I'm a scalawag

This is like the coolest hate mail I've ever gotten, but only because the guy addressed me as "Scalawag." How could he have possibly known that was my middle name?

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Dear Scalawag,

"But if you need to celebrate Confederate Heritage Month, go right ahead. You don't need me to celebrate with you. You don't need an official designation from the State of Georgia...."<<<

As I white man and an associate member of two Sons of Confederate Veterans' camps I'd have to agree with you, at least in part..... YOU DON'T NEED ME TO CELEBRATE:

Martin Luther King Day - I'm old enough to remember his less-than-stellar qualities and am aghast at the almost obligatory nation-wide hoopla that takes place each January. Funny thing - I never hear anyone comment on how, despite his so-called "non violence", that violence followed him around as surely as the plague follows the rat.

Black History Month - not because black Americans haven't contributed to this country, but because Afrocentrists, each February, mount their bully-pupits to lecture us about how Africa was the center of civilization before the white man ruined it with his slave trade... Have you ever heard of anything in Africa, either in the past or the present, that looks even remotely "civilized"?

I'm not going to celebrate either of these travesties, and a lot of white folks won't either. Nor is it mandated that anyone must join us in celebration of Confederate history month. Those who see no value in it can do as we do in January and February - simply ignore it. It is after all, a free country.

But, white folks who haven't sold out their past or their history (the way you have), live in Georgia too - and they have as much right to official proclamations of their past as anyone else does.

Here's an idea whose time has come - how about an official "National Thanks for Slavery Day", because, in spite of the fact that no one wants to come out and say so, 95% of American black folks wouldn't be here at all if one of their ancestors hadn't survived a trip across the Atlantic in the hole of a slave ship.

Bill Vallante
Commack NY
SCV Camp 3000 (Associate)
SCV Camp 1506 (Associate)

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Funny, I don't recall saying anything about Black History Month or MLK in my latest column. I do recall saying that folks pressing for a slavery apology are living in the past, as are people who want to celebrate their Confederate heritage. I acknowledge my Confederate heritage, but I'm not proud of it. Yeah, they were fighting for something they believed in. So does al-Qaida, but it doesn't make it right or worth celebrating. The history, however, is worth preserving.

As for folks who insinuate slavery was a good thing because they managed to escape the horrors of Africa, are you kidding me? That's like saying, "Good thing they crucified Jesus or we might not have Christianity." Or, "good thing those Muslims attacked us and killed 3,000 people on Sept. 11 because it focused our attention on the war on terror." Or, "good thing that Hitler guy came along or there wouldn't be an Israel right now." That good springs from evil does not justify the evil.