[Ads-l] famous or infamous?

[Laurence Horn]

> On Jun 10, 2020, at 2:23 PM, Ben Zimmer <bgzimmer at GMAIL.COM> wrote:
> 
> On Wed, Jun 10, 2020 at 1:57 PM Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at yale.edu>
> wrote:
> 
>>> On Jun 10, 2020, at 1:44 PM, Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
>> wrote:
>>> 
>>> Paradigm case.
>>> 
>>> Yahoo News:
>>> 
>>> "Fort Lee is named for Gen. Robert E. Lee, the infamous Confederate
>>> commander."
>>> 
>>> It would have been easier (and less condescending to everybody) just to
>>> leave out the value judgment (if that's what is).
>>> 
>>> JL
>> 
>> If also would have been easier and less condescending if they’d realized
>> Fort Lee is actually named for General Charles Lee, who served under
>> Washington.  I remembered that from one of those McCullogh books about the
>> Revolutionary War, and wikipedia confirms.  Now Charles Lee himself was
>> both famous and infamous (
>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Lee_(general)), court-martial and
>> all, but for insubordination and other alleged offenses, not including
>> being a Confederate commander. That would have been no mean feat, since he
>> was dead by the end of 1782.
>> 
> 
> The news article JL quoted is about Fort Lee, VA, not Fort Lee, NJ.
> 
> https://www.businessinsider.com/military-bases-named-after-confederate-leaders-2020-6
> 
> —bgz
> 

Ah, that’s my Gotham-centric world view coming out again (cf. https://tinyurl.com/y9u6btxb).  You can just about make out my Fort Lee in the distance, and the Virginia one is nowhere in sight.  Nevermind.  

LH

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