Keep the name Dundas Street.
Keep the name Dundas Street.
The Issue
This is a counter petition of this petition calling to rename a major street in Toronto.
Rewriting history because it's messy is scary. Let's not forget the generation who made mistakes so that we don't have to see them repeated ever, ever again.
Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville
Henry Dundas was not a good guy. He held a lot of power when, realistically, no one overseeing how he used it 130 or so years ago. Dundas was instrumental in the encouragement of the Scottish Enlightenment, in the prosecution of the war against France (when Britain won a war with France fought on now Canadian territory and secured almost half a continent for now 37 million people), in obstructing the Abolition of slavery (I don't think anyone today is arguing for slavery), and in the expansion of British influence in India. (you're going to have to look that up. This act expanded India's economy, but also dominated the affairs of the East India Company. The East India Company exists today.)
The only reason every day Canadians are familiar with the name is because of the streets erected to that name. They serve as a reminder of what once was and stands even today to make sure it does not happen again. Changing the street name means the name will inevitably be forgotten as time passes, and I do not think erasing monuments of past mistakes and misfortunes is a healthy way to approach equality and the equity in it.
Canadians have a rich history of naming streets and monuments after major political turmoil and economic achievements. We display the good with the bad because we take ownership of the past and refuse to sweep it under the rug because it is ugly. We use this same method (street names) to celebrate people who contribute to Canada positively, which ranges from economic achievements to veterans the world did not want to forget at the time. This is to both remind us of what once was, what could be, what is, and what we are striving towards. We do not tear down monuments. We build bigger and greater ones for the things we achieve today.
The world would be a very different place without Henry Dundas. Forgetting him is short sighted and does future generations the injustice of hiding history between the pages.
I also call for us to not spend the money changing the signs and every mailing address on a main street in Toronto during a global pandemic, and should allocate those funds to either Covid-19 management or to changing an actual law that encourages discrimination.
I know the past sucks, and really, historically the world has not played nice. We're playing nice more than ever before. I am part of a generation that is just now shouldering the world's burdens, injustices, and callously short-sighted decision making.
Please, if somebody has a piece of legislation that they want highlighted, amended, or changed by all means contact me. I'll post it here in a heartbeat.
Don't forget to brush up on your history!
- Christopher Radenovic
8,783
The Issue
This is a counter petition of this petition calling to rename a major street in Toronto.
Rewriting history because it's messy is scary. Let's not forget the generation who made mistakes so that we don't have to see them repeated ever, ever again.
Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville
Henry Dundas was not a good guy. He held a lot of power when, realistically, no one overseeing how he used it 130 or so years ago. Dundas was instrumental in the encouragement of the Scottish Enlightenment, in the prosecution of the war against France (when Britain won a war with France fought on now Canadian territory and secured almost half a continent for now 37 million people), in obstructing the Abolition of slavery (I don't think anyone today is arguing for slavery), and in the expansion of British influence in India. (you're going to have to look that up. This act expanded India's economy, but also dominated the affairs of the East India Company. The East India Company exists today.)
The only reason every day Canadians are familiar with the name is because of the streets erected to that name. They serve as a reminder of what once was and stands even today to make sure it does not happen again. Changing the street name means the name will inevitably be forgotten as time passes, and I do not think erasing monuments of past mistakes and misfortunes is a healthy way to approach equality and the equity in it.
Canadians have a rich history of naming streets and monuments after major political turmoil and economic achievements. We display the good with the bad because we take ownership of the past and refuse to sweep it under the rug because it is ugly. We use this same method (street names) to celebrate people who contribute to Canada positively, which ranges from economic achievements to veterans the world did not want to forget at the time. This is to both remind us of what once was, what could be, what is, and what we are striving towards. We do not tear down monuments. We build bigger and greater ones for the things we achieve today.
The world would be a very different place without Henry Dundas. Forgetting him is short sighted and does future generations the injustice of hiding history between the pages.
I also call for us to not spend the money changing the signs and every mailing address on a main street in Toronto during a global pandemic, and should allocate those funds to either Covid-19 management or to changing an actual law that encourages discrimination.
I know the past sucks, and really, historically the world has not played nice. We're playing nice more than ever before. I am part of a generation that is just now shouldering the world's burdens, injustices, and callously short-sighted decision making.
Please, if somebody has a piece of legislation that they want highlighted, amended, or changed by all means contact me. I'll post it here in a heartbeat.
Don't forget to brush up on your history!
- Christopher Radenovic
8,783
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Petition created on June 10, 2020