How Naming Is Weaponized By Those Who ColonizeUnity Consciousness #2965

(9azzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzo of 11)

The following excerpt reminds us of:
1. The importance of naming

2. How naming is weaponized by those who colonize

What's in a name? The politics of naming ethnic groups in Kenya's Cherangany Hills

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Per the article cited above, ”The names we give to people, places, events and things are more than mere labels. They help to ‘structure and nuance the way we imagine and understand the world; with accepted names embedded in ‘a larger politics of storytelling [narratives about this and that and everything that takes place]. As a result, names, and the ability to name, are inherently political due to the power relations involved and the discourses and actions they facilitate and hinder. For example, the question of whether someone is referred to as a ‘terrorist’ or ‘freedom-fighter’, or whether a place is called a ‘front garden’ or a ‘development area’, assigns a set of characteristics to the subject or object in question that can help legitimise certain forms of inquiry, engagement and action, and delegitimise others.

This Is How You Do It

As proof positive of its independence, almost every new African nation has made a show of changing many of the place names imposed by its former colonial masters. https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,905656,00.html