My ancestors began coming to America in 1636. They were a mixed bag of Europeans. Some were English, some Irish. Some were Finns and some were Swedes. Some were from lands between the Netherlands and Saxony that no longer exist. Some were freemen, some were serfs forced to come, some were transported by order of the King. Some fled from forced military service, some sought religious freedom of worship. Some came in search of a better way of life that what they had left. All came to consider themselves AMERICANS and were proud of it.

My ancestors have fought in every war conducted on this continent or involving this great land. Members of my family were found on every frontier as the country grew. We were proud of our heritage, proud to be Americans, proud to be white. And proud to offer the same chance at happiness and success and prosperity to all others that we had enjoyed. Whether they were white or not, they were Americans. Granted, in some cases it took longer to be accepted into American society but they have been.

Today there are African Americans, Mexican Americans, Asian Americans, Arab Americans, Native Americans, etc. and then there are just Americans. I can understand being proud of one's heritage. I can not understand the pressures today to force me to deny my heritage.

You pass me on the street and sneer in my direction. You call me "White boy," "Cracker," "Honkey," "Whitey," "Caveman" and that's OK. But when I call you, Nigger, Kike, Towelhead, Sand-nigger, camel Jockey, Beaner, Gook, or Chink you call me a racist. I don't see the difference.

You say that whites commit a lot of violence against you, so why are the ghettos the most dangerous places to live? And who is committing that violence? You have the United Negro College Fund. You have Martin Luther King Day. You have Black History Month. You have Cesar Chavez Day. You have Yom Hashoah. You have Ma'uled Al-Nabi. You have the NAACP. You have BET (Black Entertainment Television).

If we had WET(White Entertainment Television) we'd be racists.

If we had a White Pride Day you would call us racists.

If we had White History Month, we'd be racists.

If we had any organization for only whites to "advance" our lives, we'd be racists.

We have a Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, a Black Chamber of Commerce, and then we just have the plain Chamber of Commerce. Wonder who pays for that?

If we had a college fund that only gave white students scholarships, you know we'd be racists. There are over 60 openly proclaimed Black Colleges in the US, yet if there were "White colleges" that would be a racist college.

In the Million Man March, you believed that you were marching for your race and rights. If we marched for our race and rights, you would call us racists.

You are proud to be black, brown, yellow and orange, and you're not afraid to announce it. But when we announce our white pride, you call us racists.

You rob us, carjack us, and shoot at us with impunity.

But, when a white police officer shoots a black gang member or beats up a black drug-dealer running from the law and posing a threat to society, you call him (the officer) a racist.

I am proud. But, you call me a racist.

Why is it that only whites can be racists?