The Sons of Confederate Veterans is a venerable American institution. Founded in 1896, it has counted among its many members Presidents Woodrow Wilson and Harry Truman, General Omar Bradley, Clint Eastwood and Pat Buchanan.

I personally couldn’t be a member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, as I am not a male descendant of a Confederate veteran. My family was in the North, and one of my relatives, James Dunlavy of Iowa, (known as Uncle Jimmy in the family) won the Congressional Medal of Honor for capturing Confederate general  John Sappington Marmaduke at the Battle of Mine Creek, Kansas, in 1864.

I believe the Civil war was a tragedy, brought about by both sides. But it’s part of our history as a nation, and we wouldn’t be the same without it.

So I support the Sons of Confederate Veterans in their defense of our nation’s heritage. On March 3^rd, at the urging of my son David, who found out about it, I attended my first Sons of Confederate Veterans rally.

The rally was held in a park in Oklahoma City. My son, a friend of my son and I got there about an hour late (due to a previous commitment).

The Oklahoma City police handled the situation very well, channeling supporters and protesters into their respective areas.

So we went to the Sons of Confederate Veterans side.

Right across the road was a noisy, raucous group of protesters (many of them masked) making noise the whole time.

The signs they brandished included some that proclaimed “Hate has no home here” and “No hate in our state”.

So the protesters fought against “hate” by yelling at the Confederate side, calling them “terrorists”, “white pieces of sh*t”, “you dumbass” (might have been directed to me), “hillbillies” (as an insult) and “you inbred sons of bitches”.

Supposing somebody is inbred, is that any reason to insult him?

Another sign said “History lesson ask the native not slave owner”. But in Oklahoma, who is the “native”? Before the 19^th century, there were just a few Indian tribes in the state, most were brought to what is now Oklahoma in the 19^th century. And some of the Indians in Oklahoma owned black slaves and fought for the Confederacy.

T-shirts worn by protesters included “Kill Racism not Me” and “Make Racists Afraid Again”,

A sign borne by a white man read “I can admit my ancestors were wrong honor them by not repeating their mistakes”. OK, but does that mean you reject your heritage?

Another sign read “General Sherman did nothing wrong”. I assume that refer to Sherman’s March to the Sea, but were they aware that Sherman also fought the Seminole Indians, did occupation duty in California during the Mexican War and didn’t have racial views compatible with 21^st century Political Correctness?