A picture of me standing in the Gulf of (?) instantly attracted numerous views and comments. The reaction is part of the debate over President Trump signing an executive order remaining the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. I mentioned on my talk show that there were a lot of ‘Gulf of America” t-shirts and other items on sale at the souvenir shops in Pensacola, and even the iconic sailfish sign leading from Gulf Breeze to Pensacola Beach has been changed to referencing the Gulf of America.
Growing up in New Orleans, trips to the Gulf beaches were a regular thing. Since there is no other Gulf to reference, we always just said “the Gulf.” Constantly referring to the Gulf formally as the Gulf of Mexico would have been awkward and unnecessary. We just called it ‘the Gulf” - as did everyone else. People did not say, “Hey, we’re going to Pensacola and we have a room overlooking the Gulf of Mexico.” People would say, “Hey, we’re going to Pensacola and we have a room overlooking the Gulf.” It would have sounded weird for someone to always refer to the Gulf as the Gulf of Mexico. However, today, there are people going out of their way to say “the Gulf of America.”
The new trend is a way for people to announce their politics to everyone within the sound of their voice. And wearing Gulf of America t-shirts is a way to outwardly promote one’s politics to others. There’s nothing wrong with believing in your political views, but America is so proudly divided today that many Americans want to show that they are different and want to draw a distinction between them and others, even while on vacation in a beautiful spot, like Pensacola, Florida.
Here are a few of the comments on Scoot On The Air Substack and Facebook:
Kristi: “I say it’s the Gulf of America because names of streets, college mascots, buildings, countries get changed all the time, but I just call it ‘the Gulf.’”
Jeremy: “I’ve always just called it “The Gulf.”
Janet: “It is the Gulf of Mexico. No head of state can just rename an international body of water on a stupid whim.”
Most of the responses supported what I said - most people just call it “the Gulf.”
The Gulf of Mexico was named in the 1500s. The Pilgrims didn’t arrive in America until 1620. I researched three sources and two of them stated that Mexico shares slightly more coastline than does the United States. Also, America has no control over anything in the Gulf beyond 3 miles from the shore. I understand that street names, military facilities, buildings, and other things have changed names, but that’s because we no longer should honor those who fought for and supported slavery. The Gulf of Mexico is a non-political body of water and I will continue to refer to it as the Gulf of Mexico formally, but most of the time I’ll just call it “the Gulf.”
