THE ANTILLES: KILLING THEM SOFTLY
In a news story this morning on tropical storms, the reporter referred to the "Greater Antilles" and the "Lesser Antilles." I hope I am not alone in finding this language extremely offensive. Can you imagine the impact of such terms on impressionable youth growing up in Lesser Antilles? The message is clear: unless you leave the island of your birth, you will always be second best. No wonder the U.S. has major problems with illegal immigration. People want to live in a place whose name doesn't give them an inferiority complex. (Residents of Smuggler's Crotch, Arkansas, you have my sympathy.)
My modest proposal: the Greater Antilles should be renamed the "Really Good Antilles," and the Lesser Antilles should be known as the "Just As Good Antilles."
Please write your state representative in the United Nations. The children of the Caribbean are depending on us.
In a news story this morning on tropical storms, the reporter referred to the "Greater Antilles" and the "Lesser Antilles." I hope I am not alone in finding this language extremely offensive. Can you imagine the impact of such terms on impressionable youth growing up in Lesser Antilles? The message is clear: unless you leave the island of your birth, you will always be second best. No wonder the U.S. has major problems with illegal immigration. People want to live in a place whose name doesn't give them an inferiority complex. (Residents of Smuggler's Crotch, Arkansas, you have my sympathy.)
My modest proposal: the Greater Antilles should be renamed the "Really Good Antilles," and the Lesser Antilles should be known as the "Just As Good Antilles."
Please write your state representative in the United Nations. The children of the Caribbean are depending on us.
posted by Mike | 7:06 AM
3 Comments:
Mike, While well intended, your efforts are off base. Antilles is a word with Dutch origins that basically means a**holes. Therefore those from Lesser Antilles have always been seen as less annoying than their counterparts from Greater Antilles.
A nearby island, totally wiped out in 1547, was called World's Biggest Antilles. Needless to say, their demise was warmly received.
Thanks very much for the correction, Dave. With such careful readers like you, it's no wonder that U.S. News and World Report has rated "Grin" as "the most accurate blog in North America."
Interesting reading, nice blog.
Clint
Clint's Blog
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