Posted by
Playful Walrus on Thursday, February 10, 2011 11:46:09 AM
At first I thought
this headline might be referring to Democrat Senator Robert Byrd. Associated Press write Emily Wagster Pettus reports that it is actually about Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest, and it would be part of a series.
Forrest, a Tennessee native, is revered by some as a military genius and reviled by others for leading the 1864 massacre of black Union troops at Fort Pillow, Tenn. Forrest was a Klan grand wizard in Tennessee after the war.
Sons of Confederate Veterans member Greg Stewart said he believes Forrest distanced himself from the Klan later in life. It's a point many historians agree upon, though some believe it was too little, too late, because the Klan had already turned violent before Forrest left.
I'm pretty sure the Klan had turned violent before Byrd left it too. Nobody is proposing Forrest be elected Senator. Just put on a license plate.
"If Christian redemption means anything - and we all want redemption, I think - he redeemed himself in his own time, in his own actions, in his own words," Stewart said. "We should respect that."
Not good enough. Someone needs to find evidence that he supported neutering marriage or was a homosexual himself. Only then would it be okay. In fact, the Left would be clamoring for him to be honored then.
Seriously, I'm not sure what to make of this. Maybe there shouldn't be anything on licenses plates other than the identifying information and the state motto.