US States names and shapes: What would you change?

[Brettenwald]

As a Marylander, I will not stand for this needless slander of my home state! . . . but TBH, we do look kind of like a pipe wrench or one of those old-school punch-type can openers.

[Kedri]

Idea: rename South Carolina to the “Imperium of True Carolina”, and annex all of the Northern US into the Delawarean Empire. Annex Canada, along with preferably the rest of the Anglosphere.

a unitary state, obviously

Society has passed the need for a unitary state. End all of them larger than Monaco.

As a South Carolinian, I'd be all for us being renamed to "True Carolina."

[Necroghastia]

West Virginia and Virginia should be merged, but keep the name as West Virginia.

[Green October Z]

West Virginia and Virginia should be merged, but keep the name as West Virginia.

No, call it North North Carolina!

[Neanderthaland]

Idea: rename South Carolina to the “Imperium of True Carolina”, and annex all of the Northern US into the Delawarean Empire. Annex Canada, along with preferably the rest of the Anglosphere.

Society has passed the need for a unitary state. End all of them larger than Monaco.

As a South Carolinian, I'd be all for us being renamed to "True Carolina."

Yeah, but if you do that the North is going to change it's name to "I'm with Stupid"

[-Astoria]

West Virginia and Virginia should be merged, but keep the name as West Virginia.

This.

[Neanderthaland]

West Virginia and Virginia should be merged, but keep the name as West Virginia.

Almost heaven

[Atheris]

West Virginia and Virginia should be merged, but keep the name as West Virginia.

This.

What the fuck?

[Atheris]

Idea: rename South Carolina to the “Imperium of True Carolina”, and annex all of the Northern US into the Delawarean Empire. Annex Canada, along with preferably the rest of the Anglosphere.

Society has passed the need for a unitary state. End all of them larger than Monaco.

As a South Carolinian, I'd be all for us being renamed to "True Carolina."

your flag would still be ugly tho no cap

[Senkaku]

a unitary state, obviously

Society has passed the need for a unitary state. End all of them larger than Monaco.

I won't rest till there is only one unitary state

[-Astoria]

What the fuck?

Yes?

[Atheris]

What the fuck?

Yes?

First off: West Virginia doesn't even exist. It's not even a real geographic location. It's just there to give the Virginians who wanted to be northerners the illusion that they were given choice.

Second off: You can have Virginia when you pry it from my cold, dead hands. And even then, good luck, because I will have glued it to my cold, dead hands.

[-Astoria]

Second off: You can have Virginia when you pry it from my cold, dead hands. And even then, good luck, because I will have glued it to my cold, dead hands.

There's this marvellous operation called "amputation".

Also, what's Virginia?

[Krasny-Volny]

Franklin gets to be a state again and gets cut out of East Tennessee and western NC.

Northern Florida and the panhandle can be their own state, easily. Everybody I’ve met from that region is pretty unique. They can uphold their traditions of gator wrassling, swamp living, and Lynyrd Skynyrd.

[Atheris]

Franklin gets to be a state again and gets cut out of East Tennessee and western NC.

Northern Florida and the panhandle can be their own state, easily. Everybody I’ve met from that region is pretty unique. They can uphold their traditions of gator wrassling, swamp living, and Lynyrd Skynyrd.

Ahh. Good old Lienard Skynard.

[Sundiata]

Honestly, I would give it back to the natives.

You want to give the land making up the US, which is populated by about 327 million people, exclusively to just 4.5 million of that total amount?

What happens to the other 323.5 million?

Ultimately, live in the region that was formerly Jamestown as well as the remaining coasts.

[Atheris]

You want to give the land making up the US, which is populated by about 327 million people, exclusively to just 4.5 million of that total amount?

What happens to the other 323.5 million?

Ultimately, live in the region that was formerly Jamestown as well as the remaining coasts.

...Right. Because the East Coast can support 323.5 million people. In other gifs:

[Sundiata]

Ultimately, live in the region that was formerly Jamestown as well as the remaining coasts.

...Right. Because the East Coast can support 323.5 million people. In other gifs:

I don't think it's impossible, just difficult.

[Stellar Colonies]

...Right. Because the East Coast can support 323.5 million people. In other gifs:

(Image)

I don't think it's impossible, just difficult.

Extremely difficult to contemplate, very impossible to implement, and also very unethical*.

It is quite honestly a terrible idea.

*The US was extremely unethical and still is to some extent against the Amerindian nations, but this is most definitely not the ideal way to help the survivors.
**Was this suggestion made in jest?

[Sundiata]

I don't think it's impossible, just difficult.

Extremely difficult to contemplate, very impossible to implement, and also very unethical*.

It is quite honestly a terrible idea.

*The US was extremely unethical and still is to some extent against the Amerindian nations, but this is most definitely not the ideal way to help the survivors.
**Was this suggestion made in jest?

I don't think it's a terrible idea, just extremely difficult to accomplish all things considered. This suggestion was half-hearted, yes.

[Nobel Hobos 2]

Ultimately, live in the region that was formerly Jamestown as well as the remaining coasts.

...Right. Because the East Coast can support 323.5 million people. In other gifs:

Dull emoting like this makes me actually miss memes.

Extremely difficult to contemplate, very impossible to implement, and also very unethical*.

It is quite honestly a terrible idea.

*The US was extremely unethical and still is to some extent against the Amerindian nations, but this is most definitely not the ideal way to help the survivors.
**Was this suggestion made in jest?

I don't think it's a terrible idea, just extremely difficult to accomplish all things considered. This suggestion was half-hearted, yes.

Terrible idea, trust me. Sending everyone back to Europe would be a terrible idea, this is no better.

Maybe it's actually worse. Like the settlement at Jamestown was just fine, the millions of Native Americans who didn't even know about it, would surely have been OK with it.

I'm an Australian. I have no better conscience than any American should have, I too live on stolen land. Much like Americans, we were guests who refused to leave, we were shysters who tricked the natives out of their land (Aborigines thought they were trading away right of passage or a share of the game, but what they were signing was a right of title in most cases). In NSW where we started, we took for individuals or the Crown, all the good land. Aborigines with their culture completely intertwined with land just did their best with what we left for them, and they starved. Disease played a part, as it did there, and in both cases I find it tragic that racial relations had gotten so bad that Aborigines/Indians couldn't come to us for help. Maybe we wouldn't have kept on destroying their scant sources of water with our cattle and sheep, of course making disease worse, but I think we'd have done something.

Yet with all that, our crime was mostly a crime of negligence. Theft of land, yes, but to an 18th century Anglo-Saxon, land was worth only what you made of it. This land with no fences, no crops, no livestock (actually Aborigines had crops and livestock, just not as the white man recognizes them) looked like unused land. The white man just didn't know how precious it was to the Aborigine, or how vital to the Aborigine's survival and spirituality. Yes we should have known, at some level we probably did. But on the dotted line it says the name of the guy who owns it now. And that smudge on the bottom, that's the thumb print of the guy who owned it before.

Ownership is a much finer line than most people realize. If you've ever been burgled you'll know what I mean. There's a cop in your living room, noting things down and shaking her head about those damn burglars. But your stuff is gone and you know it. Well imagine if the cop isn't even on your side. The cop's in your living room saying "I don't believe you ever had that stuff, can you show receipts? You know I can do you for wasting police time, right?" and we have the situation of the American Indian or the Aborigine. Their land wasn't technically stolen, it was taken from them by crooks with the law on their side.

Now it must be said that the European infestation of Australia (a land with almost exactly the same area as the contiguous US States) never covered the whole continent. There were fewer Europeans to start with (the US had simply enormous early immigration) and there is less arable land. Oddly to some, it wasn't snakes and spiders that slowed Europeans trying to settle inland, it was just a lack of water. And mercifully, the English did not take full advantage of their sea power to establish settlements all around the coast.

In a cultural sense, I'm not sure Aborigines have survived any better than Native Americans have. Aborigines lived in hundreds of different "tribes" distinguished by language and marriage rules, which isn't so different to the Native Americans. But interactions between those tribes were far more peaceful in Australia, they did dispute with each other and sometimes give up land or hunting rights, but they didn't respond to enemies armed with guns the way the American natives did. Which was to fight back. I guess I'm saying the American Indians can look back and think "at least we fought for our land, even if we did lose terribly". But the modern Aborigine looks back and can only reproach themself "we were cheated out of our land". Which isn't to say they never fought, some did, or to say they were never slaughtered (some were, particularly in Tasmania).

On the bright side, Aborigines have theoretical ownership of all of Australia, apart from those areas which were "bought". This is where crimes of negligence aren't really so bad. There are large areas (particularly in West Australia) that no private entity ever claimed (and were granted title to), or were provisionally claimed by government. It turns out, by High Court ruling, that government claims like making a National Park do not "extinguish native title" on that land. Furthermore a lot of grazing land is leased from a state government, and because a lease is not permanent that also does not extinguish native title.

The image I want to post is too big for the forum

I chose that from among the options here

The dark green is full native title. Aborigines living there own the land. The light green is land the Aborigines living there have claim to, they're entitled to a share of mining royalties for instance.

Now think about how much Federal land there is, particularly in the West. It is entirely within the power of Congress and the President to grant any of that land to the Native Americans. Some of it to outright own (they can order other people off it), and maybe some of it a share (they could demand partnership in grazing or mining, or take royalties)

OR. The US Supreme Court to rule something to the same effect as Native Title here in Australia. Any land not outright owned by someone, can be claimed by Native Americans who show a connection to that land.

[La Paz de Los Ricos]

Any state which has to distinguish itself from another by putting "North" or "South" or other cardinal direction in front of their name should either be renamed or destroyed.

Except West Virginia. We like you. You can stay.

[Cekoviu]

Any state which has to distinguish itself from another by putting "North" or "South" or other cardinal direction in front of their name should either be renamed or destroyed.

Except West Virginia. We like you. You can stay.

West Virginia is unambiguously the worst of those states, tho

[Atheris]

Any state which has to distinguish itself from another by putting "North" or "South" or other cardinal direction in front of their name should either be renamed or destroyed.

Except West Virginia. We like you. You can stay.

West Virginia is Fake Virginia.

[La Paz de Los Ricos]

Any state which has to distinguish itself from another by putting "North" or "South" or other cardinal direction in front of their name should either be renamed or destroyed.

Except West Virginia. We like you. You can stay.

West Virginia is unambiguously the worst of those states, tho

Any state which has to distinguish itself from another by putting "North" or "South" or other cardinal direction in front of their name should either be renamed or destroyed.

Except West Virginia. We like you. You can stay.

West Virginia is Fake Virginia.

B-but the Blue Ridge Mountains... Shenandoah River...