You want to honor who?

Just when I think I can get away from talking about racial issues they pull me back in. How can I avoid commenting on the following story.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110210/ap_on_re_us/us_confederate_license_plates

Maybe it is because this is fresh in my mind because I just say a documentary on the origin of the Klan but I know that Forrest was a major player in making that vile organization violent. He is also responsible for executing black soldiers who had surrendered. This was not a nice man.
Now he may have renounced all of that later in life. And I am a believer in forgiveness. But he is not known for his good works. What he is known for is helping to create the violence that is the Klan. This is not a George Washington situation who was a slave owner but that is not why he is famous. People who honor Washington are not automatically honoring his slave owning. But Forrest is most famous for his hatred and violence, so how do you honor him without also honoring that hatred and violence.
I try to put myself in the mindset of those that I disagree with. A lot of times it helps me to understand why they thing the way they do. I may not always agree with them but trying to understand why they think the way they do helps me to humanize them and not fall into the trap of demonizing others. But it is hard for me to understand why people fight to honor someone like Forrest. People like that really challenge my ability to look at the perspective of others.
Do I try to understand the perspective of those who want to honor Forrest or admit that it is a bridge too far? Do I try to avoid demonizing them or believe that they deserve to be demonized if they push such ideas? To be honest I still do not know how much effort I should go into trying to understand them. A big part of me would love to write them off but I also worry about picking up habits of demonizing those I do not agree with. For me personally these are tough questions but they are questions that we should all ask. Who do we try to understand and who do we write off?

Sincerely,

Trouble-Maker