Say it my way or face consequences.
The consequence here is the loss of a great privilege, the access given to the small group of reporters who speak directly to the President. But it made me think of the pressure that has been applied to ordinary people to say things in a way that is dictated by their political antagonists.
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74 comments:
The AP is Soviet-Democrat anyway. also - didn't AP receive USAID funding?
Yes, AP has been receiving funding from this slush fund.
QUIT Deadnaming my gulf!
you gulfaphobe!!
You are REQUIRED, BY LAW to use the words that *i* SAY you must!
OBEY! you gulfaphobe!!
Isn't compelled speech awful? Maybe they should invite Jordan Peterson. If the AP objects to being excluded, I would let them back in - but only if they can explain 'why' - on-screen, and in print.
Pronoun police are no different in my view than the geography police. It's all enforced Newspeak.
I'd be happy with calling that body of water "Gulf of the Americas," but let the mapmakers choose their own label.
Of all people the AP should know you don't deadname the Gulf of America. It may cause the Gulf of America to kill itself.
The whole thing with the Gulf of America is hilarious. It's throwing the Left's rewriting and renaming of history back in their faces.
But it made me think of the pressure that has been applied to ordinary people to say things in a way that is dictated by their political antagonists.
Me too. Goes around, comes around
The Gulf of America thing is stupid, nobody will ever call it that. It's like the Triboro bridge being re-named as RFK bridge - a dumb political stunt that annoys regular people.
People voted for Trump largely to try to stop the stream of BS coming out of the democrats. Now he's proliferating his own nonsense.
Actually, I think Trumps rapid approach to doing things will backfire. Many of the things he wants to accomplish cannot be done simultaneously. He's annoying too many people at once. For example, renaming the Gulf of Mexico is a trivial distraction that is going to make it much harder for him to acquire Greenland, which seems like a much more substantial and worthwhile thing to do.
Similar but not the same. I didn't like it when the Biden administration throttled certain outlets and I don't like this.
For several years, the AP had to call Ft. Bragg, Ft. Liberty. They had no issues with that name change.
Also, names are not the same as pronouns. When a male calls themself a female and demands I treat them as a female even in third person reference is not the same as a male saying my name is Richard, but you can call me Dick.
"I'd be happy with calling that body of water "Gulf of the Americas," but let the mapmakers choose their own label."
I've heard of "Avenue of the Americas" but I don't get the idea of more than one America. There's a north and a south of the whole big place.
Londres is not a translation of London. It's a different name by country. Nothing more common.
Did AP object to calling Mt. McKinley "Denali"?
I think it's silly that with only seven continents 2 have to share the same name. How unoriginal can humanity be. Europe gets its own name and it's not really even a continent.
would you Rather Have a Live Gulf of America?
or a DEAD Gulf of Mexico?
https://www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/where-we-work/priority-landscapes/gulf-of-mexico/stories-in-the-gulf-of-mexico/gulf-of-mexico-dead-zone/
I don't have many lines in the sand, but calling one individual in the plural is one of them. If that individual doesn't like it, too bad.
Every once in a while it’s good for people to have to live by the rules they advocate. For years it’s been Republican/conservative modus operandi to treat Democrats/liberals as “they themselves would like to be treated.” That, unfortunately, has only emboldened their opponents to treat Republicans/conservatives even more shabbily. So a little payback, every once in a while, is a good thing ( + highly entertaining). The AP still has access to the daily briefings. So no fucks given.
But it made me think of the pressure that has been applied to ordinary people to say things in a way that is dictated by their political antagonists.
Hence the point. Trump isn’t out to merely remove past injustices, but to change the culture to prevent their recurrence.
Fetal steps and a couplet of years then the weather will force a climate change and we will all drive a Denali to reach Mt. McKinley. Can they abort the baby, sequester her carbon in sanctuary states, and have her, too? A sex, a gender, time will tell.
I remember as a middle-school child thinking it should be called the Gulf of America and not the Gulf of Mexico since America was the more important country. I think Twitter has stronger brand strength than Gulf of Mexico, and there is at least moderate adoption of people using X over Twitter, or at least using X in conjunction with "formerly Twitter."
@Oilfield Rando: "...So the people who made us rename everything from military bases to football teams to pancake syrup are very upset about this Gulf of America thing aren’t they..."
A privilege is just that, something offered voluntarily. AP doesn't "own" their seat. Trump isn't the first president to change place names and AP is being petty. Petty parties' privileges may be paired back by presidential prerogative.
An alien, a migrant, an illegal alien, an undocumented immigrant. An ethnic Spring. Equity and equivocation.
North and South America. Central America was a bridge too far.
We fought two wars with Mexico, for less, mostly dustups with settlements on the perimeter of their territory, to the facilitating of the fentanyl epidemic and the invasion of our borders from 150 countries,
The answer is yes.
(Though I laughed at RideSpaceMountain.)
OT, but someone should tell Rep. Alopecia Pressley, D-Masshole that all her reparations are belong to illegal immigrants.
The AP seemed to back Obama changing the names of things. It is almost like they are just partisan hacks parading as an impartial news agency.
Sometimes it's hard to divine Trump's intentions from his opening gambit. Does he really want to buy Greenland or is he trying to point out its strategic value to the West? Is he going to retake the Panama Canal or is his intention to block China's BRI? Is his renaming of the Gulf of America a way to stop any foreign expansion into the area? These things aren't done on a whim.
Past behavior with other name changes shows that the issue is not the name change, but who did it. So it's the AP who is being inconsistent.
I’m not gonna automatically assume AP’s version of events here….
X has a sexist undertone. Twitter was a nit that perched on a wall and had a great fall.
AP is a Democrat/Hamas foghorn. The Gulf of America thing is a Washington Commanders thing.
It's the AP style guide or you'll be punished... published.
I'm asking Y. h/t Enigma
gilbar said...
“…you golfaphobe!!”
If you do weekend rally racing, you damn well better fear my tuned Golf R, buddy.
MadTownGuy said...
“I'd be happy with calling that body of water "Gulf of the Americas," but let the mapmakers choose their own label.”
Amerigo Vespucci agrees with this comment.
If we can waste money and effort changing the name of Mount McKinley and Army bases, why not change the Gulf of Mexico. I think Trump should require all news outlets to call him "Trump the Magnificent" and barr everyone who refuses to do so.
It shows how stupid the DC Republicans are that in 2020, Trump vetoed a reconciliation because it changed the names of army bases and the DC republicans helped the D
s override the veto. Take that Republican voters! Now, we've changed the names back.
Obviously it was called the Gulf of Mexico before the USA aquirred Texas and probably the LA purchase. Now its be the Gulf of America because the Gulf coastline is almost all USA.
It is sauce for the gander.
Love this topic and this blogversation. Nevr really thought of the "two Americas" in this sense. Technically it's one connected landmass (but for the Panama Canal), but that other half really should have its own distinct name. And Europe is really just West Asia. People with European ancestry should check the Asian box for the forms that still count those things. Brits and Irish excepted, as they are not part of the continent.
Its not hard to devine Trump's intentions. And it mostly doesn't matter. Who cares if we get Greenland or not. It wastes the media's and Democrats time. And the same with changing the name. BTW, if Harris had been elected we wouldn't be talking about it partly because she would have had only 1 press conference. WIth selected pre-written softball questions.
Was this verified? I can't take the time to research this but is there evidence that AP was blocked specifically for this reason? I guess so if CNN is reporting. Uh huh sure. CNN and AP, super reliable.
If I am going to research anything it's going to be try and figure out how the Gulf of Mexico got that name in the first place. Where do these names come from? I think America is from Amerigo (Vespucci) , the Italian. Did he own any slaves? was he homophobic? Maybe this needs to get investigated before we start slapping his name on everything.
Gulf of America is not named for one country, whereas Gulf of Mexico is. Trump is just being inclusive.
I'm reminded that people who demanded we change the names of football teams, pancake syrups, and army bases are now upset with changing the name of a golf that is surrounded by Americas. North, Centeral and South.
Silliness. Others may not know when Trump is trolling and when he isn't, but he and his administration need to know the difference and keep it in mind.
Because Donamagne, the glorious crusader who restored Amerimagne, said so.
It is . . but mostly it reminds me of the the South Korean government insisting that, e.g. the Sea of Japan be called the "East Sea," or the North Korean government insisting that it be the "Korean East Sea" (using Joseon, the North Korea/Yi Dynasty/Japanese Occupation name for Korea, rather than Hanguk, the South Korean term). And to be honest, I always found the Korean government stamping its foot over geographic names like that rather pathetic, and it doesn't become less pathetic when it's the American government. Which, I suppose, lines up with my view of people who demand other people refer to them only with their preferred pronouns.
I love Trump, but it's the Gulf of Mexico, it will be called that again officially, likely before I die, same as Mt McKinley.
Adding to my post above: If Trumps intention by renaming the Gulf is to make it easier to block Chinese expansion in the area, which I suspect is his end goal, then renaming to Gulf of the America's would be counterproductive. He wants the US not the various countries on the two continents to be the final arbiter.
Gulf of America is not named for one country, whereas Gulf of Mexico is. Trump is just being inclusive.
True. Furthermore, the Gulf has now transitioned from masculine (MexicO) to feminine (AmericA) honoring the beautiful Mexican language and its tradition of using gendered words.
Masculine "Mexico" and feminine "America" gender roots should appeal to the politically congruent. That said, America as a feminine construct plays well with the popular notion of a national motherland.
"The AP said it was blocked because it hasn’t changed its stylebook entry for Gulf of Mexico to 'Gulf of America'"
Show me the proof.
Leavitt confirmed that it was a privilege to be invited into the Oval Office. Listen to the context of her statement. Is that the only reason they weren't invited? The AP was there in the room as she spoke, do they need access to every event the President attends?
I've been interested in Geography since I was a kid. But, after seeing much of the world, Geography remains a bit of a mystery.
I'm reminded of this by earlier reference to "North" and "South" America. And, of course there is their bastard child, "Central" America.
What about "North" and "South" Carolina - and Dakota? Is there an actual Carolina and an actual Dakota or are they like Belgium, a bit of land hosting the quite distinct Flems and Walloons?
Why is Australia a continent and not Greenland. C'mon, is there a reason why Antarctica should have standing and Greenland, not?
And Europe? Seriously? Is "continent" political, ethnic, cultural or physical?
but mostly it reminds me of the the South Korean government insisting that, e.g. the Sea of Japan be called the "East Sea,"
I believe several Arab states insisted that it was called the Arabian Gulf and not the Persian Gulf. Not sure if they still persist in that.
I encourage our hostess, as well as the commenters here to examine Trump's various policies and statements in the light of his America First Doctrine. What are the benefits to the US? If you take his renaming of the Gulf as capricious you are being led by the nose. He has assembled a competent intelligent team around him. These are not willy nilly acts as his opposition would have you believe.
While we're at it we can change the name of the Atlantic Ocean to the East American Moat and the Pacific to the West American Moat.
Game theory suggests that Trump needs to do a lot of "tit for tat" retribution to punish the Left for its violation of norms. Just putting back the original names isn't enough, because there was no price paid.
Insisting on something as trivial as the "Gulf of America" is a simple and mostly harmless way to make media people suffer a little in the same way that gotcha moments relating to never-ending nomenclature changes (such as the ridiculous appending of letters--and now numbers--to the alphabet people's abbreviation).
At this stage the Trump administration is playing nice, merely barring a "news" organization from special access. That's far less than has been done to people who accidentally used a term that was widely accepted two days ago but is now suddenly determined to be offensive "hate speech." The whole "We don't say EUPHEMISM X anymore, we say EUPHEMISM Y" is what needs to become socially unacceptable, and maybe this is a good first step.
Seems to me that refusing to call the Gulf by it's proper name is insulting. While the AP has a right to insult our country, it has no right to attend WH availabilities which themselves have limited spots. The WH is permitted to decide who may attend these limited availabilities and it is allowed to decide only friendly media are allowed, just like a Dem president would do. AP is still allowed at regular press briefings, but decades of granting AP a special status for other media availabilities is not required.
Stated above- Fort Bragg is Fort Bragg again. TBH, few in the military ever stopped referring to it as Fort Bragg. Now named after Private First Class Roland I Bragg.
If the commanders of all the other renamed forts aren't searching records for similar renamings back to the rightful names of their installations, they're behind the learning curve.
The point of making someone say something they know to be arbitrary or, worse, idiotic, is to insure everyone knows with certainty that the person with the boot pushing on a face, and that face itself, have changed places since inauguration.
Arbitrary vs. idiotic... Calling a him a her or be punished is idiotic- tyrannical even. Renaming geological features- so what? Not letting someone attend press coherences because they refuse to go along? A childish yet effective way to say- the tide has turned. Bite it! I'm not certain it even meets the definition of punishment.
The Gulf has no proper name. People who despise Trump can call it Gulf of Mexico. People who love Trump can call it Gulf of America. To me, it's the Gulf. I don't know of any others.
Trump should let the AP be the AP. They have reputational capital, and they want to spend it here. Let's see how that works for them, without petty exclusions from news events.
I forget where I saw it yesterday, but someone said that calling it The Gulf of Mexico is "deadnaming" it.
Personally, I don't care what people call it and I wish that Trump hadn't done it just to stir things up.
I like the set up. They probably changed the name knowing the press corps entities wouldn’t follow it. Not exactly long game but now they’re all on notice. Good job!
The gulf is surrounded by the Americas, so maybe rename to the Gulf of the Americas, so as to include the US, Mexico, the other central America and south American countries? And if you are still in a snit and have an issue, here is a tissue. Slightly used, please recycle.
Call it what you want. I don’t care.
Constantinople? And Caribbean both start with the letter 'C'. Istanbul is nobody's business but the Turks.
"The Gulf has no proper name."
Officially, it does. The Department of the Interior has Congressionally delegated authority for determining the names of geographic features in and around the USA and it has reamed the Gulf of Mexico.
The new name is The Gulf of America.
"renamed"
BAD A.P.
. TIME OUT!
Arashi said...
“The gulf is surrounded by the Americas, so maybe rename to the Gulf of the Americas, so as to include the US, Mexico, the other central America and south American countries?”
You’re thinking of the Caribbean Sea, of which the gulf is only a smaller part of. But if you want to rename the sea to the American Sea, I can get behind that.
Wince said...
“Gulf of America is not named for one country, whereas Gulf of Mexico is. Trump is just being inclusive.”
Yes. A full two thirds of the countries that border the Gulf are not named Mexico.
As a Franco-American, I demand we call the ‘English’ Channel, which borders more countries than just the UK, by its proper name: La Manche.
“I've heard of "Avenue of the Americas" but I don't get the idea of more than one America. There's a north and a south of the whole big place.”
Well, if you’re going to ignore the Panama Canal you should also ignore the Suez Canal, which would make Africa, Asia, and Europe one big blob of a continent.
Also, most Noo Yawkas still call it Sixth Avenue.
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