It appears that the Centennial School District is really appreciative to the Lynch family for their generous donation of land for the establishment of public schools. However, it appears that their name is simply unacceptable because, when used as a noun, it brings up painful images of lynchings. We have previously discussed the same lunacy in higher education with buildings named after a Lynch. It appears that even if a school wants to name itself after Loretta Lynch, the first female African American Attorney General, she will have to change her name. Ironically, the first word in the motto of the Lynch Elementary School is “learn” but the learning curve appears too steep in the view of the board. Under the same logic, animal rights activists could object that the school symbol is calling for the lynching of lion cubs — a highly disturbing and traumatic image for young children.
KATU reported that the school board in Portland, Ore., dropped “Lynch” from the names of elementary schools after receiving complaints that the names of Lynch Meadows Elementary School, Lynch View Elementary School and Lynch Wood Elementary School reminded them too much of “lynch mobs” and “lynchings.”
As Sharlene Giard, a realtor and the school board’s chairwoman, explained that it was simply impossible to have children of color walk into a school with the name Lynch” “We have children of color and other cultures and we want to make sure that they are able to cross the threshold of those three schools and be comfortable in their surroundings.” Wouldn’t have been easier (and even educational) to simply explain that Lynch is a personal name and not a noun. Even on the elementary level, did students really think the school was built as a celebration of lynchings of minorities by mobs in Portland, Oregon?
So now anyone named Lynch should understand that their accomplishments will have to be recognized without using their names in memorials or dedications. That turns out to be a rather long list of accomplished Lynches. That includes not just Loretta Lynch but leaders like John Roy Lynch who not only became an attorney and military officer after being born a slave but was elected as the first African-American Speaker of the Mississippi House of Representatives. Too bad his name is not Giard.
It is chilling to see our public educational system in the hands of adults who think that this is a proper response to complaints rather than a discussion of the truth behind the name. How about a nice plaque on the Lynch family? It appears simply easier to ban the surname without any connection to an act of violence or intolerance. It is not clear if we will not shrub off the names of others with unfortunate nounal implications like Master. PETA may want to change the name Skinner Elementary School. Native Americans might want to strip away the name on Savage Elementary School. How about an inner city school named Gunn Elementary School?
The alternative honorees could have similar problem. Famous Oregon author Raymond Carver might upset vegans. Oregon football legend Sonny Sixkiller is a dead letter. Oregon author Bob Welch has the misfortune of a surname now viewed as a terrible slur.
I guess they could just name every school after Oregon native Courtney Love or, in the the interests of full disclosure, after Oregon civil war hero William Boring. Even better, they can capture the truly neutral content of their educational mission by naming it after Oregon native Mel Blanc.
My greatest concern is the type of children we are raising into citizens who are sheltered not only from pressures but perceived (and incorrect) insults of any kind. The notion that it whether something is a real insult or not is immaterial. It is entirely based not on the true meaning or intent but merely how it is perceived by others. That is a terrible lesson not only in terms of history but citizenship for these students under the tutelage of the Centennial School District.
what will they do with the word rope ?there are a lot of sick people in this country.
Part of the ongoing slide into crapification.
Another piece of evidence toward several theses:
1. School boards are sock-puppets of the superintendent and his subordinates.
2. The superintendent et al are manifestations of the shticks and psychometric profile of graduates of ‘educational leadership’ programs at your local teacher’s college.
3. The ‘educational leadership program’ recruits idiots for faculty and student body alike.
4. Who, nevertheless, can inveigle and manipulate the compulsive joiners, the party hacks and the krill suspended in the foetid waters of PTA meetings from whom elected school commissioners are recruited.
I luuuuv it….
DSS – you clearly have worked in the system. 🙂 Your description is dead on.
Portland is the new San Francisco.
Change the name to “Loretta X Elementary School.” HaHaHa.
Well, that’s stupid.
Schools should teach children the relationship between context and meaning. If the Lynch family was so generous with their money, land, and time towards education and philanthropy, then they should be recognized. It is patently absurd to ascribe a meaning to their name that simply isn’t there.
Aren’t children discouraged from bullying other kids over their names? Perhaps school administrators did not get the memo…
Well said, Karen.
What nonsense! Maybe the school board members will next forbid given names of Biblical origin to assure separation of church and state. Uh-oh! Butt, Diaper, Hogg, and Merkin are also family names! Watch out!
I guess we also need to change the mascot of Oregon State. USC, too.
It would seem to me that the intelligent way to go about this is to replace, as often as possible, the word lynch when referring to hanging to hang. The way these idiots are going about it, everyone with the name Lynch is wrong. Ryder didn’t change the name of their company when McVie blew up all those innocents. But the reference to the Ryder truck was reduced.
Idiots exist on both ends, left and right. What should be alarming is that the right wing idiots like Jim Inhofe get into the Senate and others into Congress. Then the biggest idiot of all becomes President. Yes these school board members are stupid and need to be addressed, but a society can deal with idiots at this level. Don’t let them rise any further up. The big question is how do these idiots get into DC and the White House?
If the snowflakes ‘feel’ the surname Lynch can trigger people, than they are absolutely right, in a society where there is no absolutes. Because that is their ‘truth’ for them. And everyone must change for the minority ‘thinkgroup’ no matter how insane it is.
https://youtu.be/VtYNsNtqvVg
What’s the over-under on the time stamp on Natacha’s shrewish and o’er long objection to this post?
I’ll take 2pm Pacific.
First, it is Portland, Oregon. 2nd, it is a group of politicians from Portland, Oregon. Should we expect any logic in this thinking?
They Lynch family should make a public demand for the district to return the land given to them for the insult, if only for the purpose of making the board appear as the idiots they are.
Sonny Sixkiller was one of my favorite players when I was a kid. He was a real chucker and had a gun for an arm. There was a very eccentric football player named, Joe Don Looney. A coach once said, “Never was a man more appropriately named.”
Marshawn Lynch is now back playing football for the Raiders. And like Loretta, also a black person.
We have a friend who lives north of Seattle,. She had 2 boys who played hockey and both attended the Doug Lynch Hockey School, ironically in OREGON. It must be closed or the name changed!!
The Education Industry is both incompetent and insane. I now have a grandchild and have much trepidation about her education when she starts school.
Nick,
Would homeschooling be a possibility?
Prairie Rose – home schooling is fine through 8th grade. However, you might find either a good charter school or private school in your area.
don`t we have a congressman from boston named lynch. and we definetly had an attorney general with the last name lynch ? WHY wasn`t eric holder charged with mass murder and high treason for fast & furious.
There seems to have been a peak of human reason and logic that began a decline in our culture the moment it was decided human nature of those in government is any different than those outside of it.
In this country, the decline started about the time Dwight Eisenhower retired. My grandmother was born in 1895. She was a lovely person. It’s been all down hill ever since.
Idiots!!!!
Great ideas should be glorified, not individual people – all of whom had some good ideas and some bad ideas. Schools should be named something like, “Learn for Life”, or Expand Your Thinking”.
Or, ‘Out with Idiots’.