Posted on 08/04/2014 6:20:12 AM PDT by Kaslin
Renaming a branch of the Boston Public Library for William Bulger, one of the more sordid Massachusetts politicians in recent decades, may not be the worst idea City Council President Bill Linehan has ever floated, though offhand I can't think of one that tops it.
Linehan proposed the tribute to the former president of the Massachusetts Senate and the University of Massachusetts this week, hailing Bulger's "commitment to service, to the people of South Boston, Boston, and the commonwealth."
That's not quite the way I would describe the vindictive pol who put loyalty to his serial-murdering brother above any commitment to the people or the law. Still, I realize that Bulger has some sincere admirers, Linehan perhaps among them. So I'd like to tender a proposal of my own. If they're serious about wanting Bulger's name to adorn the brick-and-glass facade of the South Boston branch library, let them offer the library board of trustees a generous naming gift, and raise the money themselves.
On the same day the Globe reported Linehan's call to name the library after Bulger, the mail brought an invitation to the dedication next month of the new Sumner M. Redstone Building at the Boston University School of Law. Redstone, a billionaire media mogul, last year donated $18 million to support the construction of the five-story addition to BU's law school (where he taught entertainment law for several years in the 1980s). Redstone and Boston University, like countless other private benefactors and institutions, take it for granted that naming rights should be paid for by those receiving the honor.
Only politicians are vain enough to think that naming rights and other tributes are an entitlement, to be underwritten not with their money but with everyone else's.
You can hardly turn a corner in Boston without coming across a building or bridge or park or roadway named for a politician or a politician's relatives. The Moakley courthouse. The Fitzgerald Expressway. The McCormack federal building. The Rose Kennedy Greenway. The Saltonstall state office building. The Tobin Bridge. The O'Neill Tunnel. The Menino Pavilion. The Hynes Convention Center. The statues of Kevin White and James Michael Curley. Some politicians have two, three, or even four of these "monuments to me," as they've been dubbed. Besides the federal courthouse named for former Congressman Joe Moakley, there is a Moakley park, a Moakley academic center, and a Moakley medical building. There's even an Evelyn Moakley bridge named for his wife.
And the "monuments to me" keep proliferating.
Boston Mayor Marty Walsh announced last week that a historic building in Roxbury's Dudley Square is to be renamed for Bruce Bolling, the late City Council president. A commission is being created by Linehan and City Councilor Stephen Murphy to scout out locations for a statue or other shrineto "celebrate" former Mayor Ray Flynn. Massachusetts politicos may not be quite as far gone in this addiction to self-glorification as some public officials. (It takes five pages to print Wikipedia's list of places named after former US Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia.) But we're headed that way.
Can't we call a halt to this taxpayer-funded ego-stroking of people who are supposed to be public servants, not public deities?
If an outright ban on naming buildings, projects, and highways after politicians isn't feasible, let's at least rein the practice in by not allowing it to be done with government funds. Let governors, mayors, and lawmakers who yearn to see their names chiseled in granite followSumner Redstone's example, and pay for it themselves. If the friends of Billy Bulger truly think South Boston's library should be renamed in his honor, let them negotiate the terms of a substantial naming gift and turn to private donors to collect it.
Once upon a time it was understood that public entities shouldn't be named for still-living politicians. Some admirable officials were even content to let their life's work be their monument. How quaint that seems in our age of fame junkies and self-idolatry, when for too many politicians it's all about the monument, and not nearly enough about the work. Reversing that trend would admittedly be a daunting task, but refusing to name things after politicians would be a good place to start.
List of places named after Robert C. Byrd, West Virginia
(source, Wikipedia)
Normally I’d only post a link, but I’m posting the whole thing for emphasis:
Academia, science, and technology[edit]
The Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope in Green Bank, West Virginia.
Robert C. Byrd Academic and Technology Center, Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia[6][9][10]
Robert C. Byrd Academic and Technology Center, Marshall University Graduate College in South Charleston, West Virginia[9][10]
Robert C. Byrd Auditorium, National Conservation Training Center in Shepherdstown, West Virginia[9][10][11]
Robert C. Byrd Biotechnology Science Center, Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia[6][9][10][12][13]
Robert C. Byrd Cancer Research Laboratory, West Virginia University in Morgantown, West Virginia[6][9][10]
Robert C. Byrd Center for Legislative Studies, Shepherd University in Shepherdstown, West Virginia[9][10][14]
Robert C. Byrd Center for Pharmacy Education, University of Charleston in Charleston, West Virginia[9][10]
Robert C. Byrd Center for Rural Health, Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia[6][9]
Robert C. Byrd Clinical Teaching Center, Charleston Area Medical Center Memorial Hospital in Charleston, West Virginia[9][10]
Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope, Green Bank, West Virginia[6][9][10]
Robert C. Byrd Hardwood Technologies Center, Princeton, West Virginia[6][9][10]
Robert C. Byrd Health and Wellness Center, Bethany College in Bethany, West Virginia[9][10]
Robert C. Byrd Health Sciences Center, West Virginia University in Morgantown, West Virginia[6][9][10]
Robert C. Byrd Health Sciences Center Charleston Division, Charleston, West Virginia[9]
Robert C. Byrd High School, Clarksburg, West Virginia[6][9][15]
Robert C. Byrd Institute for Advanced Flexible Manufacturing (RCBI) Bridgeport Manufacturing Technology Center, Bridgeport, West Virginia[9][10][16]
RCBI Charleston Manufacturing Technology Center, South Charleston, West Virginia[6][9][10][16]
RCBI Huntington Manufacturing Technology Center, Huntington, West Virginia[9][10][16]
RCBI Rocket Center Manufacturing Technology Center, Rocket Center, West Virginia[9][10][16][17]
Robert C. Byrd Institute for Composites Technology and Training Center, Bridgeport, West Virginia[9]
Robert C. Byrd Library, Wheeling, West Virginia[9]
Robert C. Byrd Library and Robert C. Byrd Learning Resource Center, University of Charleston in Beckley[6][9][10]
Robert C. Byrd Life Long Learning Center, Eastern West Virginia Community and Technical College in Moorefield, West Virginia[9]
Robert C. Byrd Life Long Learning Center, West Virginia University in Morgantown, West Virginia[10]
Robert C. Byrd Metals Fabrication Center, Rocket Center, West Virginia[9][10][17]
Robert C. Byrd National Aerospace Education Center, Bridgeport, West Virginia (affiliated with Fairmont State University)[9][10]
Robert C. Byrd National Technology Transfer Center, Wheeling Jesuit University in Wheeling, West Virginia[6][9][18]
Robert C. Byrd Regional Training Institute, Camp Dawson near Kingwood, West Virginia[9]
Robert C. Byrd Science and Technology Center, Shepherd University in Shepherdstown, West Virginia[6][9][10]
Robert C. Byrd Technology Center, Alderson–Broaddus College in Philippi, West Virginia[6][9][10]
Robert C. Byrd United Technical Center[6][10]
Commerce[edit]
Robert C. Byrd Hilltop Office Complex, Rocket Center, West Virginia[6][9][10][17]
Robert C. Byrd Industrial Park, Moorefield, West Virginia[6][9][10]
Community[edit]
Robert C. Byrd Community Center, Pine Grove, West Virginia[6][9][10]
Robert C. Byrd Community Center, Sugar Grove, West Virginia[6][10]
Government[edit]
Robert C. Byrd Rooms, Office of the West Virginia Senate Minority Leader, West Virginia State Capitol in Charleston, West Virginia[9]
Robert C. Byrd United States Courthouse and Federal Building, Beckley, West Virginia[6][9][10]
Robert C. Byrd United States Courthouse and Federal Building, Charleston, West Virginia[6][9][10]
Robert C. Byrd Federal Correctional Institution, Hazelton, West Virginia[6][10]
Healthcare[edit]
Robert C. Byrd Clinic, West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine in Lewisburg, West Virginia[6][9][10]
Robert C. Byrd Clinical Addition to Veteran’s Hospital, Huntington, West Virginia[6][9][10]
Recreation and tourism[edit]
Robert C. Byrd Addition to the Lodge at Oglebay Park, Wheeling, West Virginia[6][9][10]
Robert C. Byrd Conference Center (also known as the Robert C. Byrd Center for Hospitality and Tourism), Davis & Elkins College in Elkins, West Virginia[6][9][10]
Robert C. Byrd Visitor Center, Harpers Ferry National Historical Park in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia[6][9][10]
Transportation[edit]
The Robert C. Byrd Bridge crossing the Ohio River between Huntington, West Virginia and Chesapeake, Ohio.
Robert C. Byrd Appalachian Highway System, Appalachian Development Highway System in West Virginia[9][10][19]
Robert C. Byrd Bridge, crosses the Ohio River between Huntington, West Virginia and Chesapeake, Ohio[6][9][10][19]
Robert C. Byrd Bridge, Ohio County, West Virginia[19]
Robert C. Byrd Drive, West Virginia Routes 16 and 97 between Beckley and Sophia, West Virginia[6][10]
Robert C. Byrd Expressway, United States Route 22 near Weirton, West Virginia[6][9][10]
Robert C. Byrd Freeway, United States Route 119 between Williamson and Charleston, West Virginia (also known as Corridor L)[6][9]
Robert C. Byrd Highway, United States Route 48 between Weston, West Virginia and the Virginia state line near Wardensville, West Virginia (also known as Corridor H)[6][19]
Robert C. Byrd Interchange on Interstate 77[9]
Robert C. Byrd Interchange on United States Route 19, Birch River, West Virginia[9][19]
Robert C. Byrd Intermodal Transportation Center, Wheeling, West Virginia[9][10]
Robert C. Byrd Locks and Dam, Ohio River in Gallipolis Ferry, West Virginia[6][9][10]
Erma Ora Byrd[edit]
The Erma Byrd Higher Education Center at Concord University’s Beckley Campus in Beaver, West Virginia.
The following places are named after Robert Byrd’s wife, Erma Ora Byrd:
Erma Byrd Biomedical Research Center, West Virginia University in Morgantown, West Virginia[9][10][20]
Erma Ora Byrd Center for Educational Technologies, Wheeling Jesuit University in Wheeling, West Virginia[10][20]
Erma Ora Byrd Clinical Center, Marshall University School of Medicine in Huntington, West Virginia[9]
Erma Ora Byrd Conference and Learning Center, Rocket Center, West Virginia[17][21]
Erma Byrd Eastern Panhandle Health Professions Center, Martinsburg, West Virginia[9][10]
Erma Byrd Gallery, University of Charleston in Charleston, West Virginia[9]
Erma Byrd Garden, Graceland Mansion in Elkins, West Virginia[20]
Erma Ora Byrd Hall, Department of Nursing Education, Shepherd University in Shepherdstown, West Virginia[9]
Erma Byrd Higher Education Center, Concord University Beckley Campus in Beaver, West Virginia[9][10][22]
Maybe they can rename Tenean Beach after his brother Whitey, too.
The Robert C. Byrd State of West Virginia
I’ve been in that library that they are proposing to name after Bulger.
Good one! Maybe some of Whitey’s victims are still buried there.
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