Letters for January 17, 2019

Re: “Monuments to monsters,” by Maxfield Morris (Feature, January 10):

I was the tour supervisor for tours of the state Capitol during its physical restoration and then for a year after the building first opened to the public, so that gargoyle of a Christopher Columbus statue in the center of the stately rotunda has always been a poke in my eye with a sharp stick—not just for its obvious celebration of Columbus the mass murderer, but because its continuing presence absolutely destroys the intended flow of the full rotunda.

William J. Hughes

Sacramento

via sactoletters@newsreview.com

A history lesson

Re: “Return of the Copperheads” by Scott Thomas Anderson (News, January 10):

The article was about a faction of Republicans parading a Confederate flag through Wilton. Applying the term “Copperheads” to them is, at best, a misunderstanding of history. The Copperheads were a faction of the Democratic Party opposed to the Civil War.

SN&R wants to lead a conversation about history, and the editorial staff advocates making history more “accurate and socially conscious.” Applying the term “Copperheads” to a faction of modern-day Republicans may make history seem more socially conscious, but it does not make it more accurate.

SN&R will need to earn the trust of the community if it wants to lead an open and honest conversation about how our city, state and nation got to where we are today, and what it all means.

Brian Miller

Sacramento

via email

How much are teachers getting?

Re: “Protect special education students from budget cuts” by Joseph Barry (Essay, January 3):

I did the math (dividing the $121 million budget by 6,718 students) and came up with just more than $18,000 per student per year. My first thought was, “Why isn’t this more than enough?” That, in turn, brought up another question: What percentage of that $121 million actually arrives where the “rubber meets the road?” I would define that point as being in the take-home pay of the special education teachers.

Rio Lambie

Nevada City

via sactoletters@newsreview.com