Sympathy for this poopy-pants racist?
How dare he remove a reference to the great Hispanic cowboy hero's horse.
Posted on 04/14/2005 2:34:37 PM PDT by BurbankKarl
OAKLEY, Calif. -- An Oakley man has asked the federal government to rename Mount Diablo, saying the current name is offensive to his religious sensibilities.
"Diablo" means Satan in Spanish.
Art Mijares applied to the U.S. Board on Geographic Names for the change and suggests naming the mountain Mount Kawukum, which he believes has American Indian roots.
"Words have power, and when you start mentioning words that come from the dark side, evil thrives," Mijares told the Contra Costa Times. "When I take boys camping on the mountain, I don't even like to say its name. I have to explain what the name means. Why should we have a main feature of our community that celebrates the devil?"
To make the change, Mijares would need to persuade federal, state and local governments that it is necessary. That may be easier said than done.
It has been called Mount Diablo for at least 164 years, and references to the mountain permeate thousands of maps, books and historical documents.
The name Kawukum first surfaced in 1866, when a church group tried to change Mount Diablo's name for reasons nearly identical to Mijares', according to San Francisco Bay area researcher Bev Ortiz.
"We abhor the wicked creature to whom the name is appropriate, and spurn the use of the name for anything noble or good on earth," proclaimed the Congregational Church of San Francisco in its newsletter of the day.
The church proposed Kawukum, spelled then as Kahwookum, "a word learned from an unidentified Indian living at the base of the mountain," Ortiz wrote in a history of the mountain's name. Members presented a name-change petition to the Legislature, but lawmakers postponed a decision indefinitely.
The name Mount Diablo grew from the Spanish name given to an Indian village set near a willow thicket in modern-day Concord, where Chupcans staged a daring nighttime escape during an 1805 military campaign.
Spanish soldiers said Indians evaded them only with the help of evil spirits and named the site "Monte del Diablo," or thicket of the devil, which American explorers later mistakenly applied to the mountain.
Sympathy for this poopy-pants racist?
How dare he remove a reference to the great Hispanic cowboy hero's horse.
Hey! That's my porn-film alias. I'm offended.
Ahhh! Screw you guys, I'm going hoooommmmme. ;-)
"When I take boys camping on the mountain, I don't even like to say its name. "
There must be THOUSANDS of mountains and many dozens of parks and national forests in California - why doesn't he take the boys camping somewhere else if this one is so offensive to him??? Granted, it may be close and convenient for him, but there are lots and lots and lots of alternatives.... this guy doesn't get out much, or he'd know how many geographical features all over the place have names that might offend someone. Early explorers and trappers tended to be either crude and rude or else highly religious -- either way, a lot of their place names will offend someone if we give in to this kind of silliness....
Our society today is all about labels.
Spend a day just listening for it. You'll hear it everywhere from everyone. It will drive you mad.
So did I.
My grandmother was born on it, in Sommersville, in 1889. Her mother was also born on the mountain, in Nortonville, in 1870. Her mother was born in 1848 (2 years prior to statehood) at Benecia Arsenal, an Army brat.
Both mountain towns were coal mining towns, and about all that is left are the cemetaries. The coal was hauled to Pittsburgh Landing, later Pittsburgh, my mother's home town.
When the coal on the mountain played out, Sommersville was uprooted, buildings & all, and moved to Black Diamond, Washington, to form the core of a new town there. It was a company town, owned by the Blackdiamond Coal Company, which also owned the new mine in Washington.
Oh well at least he has'nt heard of 'puta creek'.
I have learned that "La Quinta" is Spanish for "Built next to Denny's"
Well, they say the Mayan calendar runs out in 2012....I am hoping about half of them kill themselves, should free up a lot of apartments in CA.
Looks just like a big red X
"Consiga sobre él"
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