I recently watched a clip of U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) talking about how he felt during the insurrection on Jan. 6. He claimed, “I knew those were people that love this country, that truly respect law enforcement and would never do anything to break a law, and so I wasn’t concerned. Now, had the tables been turned, Joe, and this’ll get me in trouble — had the tables been turned, and President Trump won the election, and those were tens of thousands of Black Lives Matter and antifa protesters, I might have been a little concerned.”

Was he on the same planet I was on that day? Did he not see what I saw happening? Did he not see the law breaking, the violence, the physical harm being done by white people to law enforcement?

Well, yes, I guess he did. But he certainly saw it through different eyes. What he just said out loud on national television exposed the thinking that has caused many, many years of suffering in this country. He and others like him see whites as law-abiding, country-loving citizens. They see Black people as criminals.

Never mind the white serial killers we’ve all heard about. Never mind the white mobsters who murder for money and power. Never mind the white priests who molested children and the white establishment that covered it up. Never mind the white corrupt politicians and corporate leaders who fleece the country they supposedly love for their own financial gain.

This kind of thinking, now exposed, needs to change. This kind of thinking pits one group against another, pits one person against another. And while whites are busy fearing blacks, the rich get richer, and the powerful continue picking all of our pockets. It's time to wake up. It's time to think clearly. It's time to think for ourselves.

Delores Paulk
Germantown