Authorities decided to rename Robert E. Lee Elementary and Internet trolls have hijacked the process. Thus far, the top recommendations for the future name of Robert E. Lee Elementary are Adolf Hitler, Adam Lanza, Donald Trump, and Harper Lee.
Texas school officials want to rename Robert E. Lee Elementary, and they decided to create an online poll to have the public’s input, and they are now regretting it.
Last month after a very lengthy debate, the Austin school board decided that it was finally time to change Robert E. Lee Elementary. The horrific Charleston shooting where nine innocent African-Americans were gunned down at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in South Carolina by 21-year-old Dylann Roof, prompted parents, former students, neighbors, and members of the community to request the name change.
The school was named after Robert E. Lee, who was a general known for commanding the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War from 1862 until his surrender in 1865. Lee had a very unique view on slavery, and shared his thoughts on the matter in the following letter to his wife, Mary Anna Lee, in 1856:
…that slavery as an institution, is a moral & political evil in any Country… I think it however a greater evil to the white man than to the black race, & while my feelings are strongly enlisted in behalf of the latter, my sympathies are more strong for the former. The blacks are immeasurably better off here than in Africa, morally, socially & physically. The painful discipline they are undergoing, is necessary for their instruction as a race, & I hope will prepare & lead them to better things. How long their subjugation may be necessary is known & ordered by a wise Merciful Providence…
The school has received more than 240 suggestions as possibilities to replace the school’s name, and many of them are beyond outrageous. The top recommendations for the future of Robert E. Lee Elementary – Adam Lanza, Donald J. Trump, Adolf Hitler, and Garfunkel.
Top 10 recommendations:
Donald J. Trump Elementary: 45 nominations
Robert E. Lee Elementary: 34 nominations
Russell Lee Elementary: 32 nominations
Harper Lee Elementary: 30 nominations
Elisabet Ney Elementary: 15 nominations
Lee Elementary: 13 nominations
Adolf Hitler School for Friendship and Tolerance: 8 nominations
Waller Creek Elementary: 8 nominations
Dr. Frances J. Nesmith Elementary School: 7 nominations
Guy Bizzell Elementary: 6 nominations
Hold on; there are more insane suggestions:
Adam Lanza’s School of Fun, Bee Movie, Bleeding Heart Liberal Elementary, Boaty McBoatface Elementary School, Forgetting the Past Dooms You to Repeat It Elementary, Garfunkel, Hypothetical Perfect Person Memorial Elementary School, John Cena Elementary and Schooly McSchoolerson.
The Austin school board will take a decision on May 23. The good news is that the board is not obligated to take the recommendations into account when they pick the new name of the school. Security has been increased at the school as a precaution.
