Bigots Lose It As Florida City Renames ‘Old Dixie Highway’ To ‘Pres. Obama Highway’

[liberal N proud]

Recent events have set off a wave of anti-Confederate iconoclasm that has been sweeping the South, encouraging people to relinquish symbols of the past and reconsider their ‘heritage’ of treason and racism. In the spirit of moving forward instead of clinging to what once was, the Riveria Beach City Council has voted to rename “Old Dixie Highway” to the “President Barack Obama Highway.”

《snip》


Reactions have been mixed, to say the least, and depending on who you ask. “There might soon be a place where Barack Obama and Martin Luther King Jr. meet — and it won’t be just in the hearts of Americans who revere both men” gushed the Palm Beach Post. “I think that the name should stay Old Dixie cause that’s a landmark, it’s history. It was there when we came, it has been here for years and I think we should leave it there” remarked one woman who chose to remain unidentified.

http://www.occupydemocrats.com/bigots-lose-it-as-florida-city-renames-old-dixie-highway-to-pres-obama-highway/

[SummerSnow]

1. rethug freak outs....lol

[MohRokTah]

2. I like this idea. eom

[Angry Dragon]

3. this is getting out of hand

perhaps it is time to rename the south to something else

perhaps something like Snowbird Land

[LanternWaste]

4. I can certainly see how renaming a street may seem "out of hand..."

I can certainly see how renaming a street may seem "out of hand..."

However, as I'm not melodramatic, I see it as little more than the constant change that goes on around every day.

[randys1]

27. Out of hand? What ???

[LonePirate]

5. It's hysterical they chose the new name most likely to enrage them.

Thank you for posting this truly awesome story.

[Nay]

53. I think that was done on purpose to enrage them, and not because the

city council is full of Democrats. They're likely a bunch of Republicans who want to get the maximum rise out of their wingnut populace and they know just how to do it.

[FlaGranny]

67. Not really.

I doubt Riviera beach has a Republican living there or anywhere near. It is mostly African American.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riviera_Beach,_Florida

[Nay]

68. That's good to know. I don't know that area of FL at all. Thx.

[CTyankee]

6. Old Dixie shit belongs in a history museum not on a publicly financed highway.

Period.

I await the day when the periodical showing of Gone with the Wind is on TV, there is a disclaimer that it presents a very skewed view of slavery as it actually existed and was experienced by enslaved black people.

[Omaha Steve]

7. Love it!

K&R!

OS

[tanyev]

8. Epic.

[tularetom]

9. And the running total is:

Things named after Ronald Raygun - 3,766

Things named after President Obama - 1

[Nay]

54. And that was my next point. The pubs have organizations whose sole purpose

is to find stuff, from airports to fishing ponds, to name after that bastard Reagan. And they get their knickers in a twist because a road is named after Obama? OOOOOOOOOKAY. This is soooo just the same old shit.

[katmondoo]

10. I was pissed when they renamed the Floroda Turnpike After Ronald Reagan.

I still give the salute when I see the signs with his name. He never did anything for Florida. I think it is a little early to name a street after Obama. Wait until he leaves office.

[freshwest]

20. As was I when they renamed Houston International Airport to Bush... Yetch! In WA state

they renamed a historic lake and park for John Wayne. Did the same to the Orange County Airport in CA. More yetch.

The just have to put those names in our faces. The younger generation reverates these abominations because they see it everywhere - as if those two were heroes or normal as Presidents, but they weren't normal by any stretch of the imagination.

The GOP broke the rules of not naming things for living people as memorials, they had to put the stink of Bush and Reagan everywhere. Every time I see their names in a public place, I feel nauseous.

[lpbk2713]

23. They changed the law so they could name three aircraft carriers in a row ...

after asshole GOP presidents.

RayGun, Bush 41 and Ford.

[1939]

62. In fairness

Ford and Bush 41 were the only naval aviators ever to be president. They also named a submarine after the living Jimmy Carter because he was a submariner.

Two southern politicians had carriers named after them (Vinson and Stennis) because of the amount of money they shoveled into the navy. I believe that Reagan falls into the Vinson and Stennis category.

[dixiegrrrrl]

40. Which is another reason I will not fly.

I refuse to set foot in an airport named after that dickhead.

There are a lot of dumb characters down here in Ala-Dam-a, but compared to what nice sane people have to deal with in Texas........
boy howdy.

[snooper2]

58. are you going to ask Skinner if you can change from dixiegrrrrl to obamagrrrrl

[dixiegrrrrl]

63. "What's in a name? That which we call a rose. By any other name would smell as sweet."

[awoke_in_2003]

29. I had to drive to Terrell, TX on Sunday

to pick up my little angel. It irked me to no end that I had to drive on Ronald Reagan Memorial Highway (I-20)

[pangaia]

34. I refuse to ever fly into the airport named after Raygun.

[annabanana]

39. Yeah

That one was really rubbing our noses in it.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

52. Soon to be named Bernie Sanders Flo-road-a Turnpike!

[Jamaal510]

70. ..

I still give the salute when I see the signs with his name.

[ancianita]

11. Hilariously good news from Florida. The vote, 4 - 1, still must be approved by the Palm Beach County

Commission.

Pretty cool, though!

[mcar]

12. I love this

[Eleanors38]

13. Old Florida folks called it the Dixie Dieway, due to traffic fatalities. nt

[struggle4progress]

14. How I wish I lived in a land of bigots!

Lawn flamingos! And dripping spigots!
Wearing grey! Wearing grey! Wearing grey! Bigot land!

Remember eighteen fifty eight! huzzah! huzzah!

[awoke_in_2003]

30. I give that a thumbs up...

have you anymore lyrics?

[notemason]

64. Here's a few:

Here I am in the land of cotton
Wishing folks had not forgotten
Look away, look away, look away
From slavery

[Iggo]

16. LOL.

[lpbk2713]

17. No doubt that will be a plank in the next election.

Some intolerant RW asshole will promise to change it back.

[1939]

59. I believe that Riviera Beach is majority black NT

[Contrary1]

18. I am surrounded by Saint Ronnie namesakes...

Parkway
Business Park
Strip Mall
Housing Addition
Municipal Park

There's probably more, but I don't care to put any more thought into it.

[IDemo]

19. Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport

It will always be 'Washington National Airport' as far as I'm concerned.

[Sophiegirl]

33. Me too. eom

[gratuitous]

21. Why those treasonous bastards

Don't they want public works named for the Commander-in-Chief, rather than some vanquished enemy of the United States?

[1939]

22. Dixie Highway pretty much runs the length of Florida

Riviera Beach will change the street signs on a couple of miles of it. Every locale along the route would have to change the name.

A lot of cities like Louisville named the highway heading south out of town as "The Dixie Highway" indicating a direction rather than an honor for the fallen Confederacy.

Dixie Highway south out of Detroit is called that because it is US-10 (French dix)

In England a ten gallon pot is called a dixie.

[alphafemale]

24. Yes, it is just in that town. But the cries of outrage are entertaining.

Long State and US Highways often have a local name.

[1939]

44. Yup

US-1 south of DC is called the Richmond Highway. North of Richmond, it is called the Washington Highway

[DBoon]

41. so name it "Dixie Cup Highway"

in honor of the disposable drink cup

[Fuddnik]

57. On both coasts

We have one running through Pinellas and Pasco counties.

Mainly just out-of-the-way backroads.

[DesertFlower]

25. i love it. nt

[lame54]

26. Then they can take a different route

[Dont call me Shirley]

28. That matches President Obama's wit so well. Love it!

[tavernier]

31. I'd love to see many things named after Obama,

but not particularly Florida's Dixie Highway. It is the "old road" in many areas, and runs through the worst part of most of the towns. I'd prefer to see his name on an airport or a beautiful park.

[blackspade]

32. LOVE. IT!!!!!

KKKonservatives have a sad...

[wolfie001]

35. Great! Love this!

[ismnotwasm]

36. Good!

I hope many more to come. A name to be proud of!


(Especially after all that disgusting and undeserved "Ronald Reagan" renaming of everything from highways and airports and god knows what)

[oberliner]

37. Note that Riviera Beach is predominately African-American

For what that is worth.

[MerryBlooms]

38. rec & kick

Awesome.

[muntrv]

42. It's a nice balance to the Ronald Reagan turnpike.

[TSIAS]

43. It still has to be approved

The Palm Beach County Commission still has to give final approval. Quite frankly, I live near where this road is located, and it's not a particularly great stretch of land. I don't like the name Old Dixie Highway, but I think President Obama deserves a better road than this.

But this does bring the bigots out. Right-wingers I know are ready to attend the County Commission meeting to oppose this change (or to support "Old Dixie&quot . There is a George Bush Boulevard (named for 41, before 43 was ever president) in Delray Beach. And of course the Ronald Reagan Turnpike. I hope supporters of Obama's legacy will take a route similar to Reagan and make sure things are named for him in all 50 states.

[1939]

45. Things are named of Obama in all 50 states

Need some control of Congress and state legislatures first.

[KamaAina]

65. Believe it or not, there is a Jefferson Davis Highway in California

Highway 99 that runs through the Central Valley. I like Barack Obama Highway much better.

[Liberal_in_LA]

46. hee

[csziggy]

47. History of the name "Dixie Highway"

It was a program pushed through by land developers from up North that wanted to be able to sell vacation property to people from the Midwest. The name was chosen by the Northern supporters of the project because part of their selling of the South to vacationers and tourists was to promote the "heritage" of the Old South.

The Dixie Highway started in the Mid-West and by various routes (there was really no "one" Dixie Highway) and took people through the South to dump them into Florida, preferably near Miami Beach since one of the people pushing the project owned a lot of land there.

The Historic Context of the Dixie Highway
Pam S. Ecker

The Dixie Highway is significant nationally as the first highway to link the rural American South to the urban North. The construction of this interstate highway (taking place from about 1915 to 1926) is associated with the modernization of the American South, as well as the general growth in U.S. transportation and automobile tourism in the first half of the twentieth century.

In Northwest Ohio (specifically, Wood County and Lucas County) many portions of the original Dixie Highway remain in use as Ohio Route 25, which passes through a number of small towns and forms Main Street in the county seat, Bowling Green. Other portions of the historic Dixie Highway are city streets in Toledo. Some sections of the Dixie Highway in Wood County have been replaced by Interstate 75, and in those locations, portions of the original Dixie remain as low-traffic access roads.

The Dixie Highway is significant in Northwest Ohio as part of a local road system that has been important to transportation and economic development of the region since the 1820s, when settlers began to look for a path across the "Great Black Swamp" that covered much of the area. The period of significance identified begins in 1915, when the Dixie Highway designation began to be applied to the local road that bisected Wood County in a north-south direction, and road improvements associated with the "Good Roads Movement" began to be carried out in order to change local paths into progressive "tourist highways." The period of significance ends with the completion of Interstate 75 in this region, in 1968. Within the period of significance, roadside business thrived, associated with a mobile American population that traveled for commerce as well as for the sheer pleasure associated with automobile tourism. Roadside opportunities for eating, lodging, and entertainment (drive-in theaters, miniature golf courses, etc.) were numerous, and communities along the highway prospered at least in part because of the highway-oriented activity.

Although the route of the Dixie continues to be used by regional travelers, the current highway is no longer a major thoroughfare for national road travel, having been superseded by the four-lane, high-speed Interstate 75. The historic Dixie Highway survives to remind us of the early days of automobile transportation in the nation, and of an exciting era of economic growth and development in the region.

More: http://www.us-highways.com/tzimm/ecker.htm

[liberal N proud]

48. Thanks for that information

I never realized that the Dixie Highway in Ohio was the same one as in the south.

[csziggy]

56. The "Dixie Highway" has never been just one road

It's confusing, but apparently as road projects needed funding, the developers would declare some stretch of road part of the Dixie Highway to let people promote highway improvement. And yes, it extended from the Midwest to South Florida.

I'd heard the name but didn't realize this history until we went to a "Lunch & Learn" program at the Polk County History Center with my sister and Mom in July. The speaker, Rick Kilby, studies Florida history and gave a really nice talk about the development of the Dixie Highway and it's connection with Florida tourism and land development.

[CBGLuthier]

50. Well that explains it then.

My parents used it a lot shuttling back and forth from southern Ohio to SE Kentucky in the 60s.

[CBGLuthier]

49. I remember driving on the dixie highway in southern Ohio.

No idea how that worked.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

51. Sweet!

[Renew Deal]

55. Now we know why God is sending TS Erika to Florida

:patrobertson:

[Facility Inspector]

60. History of the Dixie Highway goes back to 1914

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dixie_Highway

Precursor National Auto Trail to the Interstate Highway System.

[DirkGently]

61. Excellent. Once we get rid of the Confederate general names,

maybe we can get rid of all the crap named after Ronald Reagan down here.

[valerief]

66. I wish they'd rename all the Reagan shit to ANYTHING else. But I love that they made this change. nt

[greiner3]

69. Riviera Beach demographics;

Males had a median income of $27,232 versus $22,410 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,159. About 29.6% of families and 32.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 35.1% of those under age 18 and 21.4% of those age 65 or over. As of 2000, those who solely spoke English at home accounted for 90.30% of all residents, while speakers of Spanish were 4.71%, French Creole 2.42%, and French speakers 0.95%.[12] In the 1930s, Riviera Beach was also known as the home of many Bahamian immigrants, known as "Conchs".[citation needed]

Riviera Beach is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida which was incorporated September 29, 1922. Because of where its eastern boundary lies, it is also the easternmost municipality in the South Florida metropolitan area. The population was 29,884 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population was estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau to be 32,522.[3] Riviera Beach is predominantly an African American city and it is on the List of U.S. cities with African American majority populations. It is home to the Port of Palm Beach and a United States Coast Guard station, and has its own marina.[4][5] Riviera Beach is also home to the Blue Heron Bridge, one of the country's top rated beach dive sites.[6]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riviera_Beach,_Florida

So it's a very poor, mostly black population; wonder why a street hadn't been changed sometime before now.

[Joe Chi Minh]

71. Renaming American, public facilities after Reagan is like naming

Dresden, Harristown, or renaming Coventry after Goering or the Luftwaffe. Or the good Baroness Cardboard, if it comes to that. Little Ronnie's partner in terminal, global larceny. Apparently, they used to call him Little Ronnie in Hollywood.