Please, I hope the schools teach as much history as possible. But quite a few in HISD feel the “place” for these characters should no longer be a place of honor.
Are the schools in question predominately White?
As a whole, Houston ISD is about 8% white, so it seem unlikely.
Assuming the name changes last for a century
1,750,000.00 cost of 7 name changes
100 duration of name change
17500 cost per year
2,246,977,244 2016 budget
0.0008 percentage of 2016 budget = eight ten-thousandths of one percent
0.000008 percentage of budget over duration = eight millionths of one percent
0 rounded to closest penny, a.k.a. sweet fuck all
215,000.00 number of students per year
21,500,000.00 number of students over duration
0.0008139535 cost per student over time
0 rounded to closest penny, a.k.a. sweet fuck all
General Information / Facts and Figures
HISD votes to rename 3 more schools named with Confederate ties - ABC13 Houston
Value to Clothahump of students being protected from systemic racism?
Homework time for you, Clothahump.
What is your share of the eight ten-thousandths of one percent of the combined federal, state and local costs that you will pay in your taxes?
Of course I don’t expect you to do the math, for you are not capable. I’ll give you a hint: the answer rounded to the nearest penny is sweet fuck all.
Instead, I expect that you will whinge on about the principle of it all, but turn a blind eye to your principles being racist.
Oh, bullshit; you’re not looking for rational discussion here. If you were, and if you wanted to avoid insults, you could easily have posted to GD or MPSIMS.
Or are you now claiming, despite being a long-time member of this board, and having started dozens of equally train-wreckish threads (most of in the Pit), you are shocked, totally shocked that there might be objections to your premise, and that some might be less than polite?
As far as I can see, the reaction you’re getting is what you actually want, isn’t it? I mean, the above (and all the repetitive "Fuck off"s) seem to strongly support what I said previously:
That’s because you’re fucking stupid.
But I can use this thread to load up my ignore list. And frankly, once I get all you mouth-breathing, drooling cretins on it, reading this board might become fun again.
So I will say with all sincerity, to all of you: fuck off.
Are you saying he isn’t here for the huntin’ 
I would be far more efficient if you shut up.
Now go prove your manhood by breaking a styrofoam brick.
Has it now been determined by the Peanut Gallery that defense of a 19-year-old poet who later disavowed slavery and the Civil War is the hallmark of a racist?
How far into the liberal black hole of ignorance shall we wade, cap’n?
Hah, yes, that’s exactly the punch line I was thinking of.
Speaking as a person with a generally positive outlook on life, I much prefer to fuck on, thanks.
:checks thread:
:checks thread again:
Nope.
The one that’s all full of straw? As far as you wish, I suppose.
So your glass is half fuck?
I agree there’s a good argument to be made for keeping Sidney Lanier’s name. He was being honored for his artistic work not for his role in the Civil War.
I might even consider the same argument for John Reagan. Yes, he was a major Confederate political leader. But he was also a major figure in Texan politics for decades before and after the war. You could argue he deserves the honor for his role in Texan history while putting aside his role in the Civil War.
Honestly, it shouldn’t be a matter of there being “a good argument to be made for keeping” either Lanier’s or Reagan’s names.
The argument in those cases, since the schools have long since been named for them, ought to be the reverse- is there a good reason at all to rename the schools?
I mean, just about ANY luminary from the Southern US up through about 1890-1900 would likely be tarred with the Confederate brush or the slavery brush in one way or another, and it’s a little absurd to expect those areas to not name anything after anyone associated with either one.
Any reason to think the people making these decisions did not consider these arguments in reaching their conclusions? I’m sure reasonable minds can differ about particular school names, but I’m content to let the good people in charge hash it out as best they can. Whether they err on the side of keeping a few, or err on the side of rejecting a few, no real harm will come of it. In fact, the conversation stemming from all this is probably healthy.
The general principle (let’s not continue to honor people who did bad things) would seem beyond dispute.
I see a distinction between people who happened to be Confederates, like Lanier and arguably Reagan, and people whose claim to fame is being a Confederate, like Jefferson Davis and Robert E. Lee.
Davis, for example, has no particular connection to Houston. He was born in Kentucky and lived in Louisiana and Mississippi. He served in the Mexican War but so did a lot of other people. He was a cabinet official but you don’t see Houston schools being named after William Marcy or Caleb Cushing. No, the only reason why somebody would name a Houston school after Jefferson Davis is because he was the Confederate President.
Here’s a rather good idea on how to memorialize the Confederates:
Tell you what…screw waiting for Memorial Day each year to do this. Do it as often as the mood strikes you.
It’s bad enough that a Texas school’s highest purpose is to have a winning football program, but it would still be nice to acknowledge the point of education, as well. And even football coaches know the meaning of having good role models in life, something which would not include traitors and slavers and those whose lives were devoted to them.