Dear Editor,
If you were to believe the TV reports of last Tuesday's school board meeting one would think that bands of racists were charging down the streets with Confederate Flags tattooed to their foreheads. If you were actually at the school board meeting one would realize that there were no angry mobs of parents insisting that their kids be given the right to bear the "flag". In fact I was the only one who used the term "Confederate Flag" during the course of a 3-hour meeting when I made the point that to a Coloradoan, a Confederate Flag has about as much meaning as someone wearing an Oakland Raiders hoodie. I ran out of time to speak further but what I also wanted to add was that right now I don't care what administrators has to ban because in this "post Sandy Hook World" if they think it will make the schools safer I'm all for it. As soon as anyone sets foot on the school campus there are certain rights they are giving up; for example the school bans weapons, alcohol, tobacco etc. I'm all for the school administrators banning controversial symbols especially when adopted by some splinter group and this particular ban is essential in the wake of the alleged hate crime. Our schools are run by a republic styled government with elements of democracy and with elements of dictatorship. It's a school for crying out loud!
In conclusion Dolores is not a hotbed for hate. People with views of disrespect are apparent in every town and in every culture. It's important for our town to not satisfy the appetite of the media with these apparent morsels of sensationalism. If you were at the board meeting the other night you would have left with the impression that the people view this Confederate Flag thing as a memory.
Let's also agree that to demonize any of our kids is to be guilty of a crime against society. Perhaps this is a learning moment for our community and respect all individuals with their right of expression.
Jim Lein
Montezuma County
