Editor, Gazette-Journal:
At the recent public hearing, several people asserted that the reason that unrest existed in Mathews County was the arrival of a bunch of liberals. This is incorrect. The people objecting to the transfer of a piece of the Historic Court Green to a private entity closely aligned with the Sons of Confederate Veterans have resided in the county for many years.
No, the resistance started when some individuals, members of Sons of Confederate Veterans, flew the battle flag of the Army of Northern Virginia (not the flag of the Confederacy, by the way) prominently on Route 14 and elsewhere. It was this display of a symbol of white supremacy and racism that galvanized concerned citizens to action. We naively failed to realize such feeling existed in our adopted (and, in many cases, native) home. We determined to overcome this blemish and return Mathews County to the warm, welcoming and friendly place we have learned to love.
Ted BrodersonNorth, Va.
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