Racism in Myrtle Beach is not the problem - the NAACP is

In the May 27 issue of The Sun News, headlines in the local section shouted the monitoring of racism and discrimination by the NAACP during the annual Atlantic Beach Memorial Day Bikefest.

I finally felt the need to express my opinion about the call of racism here in Myrtle Beach, as well as other parts of the country. It seems so easy for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People to express racism at every corner. You talk of businesses closing down during the rally. Where do you get off telling a private business they can't close down?

Atlantic Beach does not take responsibility financially - though they should - for this rally, but continue to support the rally.

You, the NAACP, threatened to be everywhere during the rally and encouraged people of color to call if they felt discriminated against.

In my opinion, you encourage violence with your strong-arm tactics. You basically are telling the city of Myrtle Beach “watch out.”

Where were you when the city of Ferguson was being burned and looted by people of color? Businesses were lost, homes and whole towns burned and looted. Where were you then?

Where were you when Baltimore was being attacked? All we saw was the Rev. Al Sharpton and the Rev. Jesse Jackson making speeches that condoned such violence.

Where were you then?

The good people of Charleston told you and the Sharptons to stay away. They showed such dignity during a devastating time in their lives.

They had the good sense not to have more bad things happen. Their faith knew that a sick young man would get his just due.

Where were you when a white man was beaten and killed during a fit of rage in California by a man of color? Or where were you when a white girl was raped by a man of color in Tennessee? Or any state for that matter?

You preach racism at every opportunity, then strong arm the very people who try and protect us. Of course I know that there are people that discriminate, and I know that sometimes people of color get a raw deal.

But so do the white people.

Are you going to say anything about the two white men wrongly accused of a murder and spent 30 years in jail when the real culprits were of color?

Stop protecting the wrongdoers and start looking at where the trouble truly lies.

When the Spring Harley-Davidson rally is here, there is more respect for the area and its citizens. There are people of color in that rally with no problems. When the Memorial Day rally comes to town, what you see driving down the road is women on the backs of these small razor bikes with hardly any cloths on.

Believe me , its not pleasant to follow that down the road. Is that showing respect? Where are you then?

Where are you when people of color intimidate others just because?

I have an idea. I suggest that the NAACP pitch in some money to help finance the bike rally and help out Atlantic beach. You can do one better and help finance the 600 people police force that it takes to cover that weekend. You could have even helped to clean up after the rally.

If you want to do some good in this effort, quit strong-arming the very people who are trying to protect its city and its citizens.

The writers live in Myrtle Beach.

This story was originally published June 5, 2016 at 11:32 AM with the headline "Racism in Myrtle Beach is not the problem - the NAACP is."