A duty of forgetting bombers or iconoclasm? A French example for the Erostrate rule

Abstract

Summary Could the Erostrate rule be applied to terrorists in France: an obligation to forget their names? Such individuals are presented by the media as iconic personalities (evil for many, but examples to follow for some). Maybe simple facts (male, 42, or initials) would suffice in order to prevent hagiographic extrapolation by followers? It would definitely be beneficial, in the sense that the religion would not be apparent, no name, no organization. An anonymous act of terrorism does not motivate others because others would not know what to be motivated from. However, theoretically, it is tantamount to taking away someone's identity and reducing them to their biology (male, 42) or initials (A.B.). So maybe the ethics of it become morally ambiguous. Although, there is certainly a benefit that they cannot be revered. But the problem is that the state has the power to remove someone's name from public and to what extent could it go? Will all criminals’ names be removed eventually? Then who gets to decide? Eventually, anyone outside the prescribed societal moral code potentially can lose his or her identity.