While I have not taken issue with naming the new middle school after Ben Reifel, many people in the community (who have no clue who he is) have been saying the same thing, “Why would you name a school after a gun?” My response was, “Why would you allow the finance department of the SFSD count the votes on a $300 Millions dollar bond?”
Another reason why a ‘public’ vetting needed to be done when selecting the names of the schools. Yet again the elitists with the school district seem to think they know better than the public. At least picking a mascot will be easy.
I can hear the music now, as the school’s football team runs out onto the field:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fMN8a3ZRUY
Oh, and by the way, that would be “Riflemen’ and not ‘Rifleman.’
(What? They named a school “Rifle?”….. Where is this school at?…… It must be out in Wyoming* or the Dakotas, huh?”….)
*
https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2017-01-18/betsy-devos-says-wyoming-school-probably-has-a-gun-to-protect-against-potential-grizzlies
Ben Reifel’s Lakota name was Lone Feather. He was the 14th Native American and first “Brule” to serve in the US congress.