Anyway, today I'll be attending a city council meeting on renaming my high school, which was named for a slave owner. I will be using the argument outlined in this thread. I thought I'd test it out on you guys to see if there are any decent retorts to it, and apparently there aren't. Thanks for your help.
"America" is simply a geographic descriptor. If anything the name should be changed because the country doesn't encompass the entirety of both continents.
Exactly. The name originally referred to an individual but has now taken on another meaning for all of us. Likewise, my high school's name no longer refers just to a slave trader; it has taken on a different meaning for those of us who went there.
If the US was called "Amerigo Vespucci Memorial Republic" or something like that, it might be a different story.
But really, you're being a jerk at best and a racist at worst. Literally nothing bad will happen from changing your high school's name (provided they come up with a good alternative). Meanwhile black students will be able to attend that school without having that connection hanging over them.
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