THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, February 23, 1996 TAG: 9602230004
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 31 lines
Regarding the uproar about the Confederate ball, I'm a little confused.
Doug Wilder said that the Museum of the Confederacy stated: ``We want to reach out to the young people so they don't forget what happened.''
Wilder also said that this ball was like removing a scab from a sore; it offends. Now, wait a minute. If the ball is so offensive because it reminds Wilder of slavery, why is it that every time he is mentioned in the news media, someone always reminds us that his grandparents were slaves?
Wilder said that as governor he removed the Confederate Flag from the Virginia Air National Guard emblem and the people of Virginia never criticized him for doing it. All those letters to the editor I thought I read must have been merely bad dreams.
Finally, Wilder said, ``If they really want to teach the history of the Civil War, put that in the schools and talk about it.'' I like that idea. Let's start with a real simple question: If Fort Sumter was bombarded on April 12, 1861, and the war was fought over slavery, why did Lincoln not free the slaves the next day instead of in September 1862?
WILLIAM B. MIXON JR.
Hampton, Feb. 14, 1996 by CNB