Hate is not a Southern tradition
As someone whose family has been a part of the South for 250 years, no one despises the present Ku Klux Klan, with its misuse of Southern symbols to spread their message of hate, more than I. Skinheads and neo-Nazis have nothing to do with the ideals of the Old South.
Equally repulsive are those who out of ignorance or hatred would do away with any reference to Southern heritage. They would label the War Between the States as fought only over slavery, contradicting President 
Abraham Lincoln’s declared purpose when he invaded the South. Then, by unfairly linking Southern traditions and sectional pride with a desire to return to slavery or segregation, they seek to destroy our traditions, God-fearing values and civility that have characterized the South and now largely have been incorporated by the phrase "traditional values" in our politically correct society.
I say "a pox on both of your houses" in this recent conflict at the University of Mississippi (Nov. 22 article, "Anti-Klan rally / KKK attempt to stir sympathy for fight song turns into fizzle").
Hubert L. Dellinger Jr.
Memphis
Memphis Commercial Appeal – Letters
http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2009/nov/24/letters-to-the-editor-Tuesday/
