[Vision2020] Moles and Mole Hills

Fri Jul 13 11:52:50 PDT 2012

Hi Wayne et al,

Hmmm . . . perhaps you can help me to understand.

First, though, can you please tell us more about the display?  I had hoped
to make it to the courthouse yesterday to take a look myself, but I left
Tri-State at something like 4:59, so clearly I wasn't going to make it.
What was the veteran's name?  And, what's the justification/rationale for
displaying the Confederate flag for a Union soldier?  I hope you & Gary will
please tell us more about what you learned from the display.

Gary, I also have to disagree with you that the display has been there for
"months," having been preceded by a WWII display.  I was in the courthouse
in May IIRC, and I'm pretty darn sure there was a lovely quilt on display at
that time - IIRC, each square was made by county assessor offices around the
state.  The quilt was being raffled off, and I meant to make it back to buy
some tickets, but the best laid plans . . .  In any case, I think you're
wrong, and I hope it's a genuine error on your part rather than propaganda.
While my recollection of time can be hazy, I'd not mistake less than two
weeks for "months."

Janesta:  perhaps Wayne or Gary can clarify since both have been to the
courthouse more recently than have I, but IIRC, the pink box is for
donations of some sort - perhaps canned goods?  Can anyone clarify?  I will
say that I think the US & ID flags were in the same location back in May,
which is another issue.

Donovan:  as some know, I was born & (mostly) raised in the South, and I
still visit family & friends there.  My experience has been completely
different than Donovan's:  growing up, I didn't see many Confederate flags
on display there, and I still don't.  Indeed, while not making disparaging
comments about family who were raised & came of age in a different
generation (and many of whom have, no doubt, rolled over in their graves
more than once at my beliefs), I was taught from a very young age to "stay
away" from that nonsense because it was anti-American (perhaps the origins
of the original "America: love it or leave it" sentiment?) & because those
who persisted in Confederate flag divisiveness (and make no mistake about
it, that's exactly what it is) were a bunch of "d*mn fools," according to my
granddaddy.  I'm older than Donovan, and I didn't live in VA, but my roots
are in the South, and the above upbringing was from the three generations
before me.  Which is just to say that Donovan's experiences certainly don't
mirror my own, those I grew up with, and those I continue to visit; not that
I doubt Donovan's experience.

Going back to Wayne:  since you think this issue is a tempest in a tea pot,
please help me to understand.  What on earth is the relevance of displaying
a Confederate flag in a display about a Union soldier imprisoned in
Andersonville?!  You've got a military background, so let's use a
hypothetical.  Let's pretend you served our nation in the Vietnam War and
were taken captive.  Let's further pretend that you survived captivity in
horrendous conditions by the North Vietnamese, and lived out the rest of
your life in Latah County.  And, let's further pretend that at some point
after your death, whoever is responsible for the displays at the courthouse
decided to tell your story, complete with the flag of your captors, but
conspicuously absent was the US flag, the nation you were defending.

Do you seriously mean to tell me you think that would be just peachy fine?

Let's take this further.  Gary informs us that there was an "educational"
WWII display between the quilt I saw in May & the current display.  As some
may - or may not - know, we have Holocaust survivors in Latah County, and we
have survivors of survivors of the Holocaust here.  Were any of those
survivors to be "honored" by a courthouse display, would you think it
appropriate to display the Nazi flag and/or the Gestapo flag as a part of
the display?  Silly me - were I a Holocaust survivor, the absolutely last
thing I'd want displayed in honor of my experiences is the flag of my
captors.

Finally, am I the only one who finds it beyond odd that a Confederate flag
was at the ready to "honor" a Union POW?  Wouldn't it have made far more
sense to display a flag that meant something positive to the deceased rather
than to use his story as an excuse to display the flag of his captors?

In any case, I find the cultural tone deafness of the person or persons
responsible for allowing the display absolutely stunning, and I find a
Confederate flag displayed in the Courthouse indefensible, particularly in
this instance where the display is apparently to honor & tell the story of a
Union soldier who was tortured (and there's no other way to describe
Andersonville) by the Confederacy.

For shame, For Shame, FOR SHAME!

Saundra Lund

Moscow, ID

Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.

~ Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

From: vision2020-bounces at moscow.com [mailto:vision2020-bounces at moscow.com]
On Behalf Of Wayne Price
Sent: Thursday, July 12, 2012 3:31 PM
To: Moscow Vision 2020
Cc: viz; Spettersen at latah.id.us
Subject: [Vision2020] Moles and Mole Hills

Vision 2020 readers.....

I've been following this discussion since it started this morning, and
decided that before I wrote anything, I'd go up and take a look at the
historic display in question to see for myself what all the fuss is about
and if it's a substantial issue. I took a look, and it is, in my opinion, a
tempest in a tea pot!

The focus of the display is primarily about a UNION CIVIL WAR officer that
was captured by the Confederates and held at Andersonville Prison during the
Civil War! The Confederate flag 

is, again in my opinion, incidental to the story of someone buried in Latah
County and is a war veteran. 

Much ado about NOTHING 

Wayne M. Price

On Jul 12, 2012, at 3:17 PM, Sue Hovey wrote:

Hi everybody I just talked with Jennifer Barrett. Haven't seen Tom's
pictures but she thought it was part of a historical display about certain
battles. She thinks  the Historical Society is responsible for the
maintenance of the case. If it's a historical display from the 1860s the
Confederate flag may be perfectly appropriate to the display. 

Sent from my iPhone

On Jul 12, 2012, at 2:54 PM, "Rosemary Huskey" <donaldrose at cpcinternet.com>
wrote:

Hi guys,

I called the courthouse - thanks for the photos, Tom.  I spoke to the
auditor's office where I had hoped to reach Susan Petersen.  Ms. Petersen,
who is out of the office is in sole charge of the display case.  No one else
appears to know who or what group is responsible for the display.  I
encourage all V2020 subscribers who share our concern about what is clearly
a celebration of the Confederacy lodge a complaint or query (or, if you are
a jackass a pat on the back) to Susan at :

Spettersen at latah.id.us .  I also think a conversation with your country
commissioner representative is in order.  Unfortunately they are not
answering their central phone line at the moment. They can be reached:

Commissioners:

Jennifer Barrett, Chair, District I, jbarrett<image001.gif> 

Tom Stroschein, District II, tstroschein<image001.gif> 
Dave McGraw, District III, dmcgraw<image001.gif> 

If you don't know your District, send the message to Ms. Barrett.

Rose Huskey

From: vision2020-bounces at moscow.com [mailto:vision2020-bounces at moscow.com]
On Behalf Of Scott Dredge
Sent: Thursday, July 12, 2012 1:59 PM
To: thansen at moscow.com; viz
Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Welcome to Confederate Latah County . . .

Tom,

Was there any information regarding this display.  Something like 'Donated
by [insert church name of your choosing] to commemorate the greatest
civilization in the history of the world where slaves and their owners
shared genuine affection for each other and made God smile'?

-Scott

From: thansen at moscow.com
Date: Thu, 12 Jul 2012 13:17:45 -0700
To: vision2020 at moscow.com
Subject: [Vision2020] Welcome to Confederate Latah County . . .

Seeya round town, Moscow. Tom Hansen Moscow, Idaho "If not us, who? If not
now, when?" - Unknown
======================================================= List services made
available by First Step Internet, serving the communities of the Palouse
since 1994. http://www.fsr.net mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com
=======================================================

=======================================================
List services made available by First Step Internet,
serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.
              http://www.fsr.net
         mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com
=======================================================

=======================================================
List services made available by First Step Internet,
serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.
              http://www.fsr.net
         mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com
=======================================================

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.fsr.com/pipermail/vision2020/attachments/20120713/1195a8f8/attachment-0001.html>