To the editor:

Richard Aronoff manages to pack an astonishing amount of self-serving enthnocentric confusion into a short letter (July 11).

1. He thinks the Confederate flag is “coming down.” Mostly wrong. It is coming down over government property. It remains very much up and constitutionally protected on private property. Most property in the U.S. is private.

2. He thinks the Confederate flag is coming down because “a segment of the population considers it offensive.” Wrong. In America you have a constitutional right to be offensive. It is coming down because it is a racist symbol used by murderers.

3. He thinks the gay pride flag is comparable to the Confederate flag. Wrong. The gay pride flag stands for tolerance. The Confederate flag stands for intolerance.

4. He implies that flying the gay pride flag over government property would violate accepted majority American values. Wrong. We stand for gay marriage and other forms of inclusion. We do not stand for racism.

5. He thinks Nelson Mandela would support flying the Confederate flag over government property. Wrong. When Mandela took power, the old 1928 South African flag of apartheid was taken down, and thereafter a new 1994 flag flew over government property.

6. He thinks the spirit of reconciliation shown towards whites by Mandela’s endorsement of the Springbok rugby team supports flying the Confederate flag. Wrong. Mandela supported Springbok as a powerful symbol and fact of integration. The Confederate flag is a powerful symbol of segregation, promoting restoration of segregation as a fact.