Posted on 12/12/2005 6:19:29 AM PST by Mulch
Do devastating hurricanes need help from affirmative action?
A member of Congress apparently thinks so, and is demanding the storms be given names that sound "black."
The congressional newspaper the Hill reported this week that Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, feels that the current names are too "lily white," and is seeking to have better representation for names reflecting African-Americans and other ethnic groups.
"All racial groups should be represented," Lee said, according to the Hill. She hoped federal weather officials "would try to be inclusive of African-American names."
A sampling of popular names that could be used include Keisha, Jamal and Deshawn, according to the paper.
Jackson Lee's call is brewing its own storm of response across America.
A WorldNetDaily reader wrote:
"You can be sure if there were too many 'black' names assigned to hurricanes, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee would instead be complaining that this practice unfairly stereotypes blacks as violent. Let's hope this silly storm blows over!"
Another, Greg Cook, says, "This is ridiculous. How about naming the storms after gang members, or infamous criminals? How about not having any name at all associated with hurricanes?"
Regina Roberston writes: "We should only name hurricanes for foreign officials who are in hiding or considered to be terrorists, or assisting terrorists. We could name the hurricanes after known illegal immigrants, since they are both unwanted and unwelcome anyway. Or how about we only choose French names, so the fear of hurricanes will be put to rest?"
Radio talk-show giant Rush Limbaugh says he was having dinner with his wife when he first learned of the proposal.
"I just threw up my hands. I said, 'Has it come to this now?'" Limbaugh recounted on his show.
"There's discrimination and actually elected officials wandering around worried about the discrimination in the name of hurricanes. And hurricanes are destructive. You know nobody's very excited when a hurricane's heading their way, and yet here she is demanding that hurricanes be named after black people.
"You know it used to be that hurricanes were named only after women because they were destructive and unpredictable. And that's the reason. The feminists grew upset about that, demanded that hurricanes be named after men, and so now, the civil rights leaders are demanding black names for hurricanes.
Limbaugh continued his analysis, saying it was not the mainstream populace responsible for what he called the "Balkanization" of race relations in America.
"It is these elected black leaders, the civil-rights coalitions they're the ones that keep causing all this racial divide, they're the ones that keep calling attention to all this," said Limbaugh. "They're the ones that keep stirring this pot. They're the ones who don't want there to be any colorblind society. They're the ones who keep being agitated and trying to agitate others over all this, and now it's descended into the meaningless element of the names of hurricanes."
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, hurricanes were for centuries named after the Catholic saints' days on which the storms fell.
In 1953, the United States abandoned as confusing a two-year-old plan to name storms by a phonetic alphabet (Able, Baker, Charlie) when a new, international phonetic alphabet was introduced. That year, weather services began using female names for storms.
The practice of naming hurricanes solely after women came to an end in 1978 when men's and women's names were included in the Eastern North Pacific storm lists. In 1979, male and female names were included in lists for the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico.
What an idiot bytche
They should name hurricanes after strippers.
How does Moonbat sound?- from the last manned mission to Mars where we put the flag that all black people could see on Mars.
The question begs to be asked "Was Katrina a Black or a "lily White" named Hurricane?
TT
Nope, that will be the next riot name, in about 40 hrs or so...
Looking forward to the first hurricane, "LeDondray."
OOOOO-TAY!
A hurricane named Buckwheat?
Come on, get serious. Regrettably, to many blacks, everything has a racial angle.
Hurricane Carter?
" " Snoop Dog
" " Tyrone (I think that one actually has been used)
I wish she would sign up for the next manned mission to Mars. I've got something for her to stick somewhere.
Ya mean like Hurricane Sambo?
HURRICANE BILL CLINTON!!!!!!!!
Many of these made up names, which have no root in any African tongue, are slow child abuse. Real Africans have names like Desmond.
How would you spell Shaquita? Or, is it Chaquita?
Can you imagine a real black woman named "Sheila"?
What about hurricane Sirillo? and Consuela, and Achmed and Chang?
Hurricane Looter Guy?
We could always change the spelling to "KaTreena."
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