Tuesday, June 28, 2005
How do you mark the anniversary of a famous sea battle without offending any of the participants' decendants? Easy, identify them by color, not nationality...
Britain Marks Anniversary of Sea Victory 
Wary of offending European neighbors who enjoy a close but sometimes testy friendship with Britain, organizers decided to dispense with details such as who won and who lost. Instead of depicting the battle as a contest between countries, they assigned the fleets colors -- red and blue -- and left it up to the spectators to figure out which was which.
Nelson's great, great, great granddaughter called it a "pretty stupid" idea. [emph. mine. -Sol]
"I am sure the French and Spanish are adult enough to appreciate we did win that battle," said Anna Tribe, 75. "I am anti-political correctness. Very much against it. It makes fools of us." [indeed!]
The Battle of Trafalgar was one of the most spectacular naval successes of all times. Nelson routed Napoleon Bonaparte's larger French and Spanish fleet and ensured that Britain ruled the waves for more than a century. Though the battle cost Nelson his life, he didn't lose a single ship...
So if we're supposed to be moving into a post-national-EU-based reality, why would anyone be offended by the inclusion of those quaint old representations of gauche nationalism...flags? Sounds like someone's worried not everyone has moved on.
Here's an idea. Let's just let history be history, and show the colors as they were. I think that's respectful to those who fought and died -- winners and losers -- bravely for them, and it's respectful to ourselves, too.
Well....maybe they were worried the french would vote no on the EU constitution...hey, waaiiiit a minute!