Dear Larry: I was appalled to hear the hateful words that came out of the mouth of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Barack Obama's former minister.

One of the things he said is Hillary never was called the N-word. Maybe not, but I'm pretty sure she has been called a whole lot worse. Words of any kind, when they are used to inflict emotional harm on a person, do hit harder than fists.

He mentioned that all whites have it a whole lot easier, socially and economically, than blacks. I would like to rebut his claim.

As a white male, I came from a working-class family of seven children; my parents divorced when I was 5. Despite my parents being separated, they were there for my siblings and me. They had to work hard to make ends meet.

We lived in a diverse community. Socially, it was not easy for me while I was growing up. Most of these bad experiences came from school. I was persecuted a lot.

I know what it is like to be discriminated against or singled out for being different. I had to endure a lot of name-calling by all groups of people. Those words and taunts were very hurtful. There was not a day that went by that I was not called names. I had teachers who humiliated me and insulted my intelligence in front of the class because I could not understand the subject clearly. I have been assaulted; I even have been blamed for things I did not do so the real guilty people could get away with it.

The persecution did not end with school. After I graduated, I worked different jobs and was passed over for promotions or was not given new positions for "various reasons."

Larry, what I am saying is if Obama thinks only blacks had it hard, he is wrong. There are others who had it just as bad or worse. On the other side, I have known some African-Americans who have become far more successful than I have. And to let you know, the people who gave me the hardest time in school were blacks. It was the blacks who tormented me the most. Anybody can be the oppressor and the victim, regardless of his race or ethnicity.

Despite my difficult childhood, my social upbringing and the fact that I may not be successful now, I am not going to blame those who gave me a hard time growing up.

I feel the Rev. Wright should not be preaching his hateful sermons because it was not just blacks who were victims of injustice throughout U.S. history. He should know that there are others who were oppressed, such as Asians, Irish and Jews.

And shame on him for using God's name in vain to damn America. — Pat

Dear Pat: Thank you for your letter. I can feel the pain that still lingers in your soul. You are right that it was not just blacks who were victims of injustice. Blacks will argue they were the only ones who were slaves and therefore their situation is much worse than the other ethnic groups. However, Native Americans can top that. They can and do point out they were the only race that was subjected to genocide and stripped of everything.

I will argue this injustice is long in the past and we must move forward. The doors to opportunity are open; the pathway to success is there for any feet to tread on its golden trail.

The Rev. Wrights of this world should be preaching the possibilities, rather than damning what happened long ago and giving excuses to people who never have known discrimination.

To find out more about Larry G. Meeks and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

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