The results of PMS's poll (see the comments section) are in:
Why did Hillary say "Burma" instead of "Myanmar"?
25% "Burma" is easier to say when you're under sniper fire. |
25% "Myanmar" is harder to say in a fake folksy accent. |
| 50% | Knowing things is "elitist." |
0% Stop making fun of Hillary. She's making a serious political statement here. |
Because Hillary didn't learn anything at Wellesley. Or Yale Law School. Which is not elitist.
On a more general note, I don't know why people with perfectly cromulent educations feel the need to act "dumb".
1 comment:
An overlooked point here is that when HC was learning her countries, that land was known as Burma. When she was last in academia, that land was known as Burma. So, when in a high-pressure situation, we human beings tend to "go with what we know."
I do not believe it was rehearsed to appear "folksy." I'm sure her staff, and she herself, were critical of not using Myanmar, but at least she didn't refer to it as Siam (nor did she refer to its corresponding mail-bearing autogyro).
When I first learned my countries, it was internally Myanmar, but still internationally recognized as Burma; it was universally "Myanmar" by the time I was writing about Asian revolutions inspired by the American one or illicit commerce justified by the stated end goal as a repeating pattern through out history. Yet, I might still refer to "Burma" accidentally. (insert "old" joke here.)
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