Mississippi House Democrat wants to rename Gulf of Mexico

[angus]

lol

http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/politics/2012/02/09/mississippi-lawmaker-pushes-for-gulf-mexico-to-be-changed-to-gulf-america/

I have for a very long time favored the idea of renaming it, but the Gulf of America is as bad as, or worse than, The Gulf of Mexico.  I always liked The Sea of Tehuantepec or something sexy like that. 

[angus]

This reminds me that some tourist traps in Baja California Sur, mostly gringo-run outfits in Cabo San Lucas, have started to call the Gulf of California the Sea of Cortez.  It actually shows up on many tourist brochures as The Sea of Cortez.  That's really insensitive, callous, and exhibits an utter contempt for history.  If you really must name a sea after the marauding conquistador that brought smallpox to the indigenous peoples of the Americas, at least do it with the sea that he actually crossed to get to Veracruz.  Call the Gulf of Mexico the Sea of Cortez.  That's just as callous, but at least it is sensitive to the facts of history.  

My vote would be to leave the Gulf of California the Gulf of California (Golfo de California on Mexican maps, of course), and change the Gulf of Mexico to Sea of Tehuantepec (Mar de Tehuantepec.)  Or maybe name it after some brave Mejica chief like Nezahualcoyotl or Cuauhtémoc.  I love those Nahuatl names, don't you?  Coyolxauqui, Huitzilopochtli, Chipotle, Moctezuma.  Very chic, imho.  Or, if you really want to basque in the warm glow of White Man's Guilt, call it Mar de la Época Triste, or something morose like that.

I vote for "Sea of Tehuantepec."  Who's with me?

[angus]

Well mine wasn't a joke.  I have always favored renaming it.  Who's with me?

[angus]

This reminds me that some tourist traps in Baja California Sur, mostly gringo-run outfits in Cabo San Lucas, have started to call the Gulf of California the Sea of Cortez.  It actually shows up on many tourist brochures as The Sea of Cortez.  That's really insensitive, callous, and exhibits an utter contempt for history.  If you really must name a sea after the marauding conquistador that brought smallpox to the indigenous peoples of the Americas, at least do it with the sea that he actually crossed to get to Veracruz.  Call the Gulf of Mexico the Sea of Cortez.  That's just as callous, but at least it is sensitive to the facts of history.  

My vote would be to leave the Gulf of California the Gulf of California (Golfo de California on Mexican maps, of course), and change the Gulf of Mexico to Sea of Tehuantepec (Mar de Tehuantepec.)  Or maybe name it after some brave Mejica chief like Nezahualcoyotl or Cuauhtémoc.  I love those Nahuatl names, don't you?  Coyolxauqui, Huitzilopochtli, Chipotle, Moctezuma.  Very chic, imho.  Or, if you really want to basque in the warm glow of White Man's Guilt, call it Mar de la Época Triste, or something morose like that.

I vote for "Sea of Tehuantepec."  Who's with me?

I'm afraid my vote is no. Tehuantepec is a Pacific coast name and doesn't work for me as a marker on the Atlantic side. The Caribbean Sea is named after the indigenous Carib, so the natural choice is Nahuan Sea named after the indigenous Nahua. Doesn't that just roll off the tongue?

Not bad.  But nahuan sea sounds too much like "Nah, Wansee."  Wansee reminds me of the Wansee Conference of 1942, where the Final Solution to the Jewish Problem (i.e., deportation and extermination) was promulgated by Reinhard Heydrich, the Nazi official that Hitler called "The man with the iron heart."  It's like Heinrich Himmler and Adolf Eichmann and all the boys are sitting around and someone asks Heydrich, "Hey Reinhard, wanna have a conference in Potsdamm?"  And Heydrich says, "Nah, Wansee."   I'd avoid the name Nahuan Sea for that reason. 

But I've been reading Erik Larson's "In the Garden of Beasts" and lately everything reminds me of Nazis.  Maybe a few weeks after I finish this book Nahuan Sea will sound better.

Anyway, how about Arawak Sea?  Or Taino Sea?

[angus]

How about "The Gulf of the Confederacy?" 

Confederations are no fun.  The Confederation of the Rhine lasted only seven years.  The Articles of Confederation held the former british colonies together only long enough for the US Constitution to be ratified.  The Confederate States of America lasted even less time.

No, I'd go with a more permanent name.  Gulf of Mexico isn't bad, really.  The Mexica people have been around ever since Huitzilopochtli told them to go forth and search for the serpentivorous eagle.  In that light, I'd also consider The Mexican Sea to be an appropriate name.

I still like Tehuantepec better, but as muon points out, West Coast Mexicans (including the gangstas of the local cartel there) won't like it if they think the Juarez cartel gangstas are stealing their name. 

Maybe we could name it after Frida Kahlo.