It’s time to remove bigoted John Wayne’s name from the Orange County airport

It’s time to remove bigoted John Wayne’s name from the Orange County
airport

https://www.breitbart.com/entertainm...ite-supremacy/

LA Times Columnist: Remove John Wayne’s Name from Airport over
48-Year-Old Comments About White Supremacy

Warner Bros.
1 Mar 20192762

2:39
A column published in the Los Angeles Times this week argues that John
Wayne Airport in Orange County, California, should be renamed due to
racist comments that the iconic actor made in an interview almost 50
years ago.

“Most people familiar with the life story of John Wayne are aware that
the late movie star was a dyed-in-the-wool right-winger — after all,
he was still making a movie glorifying America’s conduct of the
Vietnam War (“The Green Berets,” 1968) well after the country had
begun to get sick of the conflict,” columnist Michael Hiltzik said.
“But the resurrection of a 1971 interview Wayne gave to Playboy
magazine has underscored the sheer crudeness of the actor’s feelings
about gay people, black people, Native Americans, young people and
liberals.”


Indeed, Wayne’s 1971 interview with Playboy went viral on social media
last month. In the interview, he says, among other things, that white
supremacy is needed “until the blacks are educated to a point of
responsibility.”

A Playboy interview with John Wayne, one of Hollywood's staunchest
conservatives, has recently resurfaced on Twitter.
"I don't feel guilty about the fact that five or 10 generations ago
these people were slaves," he said about African Americans.
https://t.co/WABGgqQo8T

— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) February 20, 2019
https://twitter.com/latimes/status/1...rc=twsrc%5Etfw

“With a lot of blacks, there’s quite a bit of resentment along with
their dissent, and possibly rightfully so,” Wayne said
https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-...=.1d28f3ec8c5e
.. “But we can’t all of a sudden get down on our knees and turn
everything over to the leadership of the blacks. I believe in white
supremacy until the blacks are educated to a point of responsibility.
I don’t believe in giving authority and positions of leadership and
judgment to irresponsible people.”

Hiltzik concludes that because of these comments and Wayne’s “racist
rage,” the Orange County airport must be renamed.
Some of Wayne’s defenders have stepped forward to say it’s unfair to
condemn an elderly man’s memory for a 48-year-old interview conducted
during a very different era. In a statement issued Wednesday to Fox
News, Wayne’s family says, “It’s unfair to judge someone on something
that was written that he said nearly 50 years ago when the person is
no longer here to respond.”

But that won’t wash. Wayne was a few weeks shy of his 64th birthday
when the interview appeared in print. It was 1971, so the civil rights
revolution had been going on for years; Martin Luther King Jr. had
been assassinated three years before.

Wayne wasn’t expressing the tenor of the times — he was reacting to
the advances being won by African Americans through demonstrations and
legislation. His words already were retrograde when they were uttered.
Wayne wasn’t an old conservative who hadn’t yet been “woke”; he had
seen the future, and it put him into a racist rage.

In 2016, California Democrats defeated
https://www.breitbart.com/entertainm...ohn-wayne-day/
an effort to declare a John Wayne Day in the state over the same
racist remarks from the Playboy interview.
--------------------------------------------------------------------

https://www.latimes.com/local/califo...221-story.html

It’s time to take John Wayne’s name off the Orange County airport

FEB 21, 2019 | 1:05 PM
It’s time to take John Wayne’s name off the Orange County airport
A statue of John Wayne stands at the baggage level of the airport
bearing his name. Is it time to put him out to pasture? (Mark Boster /
Los Angeles Times)

Most people familiar with the life story of John Wayne are aware that
the late movie star was a dyed-in-the-wool right-winger — after all,
he was still making a movie glorifying America’s conduct of the
Vietnam War (“The Green Berets,” 1968) well after the country had
begun to get sick of the conflict.

But the resurrection of a 1971 interview Wayne gave to Playboy
magazine
https://pages.shanti.virginia.edu/Wi...ayboy_Int2.pdf
has underscored the sheer crudeness of the actor’s feelings about gay
people, black people, Native Americans, young people and liberals.

This doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s impossible or immoral to enjoy
westerns and war movies starring John Wayne; that’s a personal choice.
But it certainly undermines any justification for his name and image
to adorn a civic facility.

I believe in white supremacy until the blacks are educated to a point
of responsibility.

JOHN WAYNE, 1971
Share quote & link
We’re talking about Orange County’s John Wayne Airport. It’s long past
the time that Wayne’s name should come down.

This wouldn’t be the first time that the airport’s name has been the
subject of debate. Orange County Supervisors pondered the issue in
2008, when local tourism officials expressed concern that the name
failed to convey exactly where the airport is located. There may have
been other occasions since 1979, when the supervisors christened the
airport at the urging of Supervisor Thomas F. Riley.

Riley was an ex-Marine, but his rationale is lost in the mists of
time. It may have had something to do with Wayne’s status as a
rock-ribbed Republican conservative, which was Orange County’s
self-image in that period.


To fight the housing shortage, California is right to come down hard
on Huntington Beach

FEB 01, 2019 | 6:00 AM
But that Orange County no longer exists. That should be evident from
the results of November’s election, in which voters turfed out the
county’s last remaining GOP members of Congress — some of whom had
embraced Donald Trump in a fruitless effort to save their careers--and
elected an all-Democratic congressional delegation. Orange County
today is such an economically and ethnically diverse community that
it’s hard to justify asking any member of that community to board
planes at an airport named after an outspoken racist and homophobe,
with his strutting statue occupying a central niche in front of the
concourse.

Wayne’s May 1971 Playboy interview has been unearthed before, notably
in 2016 when his daughter Aissa endorsed Donald Trump for president.
https://splinternews.com/remember-jo...nte-1793854190
But it may well resonate more today, when iconic representations tied
to racism, such as statues of Confederate war heroes, are being
evicted from public spaces.

So let’s take a gander at some of John Wayne’s opinions, circa 1971. A
typescript of the Playboy interview, which I link to here
https://pages.shanti.virginia.edu/Wi...ayboy_Int2.pdf
, has been circulating widely and is the source of the quotes, but I
validated it against facsimile pages from the original Playboy
edition. Magazine writer Richard Warren Lewis conducted the interview
at Wayne’s home in Newport Beach.

Gay people:

Wayne: Movies were once made for the whole family. Now, with the kind
of junk the studios are cranking out. … I'm quite sure that within two
or three years, Americans will be completely fed up with these
perverted films.
https://assets.documentcloud.org/doc...2-46-43-PM.pdf

PLAYBOY: What kind of films do you consider perverted?

WAYNE: Oh, Easy Rider, Midnight Cowboy — that kind of thing. Wouldn't
you say that the wonderful love of those two men in Midnight Cowboy, a
story about two fags, qualifies?

Black people:

WAYNE: With a lot of blacks, there's quite a bit of resentment along
with their dissent, and possibly rightfully so. But we can't all of a
sudden get down on our knees and turn everything over to the
leadership of the blacks. I believe in white supremacy until the
blacks are educated to a point of responsibility. I don't believe in
giving authority and positions of leadership and judgment to
irresponsible people.


In a racist tweet, Trump treats the genocidal Trail of Tears as a
laughing matter
FEB 11, 2019 | 6:00 AM
PLAYBOY: Are you equipped to judge which blacks are irresponsible and
which of their leaders inexperienced?

WAYNE: It's not my judgment. The academic community has developed
certain tests that determine whether the blacks are sufficiently
equipped scholastically. But some blacks have tried to force the issue
and enter college when they haven't passed the tests and don't have
the requisite background. … But if they aren't academically ready for
that step, I don't think they should be allowed in. Otherwise, the
academic society is brought down to the lowest common denominator. …
What good would it do to register anybody in a class of higher algebra
or calculus if they haven't learned to count? There has to be a
standard. …

I think the Hollywood studios are carrying their tokenism a little too
far. There's no doubt that 10 percent of the population is black, or
colored, or whatever they want to call themselves; they certainly
aren't Caucasian. Anyway, I suppose there should be the same
percentage of the colored race in films as in society. But it can't
always be that way. There isn't necessarily going to be 10 percent of
the grips or sound men who are black, because more than likely, 10
percent haven't trained themselves for that type of work.

Native Americans:

PLAYBOY: For years American Indians have played an important — if
subordinate — role in your Westerns. Do you feel any empathy with
them?

WAYNE: I don't feel we did wrong in taking this great country away
from them, if that's what you're asking. Our so-called stealing of
this country from them was just a matter of survival. There were great
numbers of people who needed new land, and the Indians were selfishly
trying to keep it for themselves. …


Martin Luther King Jr. had a few words to say about calls for
'civility'
JUN 26, 2018 | 10:40 AM
PLAYBOY: How do you feel about the government grant for a university
and cultural center that these Indians [then encamped on Alcatraz
Island] have demanded as "reparations"?

WAYNE: What happened between their forefathers and our forefathers is
so far back — right, wrong or indifferent — that I don't see why we
owe them anything. I don't know why the government should give them
something that it wouldn't give me.

PLAYBOY: Do you think they've had the same advantages and
opportunities that you've had?

WAYNE: I'm not gonna give you one of those
I-was-a-poor-boy-and-I-pulled-myself-upby-my-bootstraps stories, but
I've gone without a meal or two in my life, and I still don't expect
the government to turn over any of its territory to me. Hard times
aren't something I can blame my fellow citizens for. Years ago, I
didn't have all the opportunities, either. But you can't whine and
bellyache 'cause somebody else got a good break and you didn't, like
these Indians are. We'll all be on a reservation soon if the
socialists keep subsidizing groups like them with our tax money.

Wayne made these comments against a backdrop of generalized contempt
for those he labeled leftists, socialists, and communists, without
making much distinction among them.

Some of Wayne’s defenders have stepped forward to say it’s unfair to
condemn an elderly man’s memory for a 48-year-old interview conducted
during a very different era. In a statement issued Wednesday to Fox
News, Wayne’s family
https://www.foxnews.com/entertainmen...w-with-playboy
says, “It’s unfair to judge someone on something that was written that
he said nearly 50 years ago when the person is no longer here to
respond.”

But that won’t wash. Wayne was a few weeks shy of his 64th birthday
when the interview appeared in print. It was 1971, so the civil rights
revolution had been going on for years; Martin Luther King Jr. had
been assassinated three years before.

Wayne wasn’t expressing the tenor of the times — he was reacting to
the advances being won by African Americans through demonstrations and
legislation. His words already were retrograde when they were uttered.
Wayne wasn’t an old conservative who hadn’t yet been “woke”; he had
seen the future, and it put him into a racist rage.

The family’s statement also refers to Wayne’s “continuing work to find
a cure for cancer through the John Wayne Cancer Foundation and the
John Wayne Cancer Institute.” It’s unclear what they mean. Both
charities were founded after Wayne’s 1979 death when his family
allowed his name to be used, apparently for fundraising; the institute
is located at St. John’s Medical Center in Santa Monica. They may do
good work, but it doesn’t appear that Wayne himself participated
during his life.

Nor did he serve in wartime, despite his later flag-waving and Vietnam
War-mongering. Wayne was 34 when the Pearl Harbor attack brought the
U.S. into World War II, and reportedly dodged enlistment even in the
documentary film unit headed by his mentor, director John Ford, which
apparently irked Ford no end.
https://www.denofgeek.com/us/movies/...ho-didnt-serve

The great irony of the airport’s moniker is that John Wayne’s old home
of Newport Beach hates John Wayne Airport. The first line of the
Newport Beach municipal website devoted to the history of the airport
states, “Each decade that the airport has been in existence has
brought with it changes that have adversely impacted Newport Beach
neighborhoods.”
https://www.newportbeachca.gov/gover...history-of-jwa

The city sued Orange County in the 1980s to block the airport’s
expansion, eventually settling on noise abatement rules that remain in
effect, more or less. These account for the bizarre take-off pattern
experienced by departing passengers, which involves a sharp climb
followed by a sudden cutback in engine power as the aircraft crosses
over residential neighborhoods.

That leaves us with the question of why John Wayne’s name should be
associated with any civic institution in Orange County, its airport or
otherwise. He doesn’t appear to have been a major contributor to civic
life in his home town or county; in 2016, when a GOP state assemblyman
from Orange County tried to get the state to declare a
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...=.00e9c482f43f
“John Wayne Day,” he was rebuffed when legislators mentioned Wayne’s
support for the House Un-American Activities Committee and the John
Birch Society.

There surely are residents or natives of Orange County
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...ty,_California
more deserving of having their name on the airport. (My vote would go
to electric guitar pioneer Leo Fender, a native of Fullerton.) But the
most appropriate choice might be the one proposed by those tourism
officials in 2008. Just call it Orange County Airport.

Michael Hiltzik

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Michael Hiltzik writes a daily blog
appearing on latimes.com. His business column appears in print every
Sunday, and occasionally on other days. As a member of the Los Angeles
Times staff, he has been a financial and technology writer and a
foreign correspondent. He is the author of six books, including
“Dealers of Lightning: Xerox PARC and the Dawn of the Computer Age”
and “The New Deal: A Modern History.” Hiltzik and colleague Chuck
Philips shared the 1999 Pulitzer Prize for articles exposing
corruption in the entertainment industry.

COMMENTS (501)

Never did see why an actor of any political position gets civic
buildings named after them. Getting a job pretending for a living is
hardly a great contribution to the world. Entertaining yes but hardly
great contributions to the nation
2 replies
He sounds like the President and his supporters.
See 3 more promoted comments

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Now Listen here real good Michael Hiltzik, you need to shut your
piehole up regarding Mr John Wanne's airport. He ain't said or done
nothing wrong, times were different then than now. As a Black man
nothing he say bothes me so you need to leave this alone. Mr Wayne is
a American hero. I have shined his shoes and we talked during that
time. He tip me very good.
Avatar
Ain't it funny how racists and RWNJs race to the defense of John Wayne
for shooting his bigoted mouth off, but then squeal, **** and moan
about today's leftist actors voicing their opinions because they're
just actors?
Avatar
There can be no doubt that some of Wayne's opinions are grounded in
truth and common sense, but you can also perceive a deep seeded
disrespect. Given that, there is no way a public building should
include his name.
Avatar
I remember when the airport was named. It was not to honor a local
actor who had done well. It was a pure political statement that Orange
County was ultraconservative.

As the article notes, that mischaracterizes Orange County and is a
legitimately offensive message to many.
Avatar
My grandfather knew John Wayne for years and told me countless racist
stories about this man. John Wayne's racist comments are not
surprising and like many others I see no reason why a hateful man who
wore costumes for a living should have his name on a civic building.
Look no further than his own xenophobic daughter as evidence of the
effect of hatred.

It's time to move forward as a global society and embrace each other
as a single human race. Like this author, we need to do our part, no
matter how small, to be the change we want to see in the world.
Avatar
John Wayne was symbolic of the American fighting man during World War
II and the cold war. He personified in his movies the characteristics
needed to slay dragons. The dragons being Nazi Germany, Imperial Japan
and communist Russia. The same true grit that enabled a people to
carve out an Empire in less than a century, despite incredible
challenges. Britain, France, Russia,, Spain, Mexico all laid claim to
the unformed America. Americans succeeded in creating a Republic from
sea to shining sea.
Marion Morrison, born in 1907, was a product of those times, less than
50 years. When he first went to school, he rode a horse. He is
entitled to his opinion. Most Americans of his time agreed with him.
Some still do.
John Wayne made the cowboy (USA) an international icon capable of
defeating evil empires. The Duke is and should remain a hero.See
more...
Avatar
No, he played a hero in the movies. Not the same thing.
Avatar
Long Live John Wayne
Avatar
Lord have mercy.

Why can't the left just get off color and identity politics? Are
minorities so freaked out about Caucasian success that they are afraid
to compete in the work place on a level field? I couldn't care less
about one's race - it's the work ethic, the background, experience and
training, the effort at self-improvement, how they carry themselves,
their language, etc., etc. It is time to take advantage of programs
never available to Caucasians and start working hard at family,
education, and accountability. Understand that the foundation can be
laid by their effort and hard work today for their future generations
as well as themselves.See more...
Avatar
Oh Look! The hypocritical drama queen crybabies on the left who have
no legitimate self coping skills have found some more "racism".. lol
Looks like it's time to create another hate crime to get your point
across. How about "man wearing John Wayne shirt and MAGA hat just
attacked a native American reservation while yelling 'THIS IS A MAGA
RESERVATION!'" How about that?

Lol you bunch of hobbyless losers.
-----------------------------------------------------------


https://www.irishpost.com/news/john-...renamed-164784


Calls for John Wayne Airport to be renamed after 'racist' and
'homophobic' 1971 interview resurfaces
Jack Beresford
BY: Jack Beresford
February 25, 2019
JOHN WAYNE Airport in Orange County, Southern California could be
renamed after comments made by the actor in a 1971 interview
resurfaced online.

The Quiet Man actor stands accused of making several racist and
homophobic remarks during an interview with Playboy magazine’s
Contributing Editor Richard Warren Lewis.

In the interview, Wayne was asked to list some of the films of the
period that he considers to be perverted.

“Oh, Easy Rider, Midnight Cowboy – that kind of thing. Wouldn’t you
say that the wonderful love of those two men in Midnight Cowboy, a
story about two f**s, qualifies?” he replied.

“But don’t get me wrong. As far as a man and a woman is concerned, I’m
awfully happy there’s a thing called sex.’

Wayne, who was born Marion Mitchell Morrison, also offered up an
opinion on political activist Angela Davis, who famously claimed
anyone revoking her teaching credentials on ideological grounds would
discriminating against her because she’s black.

“With a lot of blacks, there’s quite a bit of resentment along with
their dissent, and possibly rightfully so. But we can’t all of a
sudden get down on our knees and turn everything over to the
leadership of blacks.” Wayne responded.

“I believe in white supremacy until the blacks are educated to a point
of responsibility. I don’t believe in giving authority and positions
of leadership and judgement to irresponsible people.”



He went on to state that he didn’t “feel guilty about the fact that
five or 10 generations ago these people were slaves,” describing it as
“just a fact of life, like the kid who gets infantile paralysis and
has to wear braces so he can't play football with the rest of us.”

The interview even sees Wayne state his belief that black people had
more advantages in America than whites.

Wayne was also critical of Native Americans, dismissing any suggestion
America was in the wrong for “taking away” their lands.

“Our so-called stealing of this country from them was just a matter of
survival,” he said.

“There were great numbers of people who needed new land, and the
Indians were selfishly
trying to keep it for themselves.”

The interview resurfaced as part of a tweet posted by screenwriter
Matt Williams and has sparked widespread online discussion.

John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara starred together in five films overall
(Image: Getty)
And writing in an opinion piece for the Los Angeles Times, columnist
Michael Hiltzik called on Wayne’s name to be removed from the Orange
County airport.

Originally named Orange County Airport, the county Board of
Supervisiors renamed it in 1979 in honour of John Wayne who lived in
Newport Beach and died earlier that same year. Hiltzik feels the time
for change is now.

“Orange County today is such an economically and ethnically diverse
community that it's hard to justify asking any member of that
community to board planes at an airport named after an outspoken
racist and homophobe, with his strutting statue occupying a central
niche in front of the concourse,” he wrote.

“Wayne was a few weeks shy of his 64th birthday when the interview
appeared in print,” Hiltzik added.

“It was 1971, so the civil rights revolution had been going on for
years; Martin Luther King Jr. had been assassinated three years
before. Wayne wasn't expressing the tenor of the times — he was
reacting to the advances being won by African Americans through
demonstrations and legislation.”

John Wayne at Ballyglunin train station in The Quiet Man. (Pictu
Ballyglunin.com)
Hiltzik’s suggestion has been met with some opposition though, not
least from Madeline Fry over at the Washington Examiner, who
responded:

"Removing his name from Orange County's airport now only validates
what many Americans are coming to believe: You can't say anything
anymore, darn it, without being discovered and punished by the mob."

The local authorities have yet to issue an official response to the
furore.

It’s not the first time the interview has sparked controversy.

Back in 2016, California lawmakers rejected plans for the introduction
of a John Wayne Day in the US state after the comments made in the
interview surfaced.
-----------------------------------------------------------------

https://www.ocregister.com/2008/02/2...t-name-change/

Residents debate John Wayne Airport name change





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IN FLIGHT:A commercial jet lifts off from John Wayne Airport on
Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2007.
1 Comment
By Jeff Overley | Orange County Register
February 28, 2008 at 3:00 am

News that local tourism leaders want to rename John Wayne Airport has
provoked a passionate response from Orange County residents – but if
anything, the diverse wave of sentiments only muddies the issue.
The name change idea was first reported in December, and last week,
one of the late actor’s sons – Ethan Wayne – lashed out, calling
tourism officials “idiots” who were latching on to a shallow
pop-culture trend by seeking to rechristen the aviation hub “John
Wayne-Orange County Airport.”
Subsequent calls and e-mails to the Register ran the gamut of opinion,
with thoughts on the concept about evenly split but several people
offering nuanced perspectives.
“I can understand the Wayne family not wanting their family name
associated with such trivial television programs, but Orange County is
also the name of the county where the airport is located,” Anaheim
resident Linda Drake wrote in an e-mail.
“Those of us in California sometimes just assume that everyone knows
this,” Drake wrote, “but people in other states don’t always know
where Orange County is, much less John Wayne Airport. I am always in
favor of attaching ‘Orange County’ to something if possible – it helps
to separate us from our better-known neighbor Los Angeles.”
Others sided squarely with Ethan Wayne’s contention that tourism
leaders, by seeking to capitalize on fame imbued by such television
shows as “The Real Housewives of Orange County,” are being
short-sighted.
http://www.pollmonkey.com/s.asp?c=53719538&u=3371645697
DisplayVote45697();
“Sadly, trendsetters grasp for things that do not last the test of
time, often because they do not have any original ideas and their
results leave behind a huge waste of time and money,” wrote Laguna
Niguel resident Reilly Rhodes.
Seconding that notion was local resident Kirk Hollingsworth. “I
couldn’t agree more with Ethan Wayne’s comment about the moronic TV
shows that depict Orange County,” Hollingsworth said by e-mail. “If
our county is to be identified with these shows, we have sunk to new
lows.”
Several readers opined that neither John Wayne nor Orange County have
a place in the airport’s moniker – aviation trailblazer Eddie Martin,
who in the 1920s built a landing strip on the future JWA site,
deserves the honor, those readers said.
The terminal was actually named after Martin for more than two
decades, but was demolished in 1994 after construction of the
much-larger Thomas F. Riley terminal, named for the county supervisor
who shepherded the expansion. (Riley, incidentally, in 1979 made sure
the aviation hub was renamed from Orange County Airport to John Wayne
Airport, Orange County).
Eddie Martin’s name, meanwhile, now graces the name of the airport’s
administrative offices.
Any name change would probably require approval by county supervisors,
and it’s not clear where they all stand. Supervisors John Moorlach and
Chris Norby support the idea, while Pat Bates is opposed. Three calls
apiece to the offices of Supervisors Bill Campbell and Janet Nguyen
have not been returned.
Gary Sherwin, one of the leading voices in the effort to rename the
airport, argues that most people already refer to the airport as
“Orange County,” so adding a formal geographic reference would be of
little consequence and would probably help travelers.
Santa Ana resident Millard Schwartz concurred, saying that when he
tried to book a flight from JWA to Honolulu, his travel agent was at a
loss, a hiccup that Schwartz attributed to both the lack of a
destination in the name as well as the airport’s legal code, SNA.
“They had no clue where Orange County Airport was,” Schwartz said.
“They said, ‘Santa Ana?’ I said, ‘Yeah, I guess.'”
But even those who back the name change can’t help but appreciate the
other side’s case.
“It sounds like a good idea to me,” wrote Drake, the Anaheim resident,
“but then I was one who vehemently opposed Arte Moreno’s name change
for the Anaheim Angels.”
------------------------------------------------------------

https://www.ocregister.com/2008/02/2...t-name-change/

Residents debate John Wayne Airport name change

News that local tourism leaders want to rename John Wayne Airport has
provoked a passionate response from Orange County residents – but if
anything, the diverse wave of sentiments only muddies the issue.
The name change idea was first reported in December, and last week,
one of the late actor’s sons – Ethan Wayne – lashed out, calling
tourism officials “idiots” who were latching on to a shallow
pop-culture trend by seeking to rechristen the aviation hub “John
Wayne-Orange County Airport.”
Subsequent calls and e-mails to the Register ran the gamut of opinion,
with thoughts on the concept about evenly split but several people
offering nuanced perspectives.
“I can understand the Wayne family not wanting their family name
associated with such trivial television programs, but Orange County is
also the name of the county where the airport is located,” Anaheim
resident Linda Drake wrote in an e-mail.
“Those of us in California sometimes just assume that everyone knows
this,” Drake wrote, “but people in other states don’t always know
where Orange County is, much less John Wayne Airport. I am always in
favor of attaching ‘Orange County’ to something if possible – it helps
to separate us from our better-known neighbor Los Angeles.”
Others sided squarely with Ethan Wayne’s contention that tourism
leaders, by seeking to capitalize on fame imbued by such television
shows as “The Real Housewives of Orange County,” are being
short-sighted.
http://www.pollmonkey.com/s.asp?c=53719538&u=3371645697
DisplayVote45697();
“Sadly, trendsetters grasp for things that do not last the test of
time, often because they do not have any original ideas and their
results leave behind a huge waste of time and money,” wrote Laguna
Niguel resident Reilly Rhodes.
Seconding that notion was local resident Kirk Hollingsworth. “I
couldn’t agree more with Ethan Wayne’s comment about the moronic TV
shows that depict Orange County,” Hollingsworth said by e-mail. “If
our county is to be identified with these shows, we have sunk to new
lows.”
Several readers opined that neither John Wayne nor Orange County have
a place in the airport’s moniker – aviation trailblazer Eddie Martin,
who in the 1920s built a landing strip on the future JWA site,
deserves the honor, those readers said.
The terminal was actually named after Martin for more than two
decades, but was demolished in 1994 after construction of the
much-larger Thomas F. Riley terminal, named for the county supervisor
who shepherded the expansion. (Riley, incidentally, in 1979 made sure
the aviation hub was renamed from Orange County Airport to John Wayne
Airport, Orange County).
Eddie Martin’s name, meanwhile, now graces the name of the airport’s
administrative offices.
Any name change would probably require approval by county supervisors,
and it’s not clear where they all stand. Supervisors John Moorlach and
Chris Norby support the idea, while Pat Bates is opposed. Three calls
apiece to the offices of Supervisors Bill Campbell and Janet Nguyen
have not been returned.
Gary Sherwin, one of the leading voices in the effort to rename the
airport, argues that most people already refer to the airport as
“Orange County,” so adding a formal geographic reference would be of
little consequence and would probably help travelers.
Santa Ana resident Millard Schwartz concurred, saying that when he
tried to book a flight from JWA to Honolulu, his travel agent was at a
loss, a hiccup that Schwartz attributed to both the lack of a
destination in the name as well as the airport’s legal code, SNA.
“They had no clue where Orange County Airport was,” Schwartz said.
“They said, ‘Santa Ana?’ I said, ‘Yeah, I guess.'”
But even those who back the name change can’t help but appreciate the
other side’s case.
“It sounds like a good idea to me,” wrote Drake, the Anaheim resident,
“but then I was one who vehemently opposed Arte Moreno’s name change
for the Anaheim Angels.”