MMeM, Vol.12 Issue 16 – ReName ReDo
In what has become the latest incarnation of PC (Political Correctness), everyone is trying to cleanse the world in which we live of all wrongs from the past. It’s a slippery slope to be sure, and on some levels, it can’t be argued against with good reason. However, the truth is we will never erase all traces of historical wrongs as their effects are woven deeply into the fabric of today’s world like it or not. Still, I get these attempts, at least from where they first were born feeble as they may end up being.
Late last year and earlier this one, easy targets were taken down such as the civil war remnent of The Confederate Flag, i.e. “The Stars & Bars”. This of course raised the next logical question which surrounded why so many southern statues, streets, cities, and buildings were still flaunted about in all their “Rebel Glory”, as some would interpret them.
Thus, renaming things, which has happened since the end of the Civil War continues today.
Dateline, Austin, TX, April 22, 2016, Robert E. Lee Elementary School
Try to do something seemingly good, with modern ways already proven to be faulty, and well, you know the outcome. Last month, the Brits tried naming a polar research boat via the use of an Internet naming contest open to the masses. The result was, “Boaty McBoatface”. It’s not like no one heard about this flub, or #FAIL, heck I did. But, throwing caution to the wind, the Robert E. Lee Elementary School naming solicitation contest was launched. You can probably guess the outcome, I mean, I’m writing about it. So, without further adieu, I give you some of the entries and suggested new names for Robert E. Lee Elementary School in Austin, TX.
“Here are the 5 submissions with the most number of votes…
- Donald J. Trump Elementary: 45 nominations
- Robert E. Lee Elementary: 34 nominations
- Russell Lee Elementary: 32 nominations
- Harper Lee Elementary: 30 nominations
- Elisabeth Ney Elementary: 15 nominations
Some other notable submissions include…
- Idiocaracy Elementary (Yes Idiocracy is misspelled. Not sure if that is intentional.)
- John Cena Elementary School
- Drew Brees Elementary
- Bruce Lee Elementary
- Adolf Hitler School for Friendship and Tolerance (With 8 nominations.)”
Ok, now these lists aren’t surprising. Neither the Top 5 list nor the “notable submissions” were all that surprising, unfortunately. After perusing the full list which consists of more than 15 pages I can tell you that there was one submission that I felt was fairly witty and timely given the recent passing of one popular singer.
- The Elementary School Formerly Known as Robert E. Lee 2 nominations
Of course, there were other, “notables” I couldn’t help but notice.
- Schooly McSchoolerson 2 nominations
- Kanye West 2 nominations
- Hypothetical Perfect Person Memorial Elementary School 1 nomination
- Ignorance is Bliss Elementary 1 nomination
- Forgetting Your Past Dooms You to Repeat it Elementary 1 nomination
- Confederate Hero High 1 nomination
- Barrack Hussein Obama Elementary School 3 nominations
If you’d like to subject yourself to the full list of suggested names, you can view them here.