Turn a blind eye...........................

"The phrase 'turn a blind eye' - often used to refer to a willful refusal to acknowledge a particular reality - dates back to a legendary chapter in the career of the British naval hero Horatio Nelson. During 1801’s Battle of Copenhagen, Nelson’s ships were pitted against a large Danish-Norwegian fleet. When his more conservative superior officer flagged for him to withdraw, the one-eyed Nelson supposedly brought his telescope to his bad eye and blithely proclaimed, 'I really do not see the signal.'  He went on to score a decisive victory. Some historians have since dismissed Nelson’s famous quip as merely a battlefield myth, but the phrase 'turn a blind eye' persists to this day."
-as excerpted from here