Gun love A compromise
Shooting deaths are not new. The newspaper stories are like weather reports, constant and similar, but interesting only for the moment. Maybe the paper should have a little box, like the weather or sports scores, placed in an unobtrusive corner where you put the number of gun assaults for the previous day. (The word, shooting, is so overused it’s boring.)
This approach is especially applicable to Virginia Beach as we love our guns more than our neighbors. Not even the tragedy in the government building made a difference. Apparently sporting a “VB Strong” sign was sufficient protection against future gun violence. Within days the NRA held a well-attended rally supportive of gun rights. What an enthusiastic group! I, as a former gun owner, was one of only two protesters.
This letter is not prompted by the latest killings because any killing of under 10 people isn’t major news longer than a day. However, I am 86 years old and moving to a different retirement home. In order to do this, I find I am being investigated more thoroughly by retirement homes than when I bought my last gun.
Carolyn N. Lindsey, Virginia Beach
Re “A new Civil War monument could be built on the Eastern Shore.
It would honor Union troops.” (Jan.
31): The proposal to erect a second monument to the Black and white Union soldiers from Eastern Shore could be a useful addition to the community’s collective memory. The Civil War was utterly devastating. But if we insist on honoring the Confederate dead, then we must also honor the Union dead, and importantly, the African Americans forced to free themselves from enslavement.
Although they were most affected by the consequences of the war, Black voices have historically been omitted from Civil War memorial conversations. Including their contributions in this monument could help to bridge that divide. By primarily acknowledging the Confederacy, we honor the wrong side and perpetuate a one-sided argument that dominates all others.
By excluding African American contributions to the Union’s cause, we ignore a significant aspect of the war’s history. If proponents of keeping Confederate monuments are so invested in preserving history, they should have no argument to this addition.
However, the addition being on equal ground as the original could be contentious as it literally puts the opposing fronts on equal ground when they most certainly were not equal in purpose. Alternatively, this addition could provide a venue for open discussion, patching the wounds of the Civil War. These aspects should be fully considered when making a final decision.
Ultimately, though, the community’s Black members should have the final say, and their voices must be listened to.
Miranda Swinson, Christopher Newport University student, Newport News