Disappointed reader

Dear Sir,

I am very disappointed to be writing this.

I have read and enjoyed your column for many years. You have always come across as a positive person who respected others. Larry Anderson spends his time in hateful rants against all who disagree with him.

As a resulT, I was upset by your article on the Confederate flag.

I agree that we should honor the 620,000 who died during the Civil War. That is why I have visited the following Civil War battle sites: Gettysburg, Antietam, Harpers Ferry, Manassas, Spotsylvania, Fredericksburg, Richmond, Petersburg, Appomattox, Chattanooga, Shiloh, Chancellorsville, Vicksburg, Pea Ridge and Wilson’s Creek.

I have even visited the cottage where Stonewall Jackson died.

The Civil War was one of the greatest tragedies to befall this country. It is a greater tragedy that people want to whitewash its history.

You lament that the park named after Nathan Bedford Forrest was renamed.

You forgot to mention that Nathan Bedford Forrest was the first grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan. As a result, Nathan Bedford Forrest does not deserve any memorial. He only belongs in museums recounting the history of hatred surrounding the man’s life.

It is no wonder that you don’t get all the flack about the Confederate battle flag.

I agree that the Confederate battle flag is a symbol of tradition — a tradition of slavery, segregation and racial hatred. It has no place flying on the ground of any state capitol. It does have a place flying on the aforementioned battlefields and in museums for those wanting to learn the truth about the Civil War and its aftermath.

I regret that I can no longer read your columns.

If I do, I will only be reminded of your lamentations regarding the lack of respect shown the first grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan.

Regretfully,

John E. Shaw, Jr