Around HereBy Leo CoughlinIt figures that sooner or later it would have to happen. And it did happen, last week in Pinellas County, in Largo. Because many citizens disagree with the idea of spending $60,000 to erect a statue to Martin Luther King, they were called racists. It is outrageous. And that is not a strong enough word for it. So there you have it. If you are one of those folks who think the city should not spend $60,000 on a statue of Martin Luther King you are a racist. That's what Commissioner Rodney Woods says. Of course, the fellow should not continue in elective office once his time is up. His companion on their trip to New Orleans in November for the National League of Cities clambake (a total waste of funds in these parlous times, by the way), Mayor Pat Gerard, calls citizens of Largo "bigots." Much of this comes from Largo citizens' dismay that a city manager who is engaged in abnormality that boggles the mind wanted to continue in office. Largo folks, like the people in Sarasota, where said former city manager sought employment while all got up in ladies finery, didn't want that peculiarity to be part of their lives on a daily basis per omnia saecula saeculorum. What was the old saying? Samuel Johnson had it, "Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel." Change a few words and you get the idea - "disagree with me and I call you ugly names, based on no known fact." Well I, for one, resent it. Very strongly. And all of us who were at Selma in March, 1965, and those who were in sympathy with the goals of those days resent it, too. A shame that such a noble undertaking then would result in the nastiness of now. Where was Woods then, in those days 42 years ago? A second grader not yet eight years old? And probably a cute little rascal at that? Up to now, he has seemed to be a nice enough fellow. Why now all this vicious racist stuff? In the past 40 years he has grown up in a nation where what was is no longer tolerated. And he has the gall to call those who disagree with him racists? For shame. As to Gerard, she of the giggling and very revealing body language (squirming, grimacing) as she presides at City Commission meetings, she's from New Jersey. And like most Yankees they learn their bigotry - particularly toward the south - very early on. I'll tell you, the language of ugliness and vituperation in politics in Largo is very discouraging. And not only in Largo. In another nearby city a religious and ethnic element was introduced into the picture. We don't need this kind of stuff. The Largo commission is made up of ladies and a gentleman and two thugs who are given to outrageous language when their desires are not immediately catered to. Woods has been yapping about a statue of King since before he was on the commission. In the minds of many, he lucked out and because of the colossal and stupid mistake of an opponent got elected to the commission. The irony is that he was elected by people who came to his defense because of the injection of a racial element in that contest. Irony because in predominantly white Largo those who came to his support had to be white folks. And now he calls them racists. For shame. The arguments against a statue of King in Largo are legion. All well founded. None has anything to do with race or bigotry. Martin Luther King, in his goodness, didn't call those who disagreed with him or opposed him (and some of those folks were monsters) nasty names. Never did it. Given the controversy over a statue to this great man, consider this - What would Martin do? Think on it. |