H.K. Edgerton: Cancel culture is the real ‘hate’ — not efforts to preserve monuments

First, I want to thank the people of Jacksonville for the warm welcome as I walked your streets with my Confederate battle flag on Dec. 6. I look forward to coming back soon.

But now, a message for Mayor Curry: Flying a flag over a football game with a legitimate and reasonable position on historic monuments is not "hate." However, social media threats, verbal insults and threats by cancel culture activists do constitute hate, which is constantly aimed at the Southern heritage community.

Accusing us of "hate" while ignoring anti-monument haters does not further an amicable resolution of monument issues.

Mark WoodsThe contrast between the Confederate capital of Richmond and Jacksonville

Crickets from councilJacksonville City Council promises but doesn't deliver on deciding fate of Confederate monuments

LettersStop judging Adam & Steve, let God sort things out on same-sex marriage

As for The Florida Times-Union, it is not helpful to use Southern Poverty Law Center distortions of the early career of our spokesman, Kirk D. Lyons. Anyone that knows Kirk knows for a fact that he is not a white supremacist. His many clients of African ancestry — as well as any of my fellow Black Confederate colleagues — know him to be a fair, Christian gentleman.

Cancel culture is a cancer threatening American civilization. Appeasing the culture destroyers with sacrifices of Confederate monuments only leads to demands for others to be destroyed. Monuments to Christopher Columbus (toppled in many cities) or the statue of Abraham Lincoln that was defaced in Chicago (twice), for example.

And it is a liberty issue for us, because government speech is tyranny. These monuments, as public art, belong to the people of Jacksonville. Those who want to take them down should let the people vote on it. In 2017 an independent pollster surveyed 425 Jacksonville residents, and the results confirmed to us that 75% of citizens want the monuments left alone.

So, if any of the remaining 25% of residents who are offended by the Confederate flag or monuments want to know why we do what we do — please call or write us and let's start a civil discourse.

Aside to the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce: If a business won't relocate to Jacksonville because we flew an American flag with a message over a football game — they are not worth having here.

H.K. Edgerton, Save Southern Heritage – Florida

This guest column is the opinion of the author and does not necessarily represent the views of the Times-Union. We welcome a diversity of opinions.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Efforts to preserve Confederate monuments are not hate speech