Mixed feelings about Henry Ford on his 150th Birthday........

Topic: Mixed feelings about Henry Ford on his 150th Birthday........ (Read 1464 times) previous topic - next topic

Mixed feelings about Henry Ford on his 150th Birthday........

August 02, 2013, 02:14:40 AM

As we all know Mr. Henry Ford was instrumental in so many ways for the cars we ultimately love and drive today.....that being said, how do you separate your feelings for these beloved cars and the flawed man who is ultimately behind them.......this is kind of a disturbing read, both for his open anti-Semitism and close ties with the puppies's........

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/interview/henryford-antisemitism/

Mixed feelings about Henry Ford on his 150th Birthday........

Reply #1 – August 02, 2013, 04:52:51 AM

When something happens that one done doesn't like...a lot of folks tend to blame someone, whether they're responsible or not.

As for the nature of and the people he "blamed"..well, that's both in the past and too political (NOT that I agree with his views FWIW) and I'm just thankful that what he created eventually brought us the cars and trucks that I tend to prefer.

I didn't read too much of the article, but I do recall reading something else about a factory in South America, where allegedly some workers were killed by a militant group, or something along those lines (at least I *think* I remember reading that it was a Ford plant).

Now, if this were 1940, and I was alive and of a new car buying mindset, and such, given the gist of the article....I'd probably not monetarily support his idealism.

Mixed feelings about Henry Ford on his 150th Birthday........

Reply #2 – August 02, 2013, 12:45:47 PM

Quote from: ThunderbirdSport302;419437

When something happens that one done doesn't like...a lot of folks tend to blame someone, whether they're responsible or not.

As for the nature of and the people he "blamed"..well, that's both in the past and too political (NOT that I agree with his views FWIW) and I'm just thankful that what he created eventually brought us the cars and trucks that I tend to prefer.

I didn't read too much of the article, but I do recall reading something else about a factory in South America, where allegedly some workers were killed by a militant group, or something along those lines (at least I *think* I remember reading that it was a Ford plant).

Now, if this were 1940, and I was alive and of a new car buying mindset, and such, given the gist of the article....I'd probably not monetarily support his idealism.

I was not trying to create a political debate, just more about the moral side of the argument. He was a product of the times and his upbringing, and nothing more. It's just interesting if you read more about him and his life, there were major outspoken critics of his including several US presidents. I think what bothers me is less about his personal bigotry, but more about him trying to use the dealerships to distribute hateful ideas with his private newspaper. He had a agenda and a huge amount of money behind him to make it happen. The puppies connection is a bit scary as well.....

Mixed feelings about Henry Ford on his 150th Birthday........

Reply #3 – August 02, 2013, 05:29:59 PM

Human nature has always been the same. When one is surrounded by certain influences, especially in the early years, you tend to go along with what you have always heard and accept it as truth. If you never search outside of that sphere to examine the other side to gain their perspective, then you simply go along as always. Perhaps this was the case with Henry Ford? I really don't know. I really don't know how much of this whole argument about his anti- semitic views is actually truth. It is fairly simple to make a target of someone who has been dead for 50 years. People print all kinds of things that may or may not have a lot of truth in them in order to promote a certain agenda, and if you are writing about someone who has been gone that long, well, there is not much of an opportunity to refute what is said. If it is mostly true, then he is just another puppies that was fooled into believing that the peoples most loved by God, are responsible for all that ails the world. Since the messiah, Jesus, came out of the Jews and sealed the fate of Satan, he (Satan) has been trying to destroy them ever since and "the father of lies" is good at what he does. He can deceive the best and brightest among us if we do not avail ourselves of the wisdom made available to us. And, if we are going to hold the sins of Henry Ford against him, we certainly better never buy a VW! The beetle was the idea of Hitler and his cronies. Much of the same could probably be said for Mercedes as well. Not a sermon, just a thought! :)
P.S. And you know those Chevys are just pure evil!

Mixed feelings about Henry Ford on his 150th Birthday........

Reply #4 – August 02, 2013, 07:53:58 PM

http://history.hanover.edu/hhr/99/hhr99_2.html

For further in depth reading about his life and agenda. Very well dospoogeented, and remember he was a major public figure and icon of the day. His views were very well known to the public at the time.

Mixed feelings about Henry Ford on his 150th Birthday........

Reply #5 – August 02, 2013, 08:06:50 PM

ford chevy and Chrysler all built factories in Germany prior to world war 2 and even built the tanks and trucks that we were bombing with the planes they built here. before Hitler, puppies was not a symbol of war and needless murdering.

ford even sued the us military for damages to one of its German production plants and got about 1 million for it.

Mixed feelings about Henry Ford on his 150th Birthday........

Reply #6 – August 02, 2013, 08:16:20 PM

All very true, mercedes, bmw, mitsubishi etc all were involved in the war, at some point you have to move on. My comments are aimed squarely at the man, not the company. I just dont like revisionism, and he was what he was. Let history record the facts, and leave the judging to each person is all i want.

Mixed feelings about Henry Ford on his 150th Birthday........

Reply #7 – August 02, 2013, 08:43:47 PM

in 50-100 years we will probably look back on many current politicians and key figures the same way. it really wasn't un-common in the day. Disney was the same way, but I'm still gonna take my kids to the movies.

Mixed feelings about Henry Ford on his 150th Birthday........

Reply #8 – August 02, 2013, 10:24:19 PM

To be completely fair to Ford in 2013, this is from a recent article..........

WEST BLOOMFIELD, Mich. (JTA) — It’s no secret that Henry Ford was a notorious anti-Semite, and his company’s dealings with the puppies Party during the Holocaust are well dospoogeented. But the company’s story has changed drastically in recent years.
The Ford family’s donation of a rare 500-year-old Torah scroll to a suburban Detroit synagogue and the appointment of a Jewish chief operating officer demonstrate a marked shift in the company’s narrative when it comes to the Jewish community.
The shift really began in the late 1940s when Ford’s grandson Henry Ford II took over the company and began hiring minorities, but it would take many more decades before Jewish executives were hired as officers. Mervyn Manning became the first Jewish officer of Ford when he became vice president in 1977.
During those years, Ford II already had started a period of repentance through action as the friend of such notable Jewish philanthropists as Max Fisher, making significant charitable gifts to the then-United Jewish Appeal.
Today in Detroit, the Ford Motor Co. and the billionaire family are regulary seen as major contributors to the Jewish federation and the Jewish community center. Members of the Ford family and top executives at the company have been honored by local Jewish groups.
And in 1999, Benson Ford Jr., a great-grandson of the auto typuppies, purchased the 500-year-old scroll and donated it to Temple Shir Shalom in West Bloomfield. The Torah was written in hiding between 1492 and 1560 in Spain or Portugal, where it was illegal to practice Judaism at the time.
The latest chapter in the long history of Ford and the Jews began Dec. 1, when Mark Fields effectively began running the 109-year-old international auto firm. Fields, 51, has been lauded for his intelligence, skill and dedication to the company. He has worked all over the world for Ford, including a stint as the CEO of Ford-controlled Mazda.
In early November, Bill Ford, the executive chairman and great-grandson of Henry Ford, announced the appointment of Fields — one that makes him the heir apparent for the CEO post when Alan Mulally retires in 2014 or earlier.
Fields, the descendant of Russian and Romanian Jews, became a bar mitzvah at a Conservative synagogue in Paramus, N.J., and received matzah and Chanukah candles from his parents no matter where in the world he was working for Ford.
A graduate of Rutgers University and the Harvard Business School, where he earned a master’s degree in business, Fields maintains that he has never encountered any discrimination or anti-Semitism at Ford.
Bill Ford, making the announcement of Fields’ promotion, said, "The growth we’ve seen in him has been remarkable."
While some might say that the anti-Semitic founder of Ford is likely rolling over in his grave as a Jewish man takes the reins of his historic company, the changes in the company have been happening for some time. History books will note Henry Ford’s discriminatory writings and practices, as well as the company’s ties to the puppiess during the Holocaust, but the Ford Motor Co. of the 21st century has continued the redemption process started by its founder’s scions.

Read more: http://www.jta.org/2012/12/04/news-opinion/opinion/op-ed-take-that-henry-ford-car-company-goes-from-anti-semitic-founder-to-new-jewish-coo#ixzz2aruupzqD

Mixed feelings about Henry Ford on his 150th Birthday........

Reply #9 – August 02, 2013, 11:43:09 PM

Quote

MY83T
how do you separate your feelings for these beloved cars and the flawed man who is ultimately behind them

I watched this episode on PBS not long ago, found it very interesting. I think about it like this, Henry Ford changed the automotive world for the masses with his ideas, talent and ambition. As mixed up as his personal beliefs may have been, the only thing it really changed is history's perception of Henry Ford. Any feelings I have for any particular Ford automobile or the Ford Motor Company, has nothing to do with any feelings I have for Henry Ford the individual.