A problem if you make it one

Wisdom of the week

[Reprinted from Issues & Views February 10, 2003]

Sanity prevails, as officials at Clayton High School in Johnson County, North Carolina, reverse their ridiculous ban on the wearing of Confederate symbols on clothing. School superintendent James Causby claims that, in the future, there will be "no blanket bans of clothing," and that if there are complaints about symbols, each case will be handled individually.

In a letter to the editor of Raleigh's News & Observer (2/7/03), Stephen Lynn, a black southerner, expressed his appreciation of the school's sensible decision:

I am glad a school administrator finally took action and made a good decision about something that's unfairly been a sensitive issue with a lot of folks -- the Confederate flag and whether it should be allowed to be worn to school. Let me start off by saying that I'm black and born and raised here in the South and I have never had a problem with the Confederate flag. In fact I used to have one and will probably buy one again.

There are some prejudiced, racist idiots out there who use the flag as a weapon, but don't these same idiots use other tools besides some woven material? The KKK used the Bible as a weapon during their speeches. Would most people say the Bible is bad?

The bottom line is that it's about interpretation. If you are for the Confederate flag, it is a symbol of heritage and pride. If you are against it, it is a symbol of bigotry and oppression. The question is, who has the right to deny someone the interpretations?

We have more important issues going on worldwide. The last thing we need to do is continue harping on a symbol painted on the roof of a car called "The General Lee" or "The Dukes of Hazzard," which I don't recall anyone protested at the time. It's only a problem if you make it one.

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