On Sept. 16, Leonard Pitts Jr. wrote an indictment of those who oppose the direction in which the president takes the country. Bottom line: Opposition to the president’s policies expresses a person’s — and a country’s — racist heart.

Wishing to base this charge on a firmer foundation than mere subjectivity, Pitts marshals his facts. The Southern Poverty Law Center connects 14 years of scattered incidents of violence into a mural to illustrate the vile intentions of all who voice opposition to progressive initiatives. Among a myriad of appropriate protest signs, Pitts brings forward a small collection of unhinged posters to represent them all. A penny blots out the sun!

The fact that the structural underpinnings of this republic rest on the vision of white males rises to condemn all who would defend their genius as racists, clutching the shabby remnants of white supremacy.

I do not “love” to accuse Pitts of playing the race card when he confronts my opposition to progressive initiatives with charges of racism. I must! Either that or let him unfairly strip my voice of any authenticity and my character of any integrity. Pitts played the race card; I refuse to cower before its false implications.

Hundreds of thousands of frustrated citizens of this great republic met in Washington to protest policies and corruption, not the color of a man’s skin. Not a person was arrested. I will not passively allow Pitts to cheaply disenfranchise us all with the race card.

Lenny Hoy, Greenwood