What's In A Name Change:

Hi ATSers recently there has been a spike in calls for change of names of certain sites or geographical areas in parts of the U.S and even football teams, some of it have a "racially" insensitive tone to it the Washington Redskins others for cultural and historic reasons, Mt Mckinley back to Denali,plus all those who remember the hoopla over Niggerhead hunting camp now changed to Negro head hunting camp, is it just P.C to go for a name change in order to help put our racist past behind us or is it damaging the historical record for example in literature a couple yrs ago someone had this bright idea to change the word Nigger with slave in the Huckleberry Finn novel, a move I was not pleased about because for me context matters. below controversy is mounting over a name change over a real historical/geographical site were the locals themselves wished to change a racially insensitive name but the National Park service is refusing to move on this issue, when usually it's the other way around.
Feds won’t rename Washington’s ‘Coon Lake’

e federal government is under pressure to rename a Washington lake for a black prospector instead of the racial slur that likely refers to him.

State officials agreed to change the name of Coon Lake and Coon Creek after a Seattle man convinced them the designation was intended as a racial slur against Wilson Howard, who worked claims and lived in the area in the 1890s, reported Crosscut.

The state’s board of geographic names officially changed the names to Howard Lake and Howard Creek in 2008, but the National Park Service continues to oppose the changes.

The racial slur persists on federal maps, databases and mapping software — and at least one activist said he was “pissed off” about it.

“That’s shocking,” said Eddie Rye Jr., who has met with members of the Congressional Black Caucus in Washington, D.C., to push for the name change.

The federal government specifically bars derogatory names, but NPS officials said they aren’t certain “coon” referred to a black miner in an almost entirely white community more than 100 years ago — when newspapers regularly used the racial slur in reference to black people.

— intended as racial slur against black settler
www.rawstory.com...

My take on the above is changing the name by using the name of the actual person would actually add historical context rather than take away from it unlike the Mark Twain example.

I've been to Coon Rapids, Minnesota. I wonder if that was a racial slur.
But yeah.. trying to edit Mark Twain is like trying to rewrite history. Which some would do if they were allowed to.

Lakes are often named for animals that are seen near them. I find it much more likely that it was named for an indigenous racoon spotted nearby than some racial slur.

More PC stupidity.

originally posted by: Metallicus
Lakes are often named for animals that are seen near them. I find it much more likely that it was named for an indigenous racoon spotted nearby than some racial slur.

More PC stupidity.

Naaw in this case they meant the man not an animal, keep in mind another lake in the same area was name N word now changed to Negro lake, or something like that but it wasn't unusual for racially insensitive name to be used for a person.
Example Jeremiah Hamilton NY city's first Black millionaire before the civil war and competitor of Cornelius Vanderbilt was nicknamed The Black Wolf and also named Nigger Hamilton, he did not get a plaque on Wall Street however for reasons other than his ethnic background for he was a premier scumbag in the age of scumbags, had he gotten a plaque it might have used the slur.
Yes I am mindful of P.C stupidity and folks going overboard but there is room for change just because things are old doesn't meant it should be set in stone, I am all for using indigenous names for places wherever possible.

but NPS officials said they aren’t certain “coon” referred to a black miner in an almost entirely white community more than 100 years ago...

PuuhhhLease...

They know.

I can understand. My own usernamei s jonnyWHITE. Thing is, when I made the username, I just though white was interesting last name because there're some people with that last name. I wasn't thinking about white/black skin or anything. Some people probably have seen my username and thought I was somehow a closet racist, but whatever. Things get overblown. "Coon Lake" should be renamed, unless they can find evidence it WASN'T named as a racial slur to the miner Wilson Howard.

I don't like history being revised for lame reasons. For example, I know many people here wouldn't consider Star Wars a part of history, BUT it has routinely been edited so it looks and sounds different from the original. I really don't like that. I know hte original actor who voiced Darth Vader wasn't included in the final film, but the final film is the final film, please leave it alone! The things they've done to it are beyond quality changes. One of the most insidious changes IMHO was removing Sebastian Shaw from the final scene in Return of the Jedi and replacing with Hayden Christensen. I have all respect for Hayden, but he doesn't belong there. I think they were trying to connect the first movie to the later (prequel) movies, but the connection is already there and makes more sense as it was originally because the dying Darth Vader resembled the ghost in the final scene.

Some saying, those who ignore history are condemned to repeat it, comes to my mind. Why is history so scary to some people?