History is one of the trickiest areas of crisis management. Even with the most sincere intentions, an organization's presentation of the past can explode in emotionally charged controversy.
Here's a perfect example:
Many veterans are fighting the Indianapolis Veteran Administration hospital's decision to remove an old newspaper from a historical display because it contained the headline, "Japs Surrender." The hospital replaced the newspaper with one simply headlined, "Peace."
The newspaper had been on display for ten years until a new employee complained that it was offensive. The VA Ethics Office agreed that the hospital did the right thing to avoid creating a hostile work environment.
Supporters of the decision to yank the newspaper remind people that Congress passed a resolution in 1986 acknowledging that the term "Jap" is racially derogatory and offensive.
That doesn't fly with angry veterans and others who have inundated the hospital, media and government offices with protests.
"Any Marine will tell you that, in this day and age, they damn well know the term 'Jap' is a rude and insulting remark -- that is not the issue," a decorated Vietnam vet told one news outlet. "But you've got people here who are trying to change history."
It's a classic damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don't controversy.
And it's a reminder. Your crisis plan must not only consider how you respond to events that might happen in the future, but also how you represent events that did happen long ago.
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Bottom photo: Historic newspaper display at Indianapolis VA hospital (Courtesy Indy.Com )
