I think if we’re going to keep naming public resources after Great Men/Women/Families, we’re gonna need bigger, more comprehensive and more ambivalent historical plaques. And then the people who oppose re-namings because “it’s hiiiiistorrrrrryyyy” can be more than 5 percent correct.

If private institutions want to gamble on using someone’s current “good name” for their buildings, etc., that’s their business, but I think it’s kind of dumb and mostly motivated by money at this point, the new namings anyway.

Naming something after someone, especially someone who occupied positions of great power, is an unequivocal statement about their value/s that may not stand the test of time.