[Maritime Q-Scout]

Let's take a step back.

Imagine a family member was a victim of Clifford Olson, Paul Bernardo, or Robert Pickton.

Imagine having to live on Olson Lane, then drive down the Bernardo Expressway to get to your workplace on Pickton Ave.

Every day a constant reminder of your loss, the tragedy and knowing the city is honoring someone that caused you so much grief.

Then having after years or decades or a lifetime of this, the city says "wait a second, we really should change these names" only to have people say "who cares; it'll cost too much; doesn't bother me; get over it; what if I offered you a gift card to keep it".

Holy crow, I think those reactions would cause me to spiral.

Yes, it's gonna cost money. Yes it'll cause some logistical headaches, but also remove a cause of strife.

One of the local high-schools here just changed the name of the sports teams. They were the Redmen. I always associated the team name as being unoriginal and being a color and man. If the school's color was blue, they'd be the Bluemen, if it was green they'd be the Greenmen.

Never in my life did I associate it with being racial.

However, one of the local indigenous communities (which is a feeder to the high school) didn't like it.

So they changed the name.

While I never thought of it as racist. Others did. I didn't throw my arms up in the air and cry foul, I said "I never thought of it that way, but if you to, change the name."

I'm about as tied to the school's nickname as I am to the name of a street. I value humans over the names of things. If it makes the world a better place to change it, who cares. Change it.

Why would I defend naming something after someone that caused strife to others?