# I pit the Houston Independent School District **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 25, 2016, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-houston-independent-school-district/755624 "2016-05-25T03:29:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2016, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-houston-independent-school-district/755624/201 "2016-06-09T21:51:52Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > Not really, other than to ask why the streets were named for those people in the first place. Were they named because they _were_ Nazi sympathizers, or were they named because those folks did something else that was noteworthy? > > But in the long run, it’s a meaningless question to ask. My OP was complaining about the waste of taxpayer dollars in renaming schools for no other reason than political correctness. You can try to draw parallels all you want, but that’s what it boils down to. And I made a thoughtful argument about why it might not be a waste, and why it might in fact be more expensive not to rename them. Nazis were a small part of my argument - it was about the effect that such names being honored might reasonably have on some children. You might disagree, but you haven’t said why. ---
**Author:** ![Stringbean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Stringbean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stringbean)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2016, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-houston-independent-school-district/755624/202 "2016-06-09T22:24:51Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Boil this down, dipshit: It **is not** “political correctness” to refuse to honor traitors. > > Oh, and fuck off. I agree. Let’s get Washington & Jefferson off our bills, universities, and streets. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2016, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-houston-independent-school-district/755624/203 "2016-06-09T22:32:07Z")
It ain’t treason when you win, dumbass. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2016, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-houston-independent-school-district/755624/204 "2016-06-09T22:36:02Z")
> [@Stringbean](#): > > I agree. Let’s get Washington & Jefferson off our bills, universities, and streets. One big difference is that the colonies had no say in how they were governed and those doing the governing were across the ocean. The South had a say, they just didn’t like it. Tough noogies. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2016, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-houston-independent-school-district/755624/205 "2016-06-10T00:32:23Z")
> [@Stringbean](#): > > I agree. Let’s get Washington & Jefferson off our bills, universities, and streets. Different war. (Where did you go to school? \*Did \*you?) Not that Jefferson actually\* fought\* in that war. And his service as wartime governor of Virginia nearly got him charged for cowardice–Yorktown happened & everybody agreed to let it drop. And he pioneered scientific racism in his _Notes on the State of Virginia._ And his contributions to the _Kentucky & Virginia Resolutions_ laid the basis for Secession. And, after a very long life, he freed damn few of his slaves–mostly relatives. But we’ll let him stay on the 2 dollar bill & the nickel. Washington knew slavery was a problem; alas, he should have used his prestige to free his slaves during his lifetime. At least he did in his will–unlike the other slaveholding presidents. Then there’s this from Henry Wiencek (_An Imperfect God: George Washington, His Slaves, and the Creation of America_) > [@](#): > > During his presidency the preeminent Founding Father made the startling, indeed, amazing, remark that if the Union split apart into North and South, “he had made up his mind to remove and be of the Northern.” He made the comment to his secretary of state, Edmund Randolph; it was recorded by Jefferson. So we’ll definitely keep Washington. Jefferson, too, but he’s getting lots of side eye. Don’t blame only Ron Chernow–or Lin-Manuel Miranda. But what does this have to do with Houston? ---
**Author:** ![Stringbean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Stringbean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stringbean)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2016, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-houston-independent-school-district/755624/206 "2016-06-10T00:38:04Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > It ain’t treason when you win, dumbass. This idiotic definition is a pathetic attempt to backtrack from an equally idiotic statement of absolutism. The American Revolution was, by definition, an act of treason, dumb-ass. ---
**Author:** ![Stringbean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Stringbean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stringbean)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2016, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-houston-independent-school-district/755624/207 "2016-06-10T00:40:27Z")
> [@Bridget\_Burke](#): > > Not that Jefferson actually\* fought\* in that war. And his service as wartime governor of Virginia nearly got him charged for cowardice–Yorktown happened & everybody agreed to let it drop. And he pioneered scientific racism in his _Notes on the State of Virginia._ And his contributions to the _Kentucky & Virginia Resolutions_ laid the basis for Secession. But he was a WINNER! (And, of course, still a traitor to the Crown) ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2016, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-houston-independent-school-district/755624/208 "2016-06-10T00:47:09Z")
Man, **Stringbean** just keeps giving **Clothy** a run for his (Confederate) money as the single dumbest person on this board. And there is some stiff competition out there. ---
**Author:** ![Stringbean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Stringbean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stringbean)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2016, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-houston-independent-school-district/755624/209 "2016-06-10T01:21:34Z")
A slight more [lyrical](http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/j/johnharing173129.html) interpretation. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2016, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-houston-independent-school-district/755624/210 "2016-06-10T12:41:34Z")
> [@Stringbean](#): > > But he was a WINNER! > > (And, of course, still a traitor to the Crown) Actually, Jefferson’s first big win was the election of 1800. In which he got more votes because of the 3/5’ths clause. And because Alexander Hamilton thought that Burr would be an even worse president. (Hey, this is the Pit!) Fuck The Crown. Brits are fine–& I like Liz–but the British Empire is not missed. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-houston-independent-school-district/755624.md?page=10)