Letter to the Editor - Who Feels Safe?

Decorah Vikings win, City Council votes, New Referenda on the ballot — we're the one telling Decorah's story. Donate now. Dear Editor, I'm a 77-year-old white man born two years after Jackie Robinson integrated American baseball, 82 years after Appomattox, and the defeat of the Confederacy. The Confederate Flag that flies on private property several blocks from my house bellows 11 stars, each representing a slave state. It could stand for love of grits and the southern way of life. After all, that's why my brother Peter left for Georgia, Alabama, and Florida 50 years ago and never came back. However, no one fights a war that killed 700,000 Americans for heritage. It was fought for specific material interests and ideological differences, including who is and who is not a man and a citizen. Otherwise, separate drinking fountains, schools, and anti-miscegenation laws imposed on Black citizens as soon as Federal troops were withdrawn from the South make no sense. And nothing that lasts 80 years is without sense. Nor would these practices have changed without coercion by the Federal government. And now, in our little neck of the woods, the Winnishiek County Fair Board chooses to bring in a band with Confederate Flag symbolism in its name and image, years after Walmart stopped selling, NASCAR race tracks banned, and southern states removed the Confederate slavery states' flag from their capital buildings. After a hike around Palisades Park, I decided to finish up around the fairgrounds. As I headed past the skateboard park, I had this urge only another man my age could understand. I looked around and ducked behind a large tree, confident that, if necessary, I could explain my predicament. As I stood there, I thought to myself. What would I have done if I were a Black man? Paul Gardner, Decorah, Iowa Your weekly dose of local life! Subscribe to the free newsletter and enjoy news, analysis, and stories you'll actually look forward to reading.