The paper has a long memory

Be careful what you do today because you, your children and your children?s children could be living it down years from now as small towns rarely forget.

From time to time I get phone calls from folks who are concerned about references to past events or crimes which they feel should not be raised in the pages of the paper. These concerned people, often family members of the perpetrator, want to ?leave the past in the past? and not be reminded about what happened years ago. There are some who get downright snippy about any references I may have to a former crime, saying I ruin their family every time I raise the past.

However, in answer to these complaints I?m quick to point out these past indiscretions or crimes are now part of history to be called upon and referred to like any other historical event.

We don?t stop referring to World War II because Uncle Harry was killed at Iwo Jima, or stop referring to 9-11 because a person here may have had a relative in the towers. Frankly, forgetting history because it is painful to a certain group would be a disservice to the public as a whole since those who don?t recall history are doomed to repeat it.

Just as we don?t forget historical incidents in a global and national scale, we shouldn?t, and I won?t, forget events on a local scale, positive or negative as they may be.

Actually, drawing parallels to certain recent happenings with those which happened 10 or 20 years ago can be valuable to show a trend or a pattern of events.

Of course, the worst of these is when educators have sex with children. There?s nothing worse for getting calls as family members of former molesters who, obviously, want the past to stay buried. While I try to be nice, I?m quick to note that the violators brought this negative publicity on themselves and they are more than welcome to leave town if they can?t take the heat.

Along with such crimes, we also get calls on very old cases such as the old Morrison Bank robbery and shoot-out from 1933. Anytime it runs, there?s complaints from survivors, even though it?s probably the most famous crime in Warren County history. We also get regular complaints anytime we refer to the last two people from here who were put to death in the state?s electric chair in the late 1950s.

While I can somewhat understand their concerns, it should be pointed out that the newspaper isn?t in the forgiveness business. As a person, I can forgive a somone for wrongdoing. I?m required to do so actually.

However, aside from having a memory chip removed from my brain, it?s pretty well impossible to forget certain actions. And, for the newspaper to intentionally not print something from the past just because we might get complaints, is doing a disservice to the readers of our paper.

Actually, this should all be a lesson that you need to be careful what you do, even in the heat of the moment, if not for yourself, then for your descendants as they could be left to someday try to explain why grandfather did something 60 years ago.

Bottom line is folks around here have a long memory, and when those fail, the paper has an even longer memory, written in permanent ink.

Duane Sherrill is a reporter for the Standard. He can be reached at 473-2191 or by e-mail at [email protected].