“Stop this insanity”: Minor title change upsets some Duluthians

The last statement, “The practical approach would be to pass it and move on.” is just the opposite of what my children heard from me. I told them that the easy way out was not necessarily the best option.

Thank you. It is encouraging to hear that there are still people teaching their children that fighting time-consuming battles over trivial matters is a good idea during a pandemic. Making an ideological point is so important that you should never let anyone stop you, no matter how insignificant that point may be.

If it would be so simple as to change the one word and move on I would agree to the change. Who cares? But this would not be the last word. How many other words are in the massive City ordinance that would also require change? Would the additional changes ultimately result in the French name “Duluth” being changed to the original native american name of our city: “Waiekwakitchigami” (end of the lake)

A quick search of Duluth’s ordinances reveal the following objectionable words. Shouldn’t these also be removed? Where does it all end?

Master used 8 times.

Man used 6 times

Boy used 1 time

Women used 1 time

White used 4 times.

Black used 1 time.

Indian used 3 times.

From Wikipedia:
‘Newspeak is the fictional language of Oceania, a totalitarian superstate that is the setting of George Orwell’s dystopian 1949 novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. To meet the ideological requirements of English Socialism (Ingsoc) in Oceania, the ruling Party created Newspeak, a controlled language of simplified grammar and restricted vocabulary, meant to limit the freedom of thought—personal identity, self-expression, free will—that threatens the ideology of the régime of Big Brother and the Party, who have criminalised such concepts into thoughtcrime as contradictions of Ingsoc orthodoxy.’

I suggest ‘Duluth Managerperson’ and ‘Duluth Moneyperson’

Although I want to think better of his intentions, it sounds like the author of this article is asserting that- it’s not worth the time to publicly make the point to these leaders that they are being wasteful and ridiculous. The assertion is almost that- from an efficiency standpoint- we should just roll over and let Mayor Lost-in-Town do her dance. I won’t argue that yes, it is no doubt wasteful on all ends of it- Mayor is wasting peoples’ time, people objecting to it are wasting resources and time, I see that.

But if we just passively allow them this, then what’s next? If you give a crooked leader a cookie, she’ll want a glass of milk. If you give her the glass of milk, she’s gonna want…. you know? I suppose in an unengaged populace like Duluth’s, the waste will continue either way, but where do you draw the line??

This city AND states’ leadership is in so, SO far over its head. It’s really a sad fact that not many in the community even recognize how deep the problems run.