Is this a case of individual rights (or states rights since it is a US article)? How strictly should the images on license plates (number plates in British English) be regulated? What to do if you are a country (or region) whose war heroes were on the side which is now considered unsavory? This may have implications concerning WWII-era Slovakia (as I know it does concerning WWII-era Croatia for example...) Also, although he was a leading member of the KKK, he repudiated the organization near the end of his life. How much should public figures be judged by their mistakes, and how much should we believe them or give them credit if they have a change of heart?
I think that it is not a good idea to honor someone like Nathan Bedford Forrest. It is not because he fought for the “wrong” side, but because he was a racist and supposedly Ku Klux Klan grand wizard. Even though he later distanced himself from the Klan, I have to agree with the article that it was too little and too late.
ReplyDeleteIn the article was mentioned that Forrest should be viewed in the light we view Saddam Hussein or Osama bin Laden. I think that this comparison is quite inaccurate. During Second World War many generals and commanders of the Axis shared similar faith as Forrest. The best and most successful of them have been hailed as heroes during the war, but at the same time they showed extreme hatred of minorities. Maybe the best known example of such a person is Hermann Göring, the Commander-in-Chief of the Luftwaffe. I think that there isn’t such a person that would like to have a license plate manufactured in his honor even though he was a skilled leader and a great tactic. Maybe this comparison is a bit exaggerated, but I hope you got the point.
I would have nothing against Forrest if he was just a great leader of his men, even though he fought for the side that was defeated. However, he wasn’t just a Confederate general, but also slaver, slave trader, first grand wizard of KKK and probably the person responsible for the Fort Pillow massacre. This is the reason why I am against the idea to sell license plates honoring him.
This article reminds me of a film called Inglourious basterds, directed by Quentin Tarantino. To be more specific, it reminds me of one of the main characters German SS officer Hans Landa called “The Jew Hunter”. He was famous for locating Jews hiding throughout France. He has ordered to kill many Jews. At the end of the film, he ended up the World War II by allowing Americans to kill Hitler. Despite his sins from the past he was awarded a medal of honor. Anyway, I think that the case of Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest from the article is very similar to this.
ReplyDeleteIn any case, both of these characters tried redeem themselves from their sins. And now we get to the question, how much does someone have to pay to purge himself from such a sin as genocide? I guess prevention of other genocide could be enough, but can I really speak about the value of such things? Does it count on numbers of dead bodies or the destroyed wealth? I do not really know. But I think that if Forrest was more reasonable before he joined KKK, none of these cruel events would ever happen. Or maybe KKK would find even worse leader and there would be more massacres and more deaths.
Finally, I was really surprised and slightly jealous when I read about the license plates in this article. Why Slovaks do not have an opportunity to choose someone who would be depicted on their license plates? I know that you can choose a number or a short word which will be displayed on your license plate, but what is a number in comparison to the picture of Elvis Presley? At least, Slovaks do not have to deal with problems of racist pictures on license plates.
@ Tomas
ReplyDeleteI am not completely sure what your opinion on this topic is. You say that that it can be good, but also it can be bad, but you don’t express your own opinion. The whole comment is vague in my opinion. However, I have to agree with you in the case of license plates in Slovakia. It’s weird that we don’t have any special license plates honoring important people. But I think that it is somehow connected with the lack of national pride of Slovaks. There just simply isn’t a person we are that proud of that we would like to honor him on our license plates.
@ Tomas and Rado
ReplyDeleteI agree with both of you. We shouldn’t honor somebody like Nathan Bedford Forrest, because what he has done was not worth of honoring. He might have been a “great” man, just like Hermann Göring might have been, however, his actions were, are and I hope always will be something that disgusts society. People should remember and honor only those who led by an example and left a mark in history.
Tomas, you are not the only one who would like to see different license plates. I think license plates in Slovakia and generally, in whole the EU are quite boring. I mean a few letters, numbers and maybe a blue strip on a side is too formal. I think we should be able to put different messages on our license plates just like Americans or Canadians. And policemen who normally register the license plates might be the ones who decide whether your license plate is not too extravagant or might be against laws.