Name change is not cheesy
WITH our current combination of world troubles — such as Trump and COVID and the Indian cricket tour — you may think there are more important things than changing the name of Coon Cheese.
But that’s easy to say if you’ve never been called a “coon”.
Black Australia has had to stomach a lot, and this word has been at the centre of much of it.
When the makers of Coon Cheese (Saputo Dairy Australia) first talked about changing the name after a push from Indigenous Territorian Dr Stephen Hagan, I was against it — simply because the cheese was named after Edward William Coon, the founder of the company, and not from anything racial.
And other people who carry the Coon name have been soldiers, Olympians, artists and educators.
In the White Pages, they are everywhere — Hamilton, Ballarat, Kilmore, Greensborough, and all over the country.
Including Diane Coon from Tasmania. I gave her a call. Diane is a good scout, and said she received more teasing at school for her red hair and freckles than she did for her name.
And, like all good and kind people, she’s able to think beyond her own interests. She understands the pain the word has caused black Australia.
“I have no intention of changing my surname,” she said. “But I fully accept there are connotations that upset people. Congratulations to the company.” Coon might have been an iconic brand, but it’s also an iconic slur.
When the word is used the wrong way, it’s incredibly offensive. It’s not a minor insult, or a term of endearment — it’s a name that conjures evil attitudes from oppressive times.
My only objection now is the lame name they picked to replace it: Cheer Cheese. There is probably a marketing executive picking out his new Lexus after getting that one across the line.
But good luck to them.
The words we use matter. They can inspire and destroy. And we’ve had enough destruction.
Just look at what Trump has done with his words in the past couple of weeks.
There will be complainers and there will be boycotting, and people using cliches like “pandering to the minorities”.
But that’s not what this is about. It’s about growing up. Understanding and listening is not pandering.
So we should celebrate the change, but let’s not tarnish the good Coons — like Diane in Tassie and Edward Coon, who built a successful Australian company and employed thousands over the decades.