★ It’s True That I Stole Your Lighter, and It’s Also True That I Lost the Map
What we want is a system where geographic names are determined democratically, by voting. And that is the system we in fact have.
Last week, Google and Apple updated their maps to reflect the new names for Lake Ontario and the Gulf of Mexico as proposed by the U.S. Geological Survey. In the United States, the maps now display "Lake America" and "Gulf of America," while in Canada and Mexico, the traditional names "Lake Ontario" and "Gulf of Mexico" are used. Everywhere else in the world, the maps show "Lake Ontario" and "Gulf of Mexico" followed by the new names in parentheses.
While I acknowledge the frustration people feel over this decision, I believe Google and Apple should have waited to implement the name changes until tensions had subsided. The current political climate is volatile and reopening old wounds would only serve to further divide the nations involved. The geographic names, in this case, should be determined democratically through voting, as is the case with our current system.
Trump's administration has the authority to change these names, and it is important to acknowledge that this change is a result of his victory in the 2024 election. Directing anger towards Google and Apple for reflecting the new names is misguided, as they are merely acting as messengers of the official government decision.
Written by urgent.news from Daring Fireball's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
