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There is no monopoly on pride

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Should fairness at college extend to a "white pride" group?

Opinion

By Greg Jackson, Esq.

When I was a kid, my parents would take me to visit my grandmother for the summer in Perry, Taylor County, Florida, known as the Pine Tree Capital of the South -- but I digress. My grandmother, who was one of the fairest people I have known, use to have a saying: "What's good for the goose, is good for the gander."While I did not understand the meaning of those words then, I realized that my grandmother used them whenever a question of fairness arose between her grandchildren. For instance, I recall that one of my younger cousins found money; he immediately ran to the store to buy candy and refused to share any with the rest of us. A few days later, my other cousins and I pooled our pennies, nickels and dimes together, came up with enough money to buy cookies, pickles, sodas, candy, etc., and had a party to which our younger cousin was not invited. When he complained to my grandmother that we were not sharing, she reminded him that just a few days earlier he refused to share his candy with us. She told him that now he would have to accept that we were not sharing with him, because after all "what's good for the goose, is good for the gander."

Recently, I had to channel that spirit of fairness while having lunch at one of my favorite spots, The Catfish Place. The topic of conversation turned from the recent U.S. Supreme Court nomination of Neil Gorsuch, to a story about a “white pride” group that was being started on a college campus. As I listened to how “racist” and “divisive” such an organization would be to the campus, the words of my grandmother rang in my head: “What’s good for the goose, is good for the gander.” As the conversation heated up a bit, I chimed in and asked who had a problem with organizations or individuals promoting Black pride or Hispanic/Latino pride; no one had a problem. I then asked who had a problem with Gay pride. While a few shifted uncomfortably in their seats, none had a problem. I then said if we are willing to accept that certain groups have pride in who they are, like it or not, we must be willing to accept that there are other groups who have pride in themselves as well, even those that we find to be offensive.

Greg Jackson

My friends were a bit surprised by my statement because I had told them of how my great grandfather had to board up his home in the 1920’s and leave town to avoid confrontation with the Klan in Taylor County, Florida. They were surprised because as a young man growing up in North Florida I told them of how I would oftentimes take part in some informal pugilistic “contests” when someone would call me by some derogatory phrase based solely on my race. However, despite their surprise and my own dislike of past transgressions, what I realized from my days at my grandmother’s house is that if you do not promote acceptance of people’s “reasonable” actions, you may find yourself with a group that does not want to go about things peacefully. Case in point, when my cousin did not share with us, we accepted that and bought our own treats that were far greater than his single purchase. If my grandmother would have forced us to share with my cousin, I guarantee you that we would have gone out again and purchased treats, but would have enjoyed them in private. If my younger cousin found out, he would have told and we would have gotten in trouble for hiding or “being sneaky.” Then we would have met up again and this time if my cousin found out, we probably would have given him a couple punches in the arm and dared him to tell. Knowing my cousin, he would have told and we would have gotten in trouble. Our meetings would have then become more secretive and more painful for my cousin if he found out.

While admittedly this is a simplistic view, the point is if you promote or require accepting certain groups for who they are, but denigrate others, you may create some real problems. With that said, it is important to realize that no one has a monopoly on pride or on being proud of who they are or what they stand for. There may be issues with how they go about showing that pride, but at the end of the day, they should feel free and comfortable with doing so, within reason. Otherwise, we may promote the creation of secret “pride” groups who feel they have no other options but to strike out to show that they have a right to be proud of who they are as well. As I conclude, I have to thank my grandmother, as well as my cousins for providing those long ago memories that helped me to frame a basic understanding of what happens when we deal fairly and with understanding of others’ views and positions. It is due to that understanding that I say whether it is Black pride, White pride, Hispanic/Latino pride, Gay pride, family pride, school pride, Orlando pride, Apopka pride, Florida pride or Nation pride, no one has a monopoly on being proud of who they are – in my humble opinion.

Greg Jackson is a past Assistant Attorney General for the State of Florida, military veteran, current Orange County District 2 Representative on the Board of Zoning Adjustments, and General Counsel for the Community Redevelopment Agency. He has been as an active member of the Central Florida community for nearly 20 years. He was most recently a candidate for the Florida House District 45 seat.

Greg Jackson

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