Subject: Letter to the editor

It appears to me, that once again the "one sided sword and power" of political correctness is attempting to cut yet another swath from the cloth of personal expression, of those who choose to pay honor and tribute to their venerable ancestors who served the Confederacy. As par the course, it begins with one individual "who was offended" by the mere sight of the battleflag. The usual rule of thumb in regards to these matters , are 1. the person offended, generally has a personal agenda in launching his or her complaint, and 2. said individual doesn't give a hoot how the rights of the majority are stepped upon, or totally ignored. I quote from your paper..........
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Somerville said she originally reported three months ago that her daughter had been offended by a student's wearing of the Confederate symbol, which is used by the Ku Klux Klan and is seen by many people as a racist emblem.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This ole Gray horse has been beat to death so many times, it shows a lack of imagination.......The pathetic consequence is that we who do care, to honor our ancestors are in turn forced to reply.Now it would be easy to use a standard, the Klan stole our symbols, they use the stars and stripes, the cross, as well as the Bible reply, which is all true and all well and good that it is true, cause the truth can not be denied.
I would however like to take a personal approach as to offense and racism from the view point of yet another minority, and a near forgotten one at that.
I was born in Illinois of parents whose ancestors not only served the Confederacy, but a few of those ancestors left the North to fight for the South. Now if you factor in the fact that I am a Kaw/Osage Metis, ( politically correct for mixblood, or halfbreed as I grew up), you really have a basis for minority status. You also have a life filled (I am 53) of enough hate displayed towards you and yours to last three lifetimes. I would add this hate did not occur in the South. It happened in Illinois,
The Land of Lincoln, where we are forced to have his likeness and doctrine shoved down our throats daily. Lincoln who waged his war upon the South, Lincoln who set the policy of genocide against the Indian tribes that was carried out by his generals after his death, under the banner of the stars and stripes.
In my youth at school I was called everything imaginable by a select few. These were names Blacks have never encountered
and I am greatful that they haven't, for I would wish that on no person. Did these actions offend me?Yes, they certainly did. Did they effect my education or my relationship with my teachers or my peers? Yes they did, they made me tough, they made me work harder in my studies, they made me work harder at relationships be it with teachers or peers, or in the community at large. The end result, I excelled in my studies, I formed incredible relationships with my teachers that still continue to this day with the few that are still alive, and as far as my peers..well despite being dirt poor, a minority, and born on he "wrong side of the tracks", I was as popular as anyone, having friends within the entire spectrum of life, from those poorer than myself, to the doctors, and attorney crowds.
I didn't achieve the status of "fitting in" by whining, and screaming racism. I achieved it by hard work, standing my ground with pride in who I was and from whom I came and going out of my way to portray myself as a positive individual, who was worthy of being friends with and whose cross culture was interesting enough to learn about and in turn respect.
Sure, there was still the occassional hate filled bigot, that had to be dealt with, and deal with them I did. So, did many of the whitest white boys ya'll ever saw in my defense when the numbers were unfairly slanted against me.
To this day I have friends of many colors. That quality is neither special nor unique to me alone; it's just that one never hears of such things in the press or the electronic media. It doesn't sell papers, or advertising time.
To Ms Sommerville, I would say turn your attention to more important matters of education in the school system, like seeing a curriculum of truth being taught about the South and her symbols. If the flag is so offensive to you and yours, turn your eyes away, and carry on as best as you can to make the world a beter place. A good place to start would be by giving the same rights and priveledges to others as you demand for you and yours.
I thank you for the use of this forum.
Regards from "Upper Dixie",
T Warren,
Bridgeport Illinois