Like Forrest Gump said, “Stupid is as stupid does” [and continues to be and do].

The headlines read: “[School] Board votes to change Oklahoma City schools named after Confederate generals.”*

Jackson Elementary (built in 1910),** Lee Elementary (also built 1910)*** and Stand Watie Elementary (built in 1930) **** schools have been so named after General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, Robert E. Lee and Isaac Stand Waite ever since they opened. And through all those decades, their names seemed no big issue until Black Lives Matter et al started throwing race riots all round the country a year or two ago.

Never mind that from Lee Elementary school’s own website, they recognize that Robert E. “Lee showed himself a brilliant strategist, making dangerous and brilliant moves to avoid being crushed by the superior numbers.”  And that after he Civil War “Lee…became president of Washington College (now Washington and Lee University) and worked to promote brotherhood and nationalism…and was remembered as a kind and courteous man and a bold, audacious general.”****

Interestingly, Lee Elementary’s demographics show that “…90.3% of the student population at Lee Elementary identify as Hispanic…”and only 1.6% of the rest that identify as black.**** The student population at Jackson Elementary is 89.3% Hispanic and only an additional 2.8% identifying themselves as “black.”***** And, similarly, “88.8% of the student population at Stand Watie Elementary identify as Hispanic” with only 1.9% of their student body identifying themselves as “black.”***** 

The last I checked the Civil War was not waged against Hispanics or Hispanic nations. It was an American v. American "Civil War" in Yankee history books and a United States v. Confederate States "War Of Northern Aggression" in Southern accounts. And, as a reminder, the Southern view was that it was a war over States Rights, oppressive northern tariffs and against Northern States aggression of taking up arms to oppress Southern states into outlawing slavery (which was still legal in the South at the time). The Yankee version is that it was "a war to preserve the Union" and to "free the slaves." (Although Lincoln did not issue his famed Emancipation Proclamation Executive Order until January 1, 1863, almost two full years into the War and only applied to slaves in Southern territories - in other words didn't do one damned thing to free any slaves in Northern states. I won't bother citing sources on that as the sources confirming this are numerous in any Google search.)   

And, as a reminder, “It’s true that Union and Confederate soldiers are considered U.S. veterans under federal law, and that they would be entitled to the same benefits as Union soldiers today….” Not only that but that same federal law – Public Law 810 passed in 1958 – “listed the spouses and children of all Civil War veterans — Confederate and Union — as eligible for federal pensions….” And not only that, but it made “Confederate soldiers eligible for burial in national cemeteries and for taxpayer-funded headstones, just like Union soldiers….” [Emphasis added.] *******

So…”Riddle me this, Batman; what possible harm, violation or negatively “reflected on our values”, as black OKC schoolboard member Charles Henry asserts do these school building names commit? How is it that this “is the right thing to do for our kids and for the people who had to live this history,” as [school]board Chairwoman Paula Lewis asserts? ******** By teaching kids that rewriting history to read the way someone wishes it had happened compared to the way it actually happened is the “right” thing to do? By teaching kids that hiding the unpleasant lessons of history will actually help people learn to prevent them from reoccurring in the future? By teaching kids that the old rule of “sticks and stones may break their bones but names can never hurt them” is actually a big fat lie – that stone statues, grave markers and nearly-century old names of buildings can actually somehow hurt them? No wonder they call the younger generations Generation Snowflake! (Before anyone gets all upset that this usage is somehow a racial slur, let me correct that myth before it gets mis-distilled into “fact;” my usage of the term here reflects the monicker attached to the youth of today that are “more prone to taking offence and less resilient than previous generations, or as being too emotionally vulnerable to cope with views that challenge their own.“*********)

And don’t even get me started on the stupidity behind Ms. Lewis’ comment of doing right by the people who had to live this history….”********* 

Furthermore, depending on which estimate you want to believe, these name changes are going to cost somewhere between $40,000 and $100,000 to implement.

Forrest Gump said it best; “Stupid IS as Stupid DOES.”**********

*Sweetman, Cassandra. “Board votes to change Oklahoma City schools named after Confederate generals.” KFOR.com, KFOR-TV, 24 Oct. 2017, kfor.com/2017/10/23/school-board-votes-to-change-schools-named-after-confederate-generals/.

**“General Information on Jackson Enterprise Elementary School.” General Information / General Information, Oklahoma City Public Schools, www.okcps.org/domain/392.

***“General Information Lee Elementary School.” General Information / About Lee, Oklahoma City Public Schools, www.okcps.org/domain/665.

****Meacham, J. et al. “Architectural/Historical Survey of Oklahoma City's Historic School Buildings.” Criterion Group, Oklahoma City, Criterion Group, Oklahoma City funded by the Kirkpatrick Foundation, Feb. 2001, www.okhistory.org/shpo/thematic/okcschools.pdf.

*****“Lee Elementary in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.” Rate Limited, Startclass by GRAPHIQ, public-schools.startclass.com/l/73679/Lee-Elementary.

******“Stand Watie Elementary in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.” Rate Limited, Startclass by GRAPHIQ, public-schools.startclass.com/l/73705/Stand-Watie-Elementary, and “General Information.” General Information / About Stand Watie, Oklahoma City Public Schools, www.okcps.org/domain/472. And

*******Martin, Aaron. “Confederate Soldiers Are Considered U.S. Veterans Under Federal Law-Truth!” TruthorFictioncom, 23 July 2015, www.truthorfiction.com/confederate-soldiers-are-considered-u-s-veterans-under-federal-law/.

********Willert, Tim. “Oklahoma City board votes to change school names.” NewsOK.com, NewsOK, 23 Oct. 2017, newsok.com/oklahoma-city-board-votes-to-change-school-names/article/5569226

*********“Generation Snowflake.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 10 Oct. 2017, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generation_Snowflake.

*********Zemeckis, Robert, director. Forrest Gump (1994). Paramount Pictures.