Massey, history, and memory
Why we honour flawed heroes
Jonathan TracyStuff
I am deeply troubled by the recent call to rename Massey University, on the ground of racist utterances made by New Zealand Prime Minister William Massey a century ago. There is not a single historical figure, of any race, nation, culture, religion, sexual orientation, gender, or political creed, who could possibly stand the test of absolute ideological purity by modern standards.
Abraham Lincoln and Mahatma Gandhi both advocated forms of racial segregation and discrimination. Should their homelands therefore stop honouring them as national martyrs and liberators?
There have been calls to change the name of Massey University because of racist comments made by William Massey almost a century ago.
As for names of New Zealand places or institutions, Abel Tasman, the Duke of Wellington, the Earl of Auckland, Viscount Palmerston, and Queen Victoria all held opinions that would today get them banished from polite society. If we must shun every great man or woman of the past whose views did not precisely match our own, the only solution is to declare a Cultural Revolution, a Year Zero, and simply wipe the slate clean.
