Letter to the Editor: Comments regarding the confederate flag controversy

I feel it necessary to make some comments distancing the lovely town of Vinton (and the majority of kind, considerate, and tolerant citizens who live and work here) from the actions of a few students at Vinton-Shellsburg High School this week.

While our country does give us the right to say what we think and feel about important issues, that right is accompanied by a responsibility to be upstanding citizens concerned with the feelings and welfare of other citizens. Plastering the confederate flag -- a symbol of division and racism for many people -- all over their vehicles and parading around town was an ignorant and ill-considered move by our young people. It reflects poorly on our town and ultimately hurts us as a community.

Businesses googling Vinton when considering new locations will see these news reports and may decide to choose another town that appears more tolerant or better educated. Future employers googling these students' names will see news reports of the incident and may decide to pass on hiring someone who showed such insensitivity. This show of teen-age rebellion has implications for all of us who live and work in Vinton. Unfortunately our reputation is now tainted. I urge the student body and the specific students responsible to go to the news media with a public apology for their damaging behavior. Then I urge the school to require extensive community service as discipline for the students involved -- they've contaminated our town with hate, now they need to put in some serious hours of service to help repair that damage.

Thanks,

Laura McClure-Fleck, CPA

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DS September 29, 2015, 9:53 pm IF Vinton is truly tainted, it is not by these teenagers. It is by the ignorance of the Vinton-Shellsburg School administration. They just got a lesson in Constitution 101 from a 17 year old. Bravo young man for being better versed in the Constitution than school, who is SUPPOSED to teach it! Next is the media, who can\'t wait to trash the reputation of a person, or a town for that matter to sell a few newspapers, or get better ratings. Never let the facts get in the way of a good story I suppose. Furthermore, the school has no power or authority to dole out disciplinary action outside of school itself. Oh, and since when did anyone\'s FEELINGS matter more than the documents this country was founded on? Nazi\'s, really? How do we make the jump from the Confederate flag to Nazi\'s? I guess I missed the connection.

JS September 29, 2015, 11:30 am The thing to have done is -- ignore and it will go away. Students sometimes do silly things. This incident does not meet news coverage. No different than flying the \"Jolly Roger\" The Southern Battle Flag encompasses loyalty, commitment, bravery. That\'s the positive. Let\'s cling to that. The rebellion is over.

JT September 25, 2015, 11:47 pm If anyone needs a mea culpa, it is the principal. Obviously these young people have a greater understanding of our founding documents than their principal. Ideally this would be an ideal jumping off point to discuss the various viewpoints of the people who joined the Confederacy and modern views on the CSA. Expulsion? Seriously? Invoking their First Amendment rights should lead to their expulsion because others are offended by a piece of cloth?

JE September 25, 2015, 5:08 pm I agree with this letter writer. Feelings are the most important thing to consider and should trump everything else, including freedom of speech and identity. Of course, we shouldn\'t give short shrift to google search results either. The wrong search result could possibly trigger a vulnerable minority and result in hurt feelings! And that would be a tragedy. These unruly nazi teenagers should be arrested and imprisoned.

JM September 25, 2015, 4:28 pm SERIOUSLY, over a flag?

Opinion : Letter to the Editor: Comments regarding the confederate flag controversy

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