Baltimore Orioles manager Buck Showalter said it best when asked by an inner-city youth for his advice to young black males amidst the violence and destruction that surrounded his team’s home ballpark.

“You hear people try to weigh in on things that they really don’t know anything about,” Showalter said. “I’ve never been black, so I don’t know, I can’t put myself there. I’ve never faced the challenges that they face, so I understand the emotion.

“It’s a pet peeve of mine when somebody says, ‘Well, I know what they’re feeling. Why don’t they do this? Why doesn’t somebody do that?’ You have never been black, so just slow down a little bit.”

Those riots have since calmed, but the unrest remains in places such as Ferguson, Missouri, and as close to home as Southampton County. The magnitude of discontent varies, but is apparent nonetheless as the name of a road has been thrust to the forefront of local conversation.

During a recent newsroom discussion, I, admittedly, was among the staff members that did not believe that the name of Blackhead Signpost Road should be changed. Having grown tired of today’s world of excessive political correctness and the mounting number of issues to which people are offended, I was quick to form my aforementioned opinion and dismiss the story as a non-issue.

But the more that I listened to my fellow coworkers talk about why they think it should be or not be changed, the more I began to realize that I truly didn’t have an opinion on the matter — nor do I need to. I had driven down the road several times prior, but had never thought about how it could be offensive until it was brought up at last month’s board of supervisors meeting.

It’s simply not something that affects me because, like Showalter, I am not black. I will never feel the same way as those who drive down the road and see a daily reminder of what was done to those with whom I share the same skin tone. I will never hear stories from grandparents about segregation or the hardships they faced being a minority in a predominantly white, conservative region.

“I try not to get involved in something that I don’t know about, but I do know that it’s something that’s very passionate,” Showalter continued.

Yet, as a white reporter that covers these types of issues, I am asked to and almost obliged to share my input. But one of the worst things to come out of this unrest is those with no connection to the matter in question sitting in the comfort of their homes, armed with a keyboard and an uninformed opinion, lecturing those who deal with such issues daily. You see it on all forms of social media, and it only drives the wedge further between the opposing sides.

So instead of creating a counterproductive dialogue — one that takes sides — I encourage those in Southampton County to do as I did. Take a step back and assess the situation before speaking any further on the subject. No matter the side of the fence on which you lean, ask yourself what the name of the road means to you.

If it were to be changed, the only people who it would affect are those who live on the road, those who are a part of the county’s emergency response system and those who are black. Those of us who are not just need to stay out of it.

Andrew Lind is a staff writer at The Tidewater News. He can be reached at 562-3187 or andrew.lind@tidewaternews.com.