Friday, August 20, 2004
Saddam's head made an appearance at the Kentucky State Fair, and some people think it's in bad taste. 
CNN.com - Saddam a bust at Kentucky fair
The bust, about a foot and a half high, is from a statue that was damaged last year by U.S. forces. It's not from the statue that was toppled by jubilant Iraqis in one of the defining images of the war.
Kelly Barron, a tourism director, said the "quiet, simple display" has attracted many people eager to snap pictures of the deposed Iraqi dictator. Alongside the glass-encased bust is a small Iraqi flag and description of how soldiers captured the statue. The display also includes photographs of the intact statue and tank fire striking it.
The bust was first shown for Independence Day at the George S. Patton Museum of Cavalry and Armor at Fort Knox, and will return there after the fair.
Henry Penn, exhibit specialist at the museum, acknowledged receiving criticism that the display is in poor taste but said the statue is a historical item.
"It's a symbol of the end of dictatorship," he said.
Francene Cucinello, a Louisville talk-radio host, said a state fair is not the appropriate place for a war relic "that represents so many American and Iraqi deaths in the quest for freedom."
"A museum has the reverence that's necessary. It's too important to have on display at a fair," said Cucinello, who said her callers are about evenly split on the issue.
"How would we feel if another country was gloating over its wartime successes? America's too good for that," she said...
America goes to the State Fair. It's all about control. Museums are for the elite, where other elites control the manner of the viewing. They decide what we see and how we're supposed to see it. All control is off at the fair. Elites hate that. Instead, thousands will file by, eating hotdogs, snapping pictures, viewing and taking it in in their own way.
That statue will be seen by one hell of a lot more people at the State Fair than in some museum - where it can easily be placed when the fair is over. I had thought that one of the things people had against the war was the way in which the poor and the underclasses (supposedly) paid an inordinate price. Where better to place this object to be seen and appreciated (in whatever way they choose) by the people who paid for it in blood and taxes than out where the public - the regular folks - are gathering? Certainly better than being locked away in some city museum behind admission fees, parking fees and long drives.
No. "The Folks" bought it, "The Folks" deserve to appreciate it.
