How does the War Memorial deal with a problem like Roberts-Smith? |
Imagine being the folks at the Australian War Memorial right now. What a nightmare.
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First, you've got this bloke who you've made a big deal about and who is in all kinds of crossfire, Ben Roberts-Smith. And then, you've got wealthy Australians who think that what this bloke allegedly did was A-OK. Philanthropists. Also politicians. Gina Rinehart doing what she always does. Tony Abbott doing what he always does. He said it was "wrong to judge the actions of men in mortal combat by the standards of ordinary civilian life". Supporting soldiers in theatres of war, apparently no matter what they do.
Even though 21 of those soldiers, who we also admire, testified against their former colleague.
ICYMI Ben Roberts-Smith was arrested on Tuesday for alleged war crimes: five counts of murder. The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and The Canberra Times reported on the allegations long before the arrest this week. Roberts-Smith sued. He lost. That meant the facts were proved to a civil standard. And the High Court last year refused to hear his appeal to overturn the ruling that there was substantial truth to war crime allegations against him.
These latest charges are criminal.
So what do you do with the problem of BRS if your job is to help Australians reflect on war? I asked Deakin University's Mia Martin Hobbs what she thought the War Memorial should do. She says the purpose of the AWM is clear. It's to remember, to inform the public about Australia's war history.
"The important thing is not to run away from it. There's been a lot of talk about taking down his uniform, removing some of the glorification of Roberts-Smith as a Victoria Cross winner."
Yes, it raises the puzzle, the dilemma, of the way both the War Memorial and the general public have bought into BRS as a modern day........