As the Washington Post expected when it published it's pathetic, racially charged, 3000-word, front page hit piece on Texas governor Rick Perry Sunday, America's media outlets have largely taken the bait by expressing outrage over this non-story.
Curiously bucking the trend was Jon Stewart's "Daily Show" Monday which used black contributor Wyatt Cenac to humorously demonstrate how many places across the country have names like N-ggerhead (video follows with transcribed highlights and commentary):
After a little background concerning the issue, Stewart jumped to Cenac supposedly "live from Texas."
Cenac responded, "Actually, Jon, I'm in your state. I’m standing in front of N-gger Lake, New York." He later quipped, "It's a beautiful lake, unless you're a n-gger."
What's interesting about this lake is that it actually had this name until recently. As the Wall Street Journal reported on July 22 of this year - yes, just two months ago:
In the remote meadows and forests of upstate New York, state environmental scientists have made a disturbing discovery: a road, a stream and a lake all bearing names using the most offensive racial word in the English language.
A vestige of a long-ago past, the n-word—fully spelled out—still lingers in environmental conservation laws classifying bodies of water.
"It was a shock to us. The term is very offensive," said Scott Stoner, a research scientist for the state Department of Environmental Conservation. "These are not regulations that get looked at often, but somebody discovered it."
Mr. Stoner said a regional researcher alerted the agency about the racial epithet two years ago. Officials, he said, then did a computer search and found three other examples buried in regulatory indexes and a map.
Yes, right in New York state.
He continued, "Did you know there are over 100 places that have been called N-ggerhhead in this country? There was even a N-ggerhead Point in New York. It's over in Wayne County on Lake Ontario, but out of respect they changed it to Negro Head Point. Then they realized that still wasn't very respectful, so now they just call it Grave's Point.”
A little research indicated Cenac was correct about many of these. The book "Lies Across America" verified his claim concerning N-ggerhead Point, New York.
N-ggerhead Rapids, Idaho, has been changed to Negro Head Rapids.
Up until 1971, there was a N-ggerhead Pond and a N-ggerhead Ledge in Vermont.
North Carolina still has numerous things in its state named with the N-word.
As Cenac later observed, there are all kinds of racist names for towns, lakes, and other things around this country not just ones involving blacks.
"Why on earth would there be places like Chink’s Peak, Dago Peak, Squaw Tit Mountain, Jap Road, Spook Woods, and Mexican Gulch?"
The point is that such names are all over this country, and for the Washington Post to try to use this as a way to depict Perry as racist was deplorable.
Heck, even the liberal Jon Stewart and his frequent contributor Wayne Cenac - who happens to be black - understand that.
