By Claire L. Kelly, Stevensville
I am the child of immigrants from two British countries who met and married in the Port of Entry, NYC, where I grew up. For over twenty years, employment took me to live and work in five Confederate States, where I witnessed generationally taught animosity towards the rest of the US. My NY accent prompted endless snarky comments about ‘Yankees’ and non-confederate states.
I saw: 1) monuments to ‘our confederate dead’ on the grounds of numerous state, county and city buildings; 2) an old slave auction market being maintained at the heart of one city; 3) confederate battle flags still being flown; 4) many statues to confederate generals who fired on the flag of the United States and who caused the deaths of tens of thousands of American soldiers.
We must end tolerance of treason. It is complicity. Based on my personal experiences in confederate states, I absolutely support removing the names of confederate generals from all United States military bases and facilities.
Having no family ties to either side of that Civil War, I was appalled at the widespread glorification of treason fifty years ago, and still am. This must end.