Leave Hooker in command of street sign

Rapid City Journal ^ | 29 nov 07

[rellimpank]

The Rev. David Baer is out to save the town of Whitewood’s honor from the shame of a street named Hooker.

Baer, a Lutheran pastor in the small northern Hills town, asked the Whitewood city council to rename the street that honors the Civil War general, Joseph Hooker. Baer finds it offensive because of the word’s connotation with prostitution.

We heard from many readers who found Baer’s sign-change campaign humorous, sad, silly and maybe even a little dirty-minded.

One man, who happens to be named John W. Hooker Jr., thinks it is Baer, not his family name, that’s offensive. “I think the Rev. David Baer should just get over it. Everything with the name of ‘Hooker’ is only wrong in his mind.”

Some Civil War buffs claim that Gen. Hooker’s last name is, indeed, the origin of the slang term for prostitutes. He had a reputation as a ladies’ man throughout his military career, and at least one historian described his Falmouth, Va., headquarters as a combination of a “bar room and a brothel.” One popular legend states that a band of prostitutes following his division was called ‘Hooker’s Brigade’ or ‘General Hooker’s Army.’

[wideawake]

Some Civil War buffs claim that Gen. Hooker’s last name is, indeed, the origin of the slang term for prostitutes.

Too bad for them that the OED cites the usage of the term "hooker" for prostitutes at least as early as 1845.

I can't believe a clergyman believes that this is the best use of time in this day and age.

[rellimpank]

—followup to this—

—http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1930804/posts

[bert]

I guess the state of Tennessee is doomed to hell. Since the dawn of time the perennial candidate John J Hooker has run for all sorts of positions but was never elected.

[Man50D]

Hartford Connecticut was founded by Thomas Hooker. The city has a parade in his honor every year.

[rellimpank]

-—as I mentioned on the other thread, “Crook City”—a wide spot in the road— is a few miles from Whitewood—wonder what the rev thinks about that??

[the OlLine Rebel]

‘Too bad for them that the OED cites the usage of the term “hooker” for prostitutes at least as early as 1845.’

And Gen. Hooker was around at that time, too, no?

[Gorzaloon]

We heard from many readers who found Baer’s sign-change campaign humorous, sad, silly and maybe even a little dirty-minded.

"Reverend" Baer should put his clothes back on and shut up.

[ConorMacNessa]

From Dictionary.com:

Word History: In his Personal Memoirs Ulysses S. Grant described Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker as "a dangerous man ... not subordinate to his superiors." Hooker had his faults. He may indeed have been insubordinate; he was undoubtedly an erratic leader. But "Fighting Joe" Hooker is often accused of one thing he certainly did not do: he did not give his name to prostitutes. According to a popular story, the men under Hooker's command during the Civil War were a particularly wild bunch, and would spend much of their time in brothels when on leave. For this reason, as the story goes, prostitutes came to be known as hookers. However attractive this theory may be, it cannot be true. The word hooker with the sense "prostitute" is already recorded before the Civil War. As early as 1845 it is found in North Carolina, as reported in Norman Ellsworth Eliason's Tarheel Talk; an Historical Study of the English Language in North Carolina to 1860, published in 1956. It also appears in the second edition of John Russell Bartlett's Dictionary of Americanisms, published in 1859, where it is defined as "a strumpet, a sailor's trull." Etymologically, it is most likely that hooker is simply "one who hooks." The term portrays a prostitute as a person who hooks, or snares, clients.

[Question Liberal Authority]

If it's in Tennessee, I suggest they rename it:

Al Gore Is Truly Dedicated To The Cause Of Global Warming Avenue.

Then people can call it "Hooker Avenue" for short.

[Vaquero]

However, the term "hooker" was used in print as early as 1845, years before Hooker was a public figure

[PAR35]

The biggest surprise for me in this story is that the preacher is with the liberal ELCA. http://www.lutheransonline.com/servlet/lo_ProcServ/dbpage=page&mode=display&gid=20052693427584965301111555

[Allegra]

There is a well-known intersection near the US Embassy in Baghdad called "Hooker's Corner."

Thank goodness nobody gives a rat's about PC stuff around here.

[RexFamilia]

Hooker and his followers used to camp in and around federal triangle in DC.

DC hasn’t changed much; federal triangle and vicinity continues to be a heaven for prostitutes.

..and am not referring to the working girls of the evening.

[wideawake]

And Gen. Hooker was around at that time, too, no?

Hooker was a young officer in Seminole country at the time - I hardly think that his last name would have become so synonymous with prostitutes by the time that he was thirty that the word would be used in a local North Carolina newspaper matter-of-factly and without explanation as if it were a well-known term.

Hooker was an anonymous nobody in 1845.

[Doogle]

the Rev has issues, maybe he should look into other names in Whitewood like...Remington Pl,Rawhide Rd,Crook City Rd,
Balloon Pl,Fillmore St,Bear Butte Rd,Bighorn Rd,Leisure St,Coyote Pl,Dane Church Rd,Eden Rd,Oyster Mountain Ln,Birch St,Crackerjack Rd,Easy St,....

..he has way too much time on his hands

[CT-Freeper]

DC hasn’t changed much; federal triangle and vicinity continues to be a heaven for prostitutes.

..and am not referring to the working girls of the evening.

Yeah...at least those working girls have some class! ;-)

[the OlLine Rebel]

Geesh, you guys can’t recognize a “wink” when you see 1!

But still, it’s a legitimate question - you’re only talking 15 years, and you’ve never heard “nobodies” (including teenagers) associated with certain things just in their locales?

;-)

[RexBeach]

And yet, there is a magnificent statue to “Fighting Joe” atop a mighty steed outside the Senate entrance to the Massachusetts State House.

That entrance to the building is known as “The Hooker Entrance.”

Legend has it that, once upon a time, a former speaker of the state House of Reps espied several House pages painting Joe’s steed day glow orange - but only the horse’s testicles.

The way the story goes, the speaker had the same pages scrape off the paint - during midday so that hundreds and hundreds of people, passing through the “Hooker Entrance” would see them.

A fun thing to know and tell!

[Sacajaweau]

Santa can't say Ho Ho Ho anymore either.

Hooker's aren't offended. They're still walking the streets and they're not carrying protest signs!!