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Why should the John Wayne Airport be renamed?

posted 5 years ago by TMC-4 (20149)
52 replies | jump to latest

https://www.quora.com/Why-should-the-John-Wayne-Airport-be-renamed/answer/Jon-Mixon-1

Why not?

John Wayne was a racist and a White supremacist - Why honor a racist if you don’t have to?

John Wayne has far less importance now, 40 years after his death, than he did when the airport was named for him - Times change and so do beliefs. John Wayne isn’t as well-known, nor as well-respected, as he was in the past.

John Wayne didn’t do much for the area or for civil aviation - The airport should be named for someone from the region, or for someone important to civil aviation. Wayne was neither.

Demographics are changing - When the area was mostly White, then naming an airport after a White actor may have made sense. However, as the Latino population has grown, it makes far less sense than it did in the past.

It’s not as if Wayne’s legacy is going to be rehabilitated - If anything, things are going to grow worse for John Wayne’s legacy as his children die and they leave behind things about him that aren’t going to be flattering. There’s not much supporting retaining the name now, much less in the future.

[–] kuku (3510) 5 years ago

It makes sense.

Since Hispanics are replacing the American population, they should rename landmarks to adapt it to the new ruling majority. A proper name for the airport could be 'Antonio López de Santa Anna'.

I suggest the language should be changed to Spanish. Of course, English could still be used as a secondary language in the airport, at least for a while.

[–] brux (14724) 4 years ago

LOL.

John Wayne was a racist, but he was also a militarist and imperialist, supporting the Viet Nam war. I used to love his movies and his persona in the movie when I was a kid, everyone did.

But the reason they would name something after him is his politics, which is the real reason to remove that name.

[–] trevorh321 (5495) 4 years ago

Learn some tolerance.

[–] [deleted] 4 years ago

Please provide empirical evidence demonstrating the airport was name after him for political reasons.

[–] liscarkat (18410) 5 years ago

John Wayne's legacy does not need to be "rehabilitated". He was neither a racist nor a white supremacist. You don't know anything about him except what you have heard from other idiots like yourself.

[–] TMC-4 (20149) 5 years ago

And you have your own evidence or "proof" that he was neither racist nor white supremacist!? So what exactly did John Wayne mean when he said or made statements that were interpreted by some as racist!?

[–] TimMC (9143) 5 years ago

Interpreted by some. Love that phrase. LOL

[–] TheMouseShadow (417) 4 years ago

youre calling people idiots but cant refute what he said. Who is the idiot here?

[–] TheMouseShadow (417) 4 years ago

He actually said in an interview "I believe in white supremacy until the blacks are educated to the point of responsibility". renaming the AirPort is dumb but you cant erase what he said in the interview.

[–] TMC-4 (20149) 4 years ago

Let me reiterate that in a 1971 interview with Playboy magazine, Wayne admitted he didn't like African-American people (or "the blacks" as he constantly called them) being in charge of anything because white people are apparently the only people who know what they're doing. As he said in the interview, "I believe in white supremacy until the blacks are educated to a point of responsibility. I don't believe in giving authority and positions of leadership and judgment to irresponsible people." He also railed against black people getting too many opportunities. He felt that "Hollywood studios are carrying their tokenism a little too far," and that minorities should only get roles meant for them. Like slaves — Wayne actually claimed to be inclusive because he "had a black slave in The Alamo." To that, you might say, "well, it's a start," but honestly, it's not.

[–] brucewayne (319) 4 years ago

republicans; "he could have been talking about anything! fake news!

[–] marktayloruk (2502) 3 years ago

He had black actors in other movies too.

[–] marktayloruk (2502) 3 years ago

Would his detractors care to explain why irresponsible people should be given positions of responsibility?

[–] sut6432 (2908) 5 years ago

It shouldn’t be renamed. People should learn to leave things the hell alone.

This kind of shit is unbelievably obnoxious and annoying as it gets.

You might as well blow up Mount Rushmore while you’re at it. Nobody is an angel, and everyone has made mistakes.

I wish we had the ability to look into the personal life history of all of these morons wanting to rename everything, knock every statue down, and rewrite every aspect of American history...because I’d bet the farm we’d find something offensive enough to get our collective panties in a bunch enough to prove them all hypocrites, and they would have no choice but to shut their damn mouths and get a life instead of being worried about changing names of everything they consider “offensive”.

[–] TMC-4 (20149) 4 years ago

John Wayne Airport on Chopping Block Due to Actor's Extreme Racism

https://www.lipstickalley.com/threads/john-wayne-airport-on-chopping-block-due-to-actors-extreme-racism.3655646/

It's about time, but there's finally a serious effort to change the name of John Wayne Airport in Orange County because the actor was famously racist and homophobic.

The Orange County Democratic Party passed a resolution, calling out Wayne's "racist and bigoted statements" and demanding the O.C. Board of Supervisors rename the airport Orange County Airport.

It's pretty amazing folks have tolerated the name this long. Back in 1971, Wayne told Playboy ... "I believe in white supremacy until the blacks are educated to a point of responsibility. I don't believe in giving authority and positions of leadership and judgment to irresponsible people."

And, there was more ... "I don't feel guilty about the fact that 5 or 10 generations ago these people were slaves."

And, then the actor set his sights on Native Americans ... "I don't feel we did wrong in taking this great country away from them ... There were great numbers of people who needed new land, and the Indians were selfishly trying to keep it for themselves."

And, Wayne went after gays, using a homophobic slur to refer to the 2 main characters in "Midnight Cowboy."

[–] sut6432 (2908) 4 years ago

🖕🏻

[–] TMC-4 (20149) 4 years ago

He literally called himself a white supremacist in Playboy Magazine.

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/john-wayne-white-supremacy/

[–] sut6432 (2908) 4 years ago

That was in 1971. A completely different era. My grandparents, and probably yours as well, had slightly racist mindsets...it wasn’t right, but it was the era. My grandparents were still good people who never hurt anyone. I’m not going to burn all of our family pictures with them in it or curse their names. This isn’t as black or white (pun intended) of an issue as everyone makes it out to be.

What about the people who had racist thoughts in that era, but stormed the beaches of Normandy facing certain death to protect the freedoms of our country?

I’m NOT saying it’s right to say what John Wayne said, but the man also did a lot of good for a lot of people in his lifetime. What I AM saying, is you could take EVERY statue that has ever stood, EVERY place named after a particular famous person, and find a reason to change the name, or knock down the statue, or be “offended” about something. And you better make it a full time company changing the names of everything, because NO ONE is immune from making mistakes, saying something wrong or inappropriate, or being flawed. Every person who has something named after them has said the wrong thing before, regardless of if we want to admit that.

John Mayer said “the N word” in a playboy interview that caused a lot of controversy...do I think he’s a racist, no. Do I think his music and everything associated with him should be banned...absolutely not. He made a mistake. Maybe he should be banned because his music sucks, but that’s a different story, lol.

That’s the issue with this generation. They don’t understand past eras, whether right or wrong, WERE the eras. People had some racist views, it sucks, but that was the era.

The virtue signaling today has gone off the charts, and searching and digging for anything that could be used as “racist” to destroy the past is a very dangerous precedent. I’m sure you could find some famous past BLACK and white stars who weren’t very fond of gays...ban all of them next?

[–] snepts (11123) 4 years ago

So why should he still be lauded today?
Look, I like Wayne's movies - and I mean a lot ! - but that doesn't mean he should have an airport named after him. Do we have a Jonas Salk airport, or a Thomas Edison airport? I mean, ... John Wayne !?!?
Let's work on the Clint Eastwood bus stop next.

[–] HelpMeRhonda (1158) 4 years ago

It's not just about his movies being good. It's about what his movies and characters represented.

Dig deeply enough, you might find that Dr. Salk or Edison were child molesters or something.

Nothing should be named after anyone, anyway. It's just a form of idolatry.

[–] [email protected] (5871) 4 years ago

sut6432- "..blow up Mount Rushmore.." That would be funny if it weren't so tragically true about the desires of the dumba@@es who are dictating to society today.

Can't wait to see what they want to rename Ronald Reagan Airport.

While they're at it, how 'bout renaming JFK? Or do the Kennedys still get a lot of respect for being Democrats? But men are under attack today and JFK was a serial womanizer.

Let's get REALLY politically correct and rename every airport named for dead white guys. They ALL should be named "Oprah Winfrey International" or "Hillary Clinton Airport. That way we cover most of the oppressed including women, blacks and fat chicks.

[–] HarlemEagle42 (17745) 4 years ago

He made those comments during that Playboy interview back in 1971. Well past the kickoff for the Civil Rights Movement, so he was out of touch in his own time.

It's their decision to change the name or not. Last I heard, they passed the measure. It was originally called the Orange County Airport anyway.

John Wayne's legacy isn't gonna disappear or be marginalized because he got his name scratched off a municipal airport. In ten or twenty years from now, people will still know who he was. He's still among my favorite actors but I can accept that off-camera he was perhaps not a great guy.

[–] huwdj (4566) 4 years ago

That's the annoying thing about John Wayne. I've never been an admirer of him as a person and I always remember that this arm chair warrior built his career when all the established actors went off to war. But he was very good at what he did and made some great movies which I still enjoy watching.
Regarding the renaming - it always seems to me more trouble than it's worth. There will be a lot of hidden expense doing so, causes a fair amount of confusion and it can take years for everyone to automatically use the new name.

[–] brux (14724) 4 years ago

There was expense in the mistake of naming it after him to begin with ... blame then for it. Too bad we cannot make them pay for the change.

[–] [deleted] 4 years ago

The mind that constantly seeks to punish others is the mind of a fascist.

[–] brucewayne (319) 4 years ago

republicans:"there hasn't been rascism in decades! systemic racism ended in the late 50s why is everyone complaining!

also republicans "it was the 70s it was a different time"

[–] [deleted] 4 years ago

Please provide exact names and dates for these quotes.

[–] elcamino (15540) 4 years ago

A white Texas Ranger statue in Dallas the other day with a now Hispanic civil rights lawyer in place now. As demographics change so should the history. But no we will not have a white history month in schools though in the future.

[–] kwestmo (4385) 4 years ago

"As demographics change so should the history." What does that mean? Rewrite the past?

[–] elcamino (15540) 4 years ago

Can you read Mayan? Is it taught in early schooling?

[–] kwestmo (4385) 4 years ago

Your first sentence doesn't make sense either. Aren't verbs used in Mayan?

[–] elcamino (15540) 4 years ago

Get real people and languages are forgotten all the time. Can you name all the native American tribes?

[–] Oblivioid (1483) 4 years ago

Now do Robert KKK Byrd.

[–] brux (14724) 4 years ago

Look at why would you name an airport after an actor?

The naming of the airport after John Wayne is like the Confederate statues in a way, it was named after the right-wing ultra-nationalist ridiculous image of John Wayne to put it right front and center of us this right-wing fake image to mold public opinion in a subliminal way. That is a great reason to remove it.

[–] PaladinNJ (21510) 4 years ago

The airport is in California. Home of most actors. It was named for a great actor. Considering California's Democratic leanings, I doubt his politics had anything to do with it.

[–] brux (14724) 4 years ago

Do you know anything about what county this was, or the history of that county?

[–] HelpMeRhonda (1158) 4 years ago

Are you talking about L.A. County?

[–] brux (14724) 4 years ago

Orange County ... known for being very conservative.

[–] Moonglum9 (11275) 4 years ago

All right ya lousy pansies! Stop bad mouthing me or I'm liable ta dig myself out of the grave and give yous all a knuckle sandwich! I ain't no all-fired bigot or racist, and none a yous limp wristed queers would have a chinaman's chance against my skeleton.

[–] PaladinNJ (21510) 4 years ago

LOL

[–] [deleted] 3 years ago

You forgot to say "pilgrim."