Dear Sir,

The letter from Rolfe Commissiong in The Royal Gazette on June 12 reminded me of Jim Clark, the Montgomery County, Alabama, sheriff who resisted desegregation.

Clark, according to the Montgomery Advertiser, never renounced his views, and in the 1960s wore a button on his uniform, saying “Never”.

Just as Rolfe says we will be wasting our time saying he is a racist: “I would advise them [people like me] not to waste their time”.

Then he attacks the RG for being anti-Progressive Labour Party, although, as the Editor knows, my view is the opposite.

He, Clark, was a very strong man and swaggered around, apparently daring anyone to stand in his way. Any similarities there?

I wonder what the Progressive Group, which espoused equal rights and resisted bigotry, would have thought of Rolfe, David Burch and Wayne Caines if they were observing today. What about Jason Hayward screaming at the police on December 2, 2016, opposing the best deal that Bermuda ever had.

Rolfe made it clear in your paper he is following in Jim’s footsteps; mind you he has made that clear before when he was Ewart Brown’s “race man”. As for Burch he has said it was only one word that people objected to — thank goodness for Michael Fahy, who would not let bigotry slide — in a 20-minute speech. It was only one word when he used the n-word on radio when he was throwing his weight around during the Brown years.

Back to Rolfe, he is another who gets confused about the United States and Bermuda, or uses what is convenient propaganda from the States.

If anyone accuses me of not knowing the Progressive Group they will be right; I have lived here for only 50 years. I do know they did what needed to be done.

Many of us knew more was needed and exclusive memberships of institutions had to be changed. And they were.

JOE WAKEFIELD

Smith’s