He compares them to Southerners who refuse to let go of the Civil War. We should have said, 'OK, we lost,' and then gone on to other things. We spent an awful lot of our civic time arguing about the name of the mountain, and making enemies. That civic energy could have been spent on something more important. Like all wars, the battle over the name had lasting consequences.
Historians say the dispute permanently damaged the relationship between Tacoma and Seattle.
It hurt both cities economically. The confusion stalled promotional efforts that could have brought more business to the park and more tourism dollars to both cities. Mostly, though, the controversy hurt Tacoma. The city was regarded with amusement by the rest of the country and resentment by many citizens of Washington state, who looked at the effort as an attempt by Tacoma to appropriate the mountain. We alienated everybody in the state.