I have great respect for the Kelseyville School Board for having voted its conscience in the face of threats of recall. However I do not get Andy Dobusch”s criticism of Clayton Duncan (“The contrast is not appreciated,” Your Opinion, June 9).
From what I know, without Duncan”s tireless efforts, this mascot”s name change would not have happened. So why not give him credit for something your own conscience dictated was right? It seems there is a contradiction here.
If telling the truth about local history is considered ranting, if it is thought to be offensive and divisive, is it not because some do not want to hear it, because they are embarrassed by it and apparently lack the moral courage to come to terms with it, and would rather keep it buried and forgotten?
Would asking Jewish people to forget about the holocaust and African Americans to forget slavery not be considered racist? It seems it is still acceptable to express this form of racism against native people in Northern California, which strangely is far behind the rest of the nation in this respect.
About the Kelseyville name change, what is so impossible to comprehend about Kelsey, about the abuses he committed against the Pomos, and about how honoring him with the name of a town dishonors the Pomos and America itself?
Perhaps some, who disregard real local history, nevertheless have a “gut feeling” that to change the name of this town would cause other names to be questioned, as so many places were called after 19th century criminals.
The truth is not meant to be comfortable, however, like a strong medication it is ultimately healing and liberating.
About inner peace, it is a good thought, let”s pass it on to Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld, to the Pentagon and all of America … seriously, does anyone truly believe that inner peace can be achieved by denial, by ignoring the truth?
Raphael Montoliu
Lakeport
