Scott’s actions hurt Idaho

When Heather Scott was at the Priest River Timber Days, she was seen grinning while holding up a flag that almost everyone associates with the Confederacy in front of two American flags. She was elected to be Legislative District 1 representative to the Idaho Legislature. She was not elected in a pre-Civil War Southern state with an economy based on the backs of African-American slaves, with a social structure that condoned and promoted enslavement, and that attempted to break the United States of America apart.

The Aryan Nations, with its bigotry and intolerance, inflicted terrible damage to North Idaho’s image inside and outside Idaho. Though the Aryan Nations has not been part of North Idaho for years, as one travels within America and Europe, I quickly find out that chapter is not forgotten.

Many people are actively working to erase the past while making Idaho a great place to live and visit. What Scott did makes it harder to forget. Her actions as an elected official have significant consequences. She should think what these will be before she plays to her partisan base and holds up a Confederate battle flag.

Ken Meyers

Sagle, Idaho