind him from the white-hooded cowards.  

Why the uproar over the Stars and Bars?  Because lynching was commonplace only a handful of decades ago.

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

COMMENTARY:

It is very easy for one to dismiss the feelings of others when they have not walked in their shoes, especially if they are white.  

It’s hard to believe, but up through the mid 1930s the hanging (lynching) of blacks in the deep south was not at all uncommon.  This is certainly not long enough for the memory to fade as I’m certain that there are those still alive today that can remember the horrors of seeing or hearing about  friends and loved ones who met their maker at the end of the racists noose.  

We are fast to criticize the protests of an entire race of people because of a few bad apples, but this in my mind does not diminish the validity of their cause.  Look black history in this country.  They were not brought here of their own volition, they were enslaved for more than two centuries, then treated like second class citizens until the 1960s and many would claim that they still are right up until today.  This I cannot dispute as I for one have never walked even a single day in their shoes.