It certainly is a shame that on the day after the historic 35th anniversary march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, a ‘riot’ broke out in Linden, with a number of residents hurling bottles and sticks at members of the Linden police force.

The march, led by President Bill Clinton, the Rev. Jesse Jackson and Coretta Scott King, widow of Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., commemorate years of struggle for those who participated. It was held to remember that Bloody Sunday in 1965, when a similar march was stymied by over-zealous Alabama law enforcement officials. That march ended tragically, but this one did not. It showed how far Alabama has come and will go in the future.

Then, the problem in Linden erupted. Police officers, who were doing their duty and trying to protect the citizens were virtually attacked by a number of people. And in the year 2000.

This blatant disrespect for others was a common theme during the 1960s. Have we reverted to those days?

It is actions such as those of the Linden residents who were arrested Monday night that will put an end to any ground that has been gained since those days in the 1960s. Let’s not let that happen &045; especially not here in Marengo County.