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Local place names - First Nations vs. later names


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#1 VicHockeyFan

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Posted 05 October 2012 - 08:50 AM

Hmm, I guess this came up once before at an all-candidate meeting that Stephen Andrew chaired.

He said at that time that he would pledge, in his second term, to change the name of the city back to the native name, Camosack or Camosun.

Stephen Andrew challenged him to repeat the pledge on air this morning, he tried to squirm out, but said in the end he said he intends to more forward with the change.

I also loved his answer to "what his Achilles heal is?" question from Andrew. He said it was his "brutal honesty". Reminds me of what not to say at a job interview. "Yes, by biggest flaw? Well, it must be I work to hard".
<p><span style="font-size:12px;"><em><span style="color:rgb(40,40,40);font-family:helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">"I don’t need a middle person in my pizza slice transaction" <strong>- zoomer, April 17, 2018</strong></span></em></span>

#2 SamCB

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Posted 05 October 2012 - 09:00 AM

Everyone in the office looked at me just now when I read that headline and laughed out loud.

Just awesome.

#3 VicHockeyFan

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Posted 05 October 2012 - 09:13 AM

Watch my FB page, this is "going viral" pretty fast.
<p><span style="font-size:12px;"><em><span style="color:rgb(40,40,40);font-family:helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">"I don’t need a middle person in my pizza slice transaction" <strong>- zoomer, April 17, 2018</strong></span></em></span>

#4 ZGsta

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Posted 05 October 2012 - 09:15 AM

Ben's getting really good at being a politician. He's picked up that trick where you can take a bloviating hard line stand on an issue as long as you know there's no chance in hell of actually implementing that promise and dealing with the outcome.

#5 dasmo

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Posted 05 October 2012 - 09:16 AM

Oops. He's finished... It's too bad because right now we need some thorns in council. Now there is no credibility on this one at all.

#6 Nparker

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Posted 05 October 2012 - 10:01 AM

The question is why would anyone pick such a quixotic issue to champion? There must be better ways to make yourself a household name.

#7 Lorenzo

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Posted 05 October 2012 - 11:05 AM

His antics as a UVIC student activist have me believing that he is unfit for ANY office!
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#8 Bernard

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Posted 05 October 2012 - 11:07 AM

It was not so long ago in this province that we had the Queen Charlotte Islands, now we have Haida Gwaii.

I do think this is an important thing to talk about because the names we use matter. One of the problems in North America is that we have given most of our geography names that do not reflect anything connected to the location. Many of our names are effectively meaningless collections of letters.

We lose our connection to what the names mean - as an example few people understand where the names Colwood or Langford. Langford should be considering changing their name because the person it is named for is someone less than desirable to have honoured.

In this region we have a a reasonable collection of names that reflect either our history of our geography, View Royal, Oak Bay, Esquimalt, Sooke, and Highlands are some. But the over arching name we are known as is one that does not reflect anything truly connected to this region.

I personally would like to see a start in the City of Victoria with a renaming of one street, Trutch. Even by 19th century standards he should not have been honoured. I think it would be a good point to start the discussion.

Names in BC are ever evolving. About 15 years ago I was one member on a province/First Nations Summit committee looking at names of geographic names in BC. We were looking specifically at names that were offensive and deciding what should be done.

#9 VicHockeyFan

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Posted 05 October 2012 - 11:16 AM

99% of the population do not know who Langford was named for (I found out both Colwood and Langford origins about 6 minutes ago).

I don't think it is important, the name origin, but the history of its use does.
<p><span style="font-size:12px;"><em><span style="color:rgb(40,40,40);font-family:helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">"I don’t need a middle person in my pizza slice transaction" <strong>- zoomer, April 17, 2018</strong></span></em></span>

#10 aastra

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Posted 05 October 2012 - 11:30 AM

The question is why would anyone pick such a quixotic issue to champion?


You don't think this is the sort of hard news that Focus magazine should be covering?

#11 Bernard

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Posted 05 October 2012 - 11:33 AM

You don't think this is the sort of hard news that Focus magazine should be covering?


Sarcasm aside, I do think it would be a good story for Focus

#12 Bernard

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Posted 05 October 2012 - 11:35 AM

99% of the population do not know who Langford was named for (I found out both Colwood and Langford origins about 6 minutes ago).

I don't think it is important, the name origin, but the history of its use does.


It concerns me about our society when names of things are so unimportant that no one thinks it is important to know why we have them or what they mean. It adds to our ongoing alienation to the world around us.

#13 Holden West

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Posted 05 October 2012 - 12:34 PM

Camosack is the ancient name for the region, Victoria is the colonial name for the political and commercial jurisdiction that lays overtop of part of it.

Therefore they are two names for two distinct but related ways of describing this region.

So we can't revert to the old name but we can rename Victoria "Camosun" but the renamed Camosun would have a different meaning than the historical Camosun.

I hope you follow my thinking. It's a subtle but important distinction.
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#14 dasmo

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Posted 05 October 2012 - 01:12 PM

The History of the name Victoria is also important and relevant. I could understand if there was something unbearably embarrassing about our name but this is just a darn strange and an utter useless thing to champion. I now have confirmation there are at least two burping gastropods (and counting) running our city...

#15 rjag

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Posted 05 October 2012 - 01:41 PM

Maybe they could form a new alternate municipality called Camosak and Ben could be Mayor and Sherriff and everyone would ride pretty pink ponies and stuff!
Honestly its not like we'd notice another Municipality they are just so.....common:badpc:

#16 mysage

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Posted 05 October 2012 - 02:16 PM

His antics as a UVIC student activist have me believing that he is unfit for ANY office!


Exactly!

What waste of time and effort and given that he is now on our pubic payroll I would suggest that he spends his time and efforts on those concerns that actually effect his constituents quality of life. Renaming our City is not one of them. Affordable housing, food bank issues, public transit, sewage disposal issues are all real world issues. Renaming our City is not.

Make some real headway in these areas that you were elected to deal with and then I will respect your thoughts on some flight of fancy. Until then Ben Issit is just one more example of why the silent majority needs to get out and vote for their public officials.
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#17 VicHockeyFan

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Posted 05 October 2012 - 02:20 PM

Watch my FB page, this is "going viral" pretty fast.


3,990 views, 44 shares, 200 comments.
<p><span style="font-size:12px;"><em><span style="color:rgb(40,40,40);font-family:helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">"I don’t need a middle person in my pizza slice transaction" <strong>- zoomer, April 17, 2018</strong></span></em></span>

#18 Nparker

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Posted 05 October 2012 - 04:14 PM

...Ben Issit is just one more example of why the silent majority needs to get out and vote for their public officials.


Here, here! :thumbsup:

#19 AllseeingEye

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Posted 05 October 2012 - 05:38 PM

Here, here! :thumbsup:


No kidding. He must think he is still safely insulated within the halls of higher learning at UVic where you can pretty much make any silly statement or and no one outside will notice, or care. It was certainly that way when I was there in the early to mid-80's when I think of some of the looney-tunes who inhabited the Gordon Head campus back then. I suppose it will ever be thus.

It does seem though that every time he opens his mouth something more insipid than the time before comes out. Makes you wonder if its deliberate, geared to to ensure he gets his share of media sound bites.....

I remember some months back Mr. Isitt's publicly stated position that as a 'non Christian' he did not think the city should spend public money on a religious holiday he did not support, i.e. Christmas. And as this is a democracy and not a communist dictatorship crawling with secret police, he is certainly full value for his opinion; nonetheless to which I say precisely "zzzzzzzzzzzz" and "Tough horse Droppings" Ben. Don't like it here? Things really tough for you in Victoria with all those irritating religious festivals? Suggest you go try out a cave in Afghanistan for a few years where I suspect you won't run into too many of those pesky Christians. Or perhaps you can sign up with the laughably and most comically named "People's Democratic" Army of North Korea. Yes Ben, there you may goose step in concert with those with whom you so obviously share an ideological affinity. Heck they'll probably even let you continue your research on your personal hero, Karl Marx.

At which point we can get back to electing people to local councils who will, you know, focus on more mundane topics like promoting open, transparent governance (and not hide routinely behind in-camera sessions, concidentally like the current council of which Mr. Isitt is a member), prudent fiscal oversight, and mapping out an economic gameplan for the region that will see it through the current difficult period. Sometimes its difficult to take this guy seriously. But then I remember something truly frightening - that several thousand people voted for him. It will be interesting to see if he is ultimately one trick pony or whether there are truly thousands of like-minded "Isitt's" out there.
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#20 aastra

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Posted 05 October 2012 - 06:45 PM

...we can't revert to the old name but we can rename Victoria "Camosun" but the renamed Camosun would have a different meaning than the historical Camosun.


So would Camosun College have to change its name back to Victoria College?

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