Dan Leslie (Murray) - June 19, 2020

To the editor:

When the issue of statue removal was raised back in 2014 I said, “Remove it or not. I don’t care.” The statue had no meaning to me.

I now have a deeper understanding of the effects of the statue’s presence.

Several weeks ago, in the midst of the current pandemic, businesses closed and gatherings for everything from schools to sanctuaries were prohibited in response to COVID-19.

Facebook was filled with pros and cons as to the legitimacy of the government’s actions. One posting caught my attention. A picture of people being unloaded from cattle cars by Nazi soldiers. The caption’s tenor? “Go here, go there, don’t worry everything will be okay.” History tells us what happened to those millions of the people being transported as if they were cattle.

My reaction was anger. My father, along with millions of other men and women, fought against the Nazi reign of holocaust. I once drew a swastika on a piece of paper. Dad saw it and explained to me what it meant to him and asked me never to draw it again.

That picture, of people sent to slaughter, being used as a symbol of someone’s perceived truth caused me to think of the cost so many paid to rid the world of the Nazi culture. Also, the ultimate cost people paid, because of their heritage or a perceived weakness – their death.

So, as the question of Robert E. Lee’s statue is being debated I care what the statue symbolizes – subjugation, repression. It needs to be removed. It symbolizes enforced servitude and represents a culture that represses people’s lives due to “who” they are.

These are the thoughts and words of a 72-year-old who has enjoyed, and profited from, the privileges our culture affords me, simply because I am white and male.

Dan Leslie

Kirksey

The foregoing was a "Letter to the Editor" submitted to and printed by the Murray Ledger & Times. The entry has not been edited and is presented as it was printed on the date listed with the entry.

From June 5, 2020, through Sept. 30, 2021, the Murray Ledger & Times printed 50 "Letters to the Editor" related to Murray's Confederate monument. Those 50 letters were written by 38 different people; and of those individuals, 22 were in favor of relocating the monument, 11 wrote in support of it remaining in its present location and five did not take a clear stance on either side. The letter above is part of a collection curated by The Sentinel to provide an overview of the sentiments expressed.