EDITORIAL: Naming storms after politicians might be too much
Now, as
The possibility of that problem wasn't lost on those who first popularized the tradition of naming big storms -- a dilemma limited to women when such weather systems had only female names. Or so
Skilton considers the interplay of gender and hurricane naming in "Tempest," along the way giving readers a lively history of how we came to personify storms with names in the first place.
Here we learn of
An editorial writer at the time expressed enthusiasm about the new naming scheme before adding a reservation. "It is hoped that Flora and Irene are only the beginning of a series of feminine names which will help to give a personal interest to the disturbances," the commentator noted.
But as Skilton points out, the journalist identified a challenge. The newspaper writer cautioned "that the naming system could cause offense, though, suggesting that, before Wragge chose a name, he first contact women by that name for permission."
Wragge waved off that recommendation, and by 1902, he was bored with his naming system, anyway. In a display of irreverence perhaps typical of Australians, "Wragge chose to name storms after well-known Australian politicians, particularly those who recently implemented cuts to the
Elected officials were not entirely amused, and Wragge eventually lost his job, but not before gigging his chief critic, Representative
In our own day here in the States, despite the pervasiveness of politics in almost every aspect of our culture, the naming of hurricanes seems to be a fairly nonpartisan affair, and we hope it stays that way.
The prospect of partisans dubbing the next storm Hurricane Trump or Hurricane Pelosi might, even in our overheated times, be taking politics too far.
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