Lake Calhoun / Bde Maka Ska
Lake Calhoun / Bde Maka Ska
Isn’t it enough that we named a lake after the warmongering slavery defender John C. Calhoun? Do we also have to name a train station after him?
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Re: West Lake Station & Multimodal Study
Any year now that rename movement will be successful.
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Re: West Lake Station & Multimodal Study
And lake Harriet is named after a woman whos' husband was the colonel of the first army to wage war against a great plains Indian tribe. Fun facts that we don't think about because now they've just become names of places.
Re: West Lake Station & Multimodal Study
It's true that a naming mistake made in the 19th century can and should be forgiven. But why would we repeat (and compound) that mistake in 2015?
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Re: West Lake Station & Multimodal Study
Little known fact:
Dr. Reginald Isles was a Nazi.
Dr. Reginald Isles was a Nazi.
Q. What, what? A. In da butt.
Re: West Lake Station & Multimodal Study
At this point, history is history, and nothing will change it. We shouldn't be erasing people like Columbus or Calhoun anyways, because by forgetting the past, we become doomed to repeat it. I'd find a building like this could serve as a prominent reminder of our mistakes.
Anyways, the primary concern of naming shouldn't be those connotations, but instead the station's location, which is near Lake Calhoun. This is about placemaking, not righting historical wrongs. Changing names won't make the civil war or its effects go away.
Anyways, the primary concern of naming shouldn't be those connotations, but instead the station's location, which is near Lake Calhoun. This is about placemaking, not righting historical wrongs. Changing names won't make the civil war or its effects go away.
Re: West Lake Station & Multimodal Study
Forgetting != not celebrating...
But anyway, I made my survey similar to David's. This is a part of town with so much potential; to waste it all on moving cars is a tremendous mistake.
But anyway, I made my survey similar to David's. This is a part of town with so much potential; to waste it all on moving cars is a tremendous mistake.
Re: West Lake Station & Multimodal Study
Existing =/= celebrating. This isn't a monunent to him. Practicality shouldn't be trumped by sensibilities.
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Lake Calhoun
Looks like MPRB will actually take the renaming idea seriously:
http://www.startribune.com/lake-calhoun ... 309249161/
http://www.startribune.com/lake-calhoun ... 309249161/
Re: Lake Calhoun
They said they'll look into it and report back in September, by which time this will have faded from memory of most people who signed the petition. Given they lack the legal authority, as they found out in 2011, they'll likely report the exact same thing quietly and nobody will be the wiser.
Re: Lake Calhoun
Current events may not allow things to be swept back under the rug as usual.They said they'll look into it and report back in September, by which time this will have faded from memory of most people who signed the petition. Given they lack the legal authority, as they found out in 2011, they'll likely report the exact same thing quietly and nobody will be the wiser.
Re: Lake Calhoun
^Yeah, except we said the same thing about Sandy Hook.
Who could watch a bunch of kids slaughtered in their own classroom and not be interested in even the smallest amount of gun control reform? Apparently enough people.
Who could watch a bunch of kids slaughtered in their own classroom and not be interested in even the smallest amount of gun control reform? Apparently enough people.
Re: Lake Calhoun
A discussion that is true, but I'll take a name change as a first step that we have finally had the straw that broke the camels back. Not sure if we as a nation have finally hit that "I'm as mad as hell and I'm not going to take it any more". The NRA has been eerily quite so I think they know if they try at this point to fight it, they would probably lose. The 2016 political landscape just had a major earthquake and we will have to see how much the landscape has really changed. Minor or major shift?? only the next few months will tell.^Yeah, except we said the same thing about Sandy Hook.
Who could watch a bunch of kids slaughtered in their own classroom and not be interested in even the smallest amount of gun control reform? Apparently enough people.
Re: Lake Calhoun
Yeah, but there's no National Lake Calhoun Association.
Re: Lake Calhoun
Yeah, I'd say that in the pantheon of more-progressive-than-thou feel-good political actions with no particular meaning or impact that Minneapolis elected officials could undertake, this one seems like a sure fire winner.
To be clear, I think that renaming the lake is probably a good idea.
To be clear, I think that renaming the lake is probably a good idea.
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Re: Lake Calhoun
I wish there was another more palatable historical figure named Calhoun so we could re-dedicate the lake instead of renaming it.
"John C. Calhoun? Hell, no, this lake is named after Duane Calhoun!"
"John C. Calhoun? Hell, no, this lake is named after Duane Calhoun!"
Re: Lake Calhoun
They're beating a dead horse. It's ludicrous. Most people do not associate Lake Calhoun with the man it's named after. If you dig in deep enough, I'm sure there are thousands of people's names in this country that have some negative legacy behind it. Time to move on and focus on more important priorities.They said they'll look into it and report back in September, by which time this will have faded from memory of most people who signed the petition. Given they lack the legal authority, as they found out in 2011, they'll likely report the exact same thing quietly and nobody will be the wiser.
Re: Lake Calhoun
Ah yes, the Multitasking Is Impossible argument.
Re: Lake Calhoun
If the name is meaningless, then its not a problem to change it. Names change all the time (ask my wife). And how can we claim the high ground, ask states to stop worshiping the confederate flag, naming monuments to the founders of the KKK, if we won't do this step in our own back yard?
Re: Lake Calhoun
1700 signatures, huh? Sounds like they spent a whole 4 hours on a college campus to get all of those. 

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