By BARBARA A. SMITH
White Rock

I wish to relate my recent experience with “inclusiveness” There are two Senior Centers in Los Alamos/White Rock, where I played bridge every week for some ten years.

The Centers were shuttered for the COVID era and reopened recently with new leadership. Lo and behold, a rainbow flag appeared on the flagpole in front of the White Rock Center. I objected, politely, or so I thought, on the grounds that the rainbow flag is actually a political statement, not a celebration in which all citizens participate.

I received a really snotty response from the director of the Centers that said, in effect, “We flew it this year and we will fly it next year, and there is nothing you can do about it.”

I realize that this community consistently leans left, and there is nothing to be gained by my  pursuing this issue. I will continue to celebrate Veterans Day, Memorial Day, Christmas, Easter, Fourth of July, and other patriotic or religious observances, but not as an in-your-face symbol of something that has neither religious nor political significance.

I will no longer play bridge at either Center, or participate in any other activities, as I no longer feel welcome. I have been slapped, and it isn’t nice to slap an old person.