Editor, Gazette-Journal:
This in response to a letter to the editor in a recent Gazette-Journal (“Returning Mathews to a friendly place,” Dec. 15 Readers Write). That letter in large part refers to the flag (Battle Flag of the Army of Northern Virginia) prominently displayed on Route 14 and elsewhere. The flag was apparently placed by the Sons of Confederate Veterans. The writer of that letter describes that flag as “a symbol of white supremacy and racism.” I know many see it that way, but others see it as representing their cultural heritage.
The point here is the same symbol can mean different things to different people. There is a logic mistake people often make when they assume they know the thought processes of others and the reasons they like or don’t like various symbols. Sometimes we really don’t know.
The letter was an attack on the Sons of Confederate Veterans for displaying that flag. I don’t claim to know their motivation. What worries me is the underlying idea that we need...