This week, my wife Tracie’s 97-year-old grandmother received an anonymous letter defaming her granddaughter and me. The author claimed to have gone to school at the same California university where I received my doctorate. She/he evidently felt compelled to share slanderous, false information about our lives, including our sex lives and our children.
Known affectionately by everyone in our family as “memaw,” my grandmother-in-law was unfazed by the letter. She didn’t even bother reading it, she said, once she realized what it was.
There’s no doubt in any of our minds that this crude and anemic attempt to bully us was inspired by our efforts to repurpose the newly erected Confederate memorial in Orange, Texas where memaw and Tracie’s parents live.
Thats the “Confederate Memorial of the Wind” above. Here’s a Houstonia article, published last week, about our campaign and its origins.
As Tracie’s father, Reverend Randy Branch put it, “someone who would send this to your 97-year-old grandmother can’t be all there.”
I’m not going to reveal the contents of the letter but it’s clear that the author is rabidly homophobic, probably impotent (there are graphic references to dildos and fertility issues), and clearly uneducated.
Why are white supremacists so dumb? The answer begs the question.
Since we began our campaign to repurpose the site (we don’t want to tear it down or demolish it; we want to repurpose it to reflect community values in a city that is nearly 50 percent black), our detractors have threatened to “kick your ass” and to “send snipers” to our next protest.
But as anyone who lives in Southeast Texas knows, the Sons of Confederate Veterans (who erected the site) and their supporters are generally a bunch of cowards whose bullying comes in the form of epithets hurled from a passing pickup truck, social media posts, and — now — an anonymous letter.
Given the many phallic references in the missive, I imagine the author is a male. Here’s my message to him: be a man and come meet me face to face, man to man, and human to human at our next protest on Saturday, April 7. No threat or smear campaign is going to stop me or us. So be a man, be a human being, and show your face and real colors.
Are you man enough? No, I didn’t think so. That’s the kind of sheep you are, isn’t it? The fact that you send anonymous “poison pen” letters to our memaw is clear indication that we are getting through to you and making you uncomfortable. That’s exactly what we want. Get ready for more, pilgrim. And in the meantime, shame on you.
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Do Bianchi 
Go back to liberal California
I appreciate you using your real name. Thanks for visiting and thanks for the suggestion. Texas has been my home for the last 10 years and I love it here. Wouldn’t leave for the world… I have it right here.
The writer claims receiving an anonymous letter and then proceeds to attack the Sons of Confederate Veterans and those who erected this monument as the authors/enablers/senders of this vile missive. This allegation – of both the letter and its association with the SCV – we must take on faith, as then the writer claims moral superiority to decide such matters. It is far more likely that – if there is a letter, and its contents and destination are as described – its author is someone hoping to profit from agitating the writer and his associates. I would submit that in no way would a member of the Sons hope to profit in any way from such activity. In actual fact, the agitators of this sort of thing invariably turn out to be Leftist affiliates, and not anyone defending Confederate heritage. Members of Confederate heritage descendant groups suffer just as much – and arguably more – from haters who write anonymous letters. That the recipient of this missive responds as he does in no way details any sort of moral superiority. And whilst I have Confederate ancestry, I was also born in California – a secessionist area, as it turns out. So do not blame the place of a person’s birth for what they choose to do. It’s all on the individual. Nor should any public policy be acted upon based upon anonymous letters – let alone reports of them. Confederates live with far worse daily.
“Confederate heritage”…you mean the part of the country that built it’s economy on the backs of African slaves? And defended that economy and way of life by seceding from the Union? Some heritage…descending from traitors more like.
Adrian, thanks for the solidarity. I got scared the first time one of them threatened to “kick your ass.” But then I realized, they are all bark and no bite. I’d like to see one of them stand up like a man. But there are no men among them.
You dont know a godam thing about the south u bathroom swapping western bitch!!
Maeve, I appreciate you using your own name. I don’t know that name? What are its origins?
It’s possible that the author of the letter wasn’t inspired by our protests. But it’s unlikely. It’s probably someone who goes to memaw’s church since she or he seems to know a lot about our family second hand.