There are 1,606 people named Atticus in the United States , according to census research site, How Many of Me. The Inquisitr has previously reported on U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren , who some speculate may make a run for office, and about recent meetings between Warren and Vice President Joe Biden.
In February, the forthcoming release of a follow-up Harper Lee novel, entitled, Go Set A Watchman , took the literary world by storm. Lee had only written one novel previously, To Kill A Mockingbird , rated as the most popular novel in the United States of all-time by Time , as compiled by Good Reads . New Republic speculated on the authenticity of the discovered manuscript and noted that Lee only had “marginal” input.
Atticus Finch, the father of Mockingbird ‘s narrator and protagonist, Scout, has been held up as the perfect man and has been a role model in the United States for 50 years. The film by the same name stars Gregory Peck cast as Atticus, and his performance is held as dear by many. The film is rated as the No. 2 most inspiring film of all time in the United States by the American Film Institute. It’s A Wonderful Life is No. 1 and Schindler’s List is No. 3.
When observing such a spectacle as Peck’s performance above, it would be easy to see how someone like Senator Warren could come to have children and encourage them to read Mockingbird and watch the film, and for them to have children named after him. How could any patriotic American not feel pride when watching Gregory Peck enunciate “the unmitigated temerity!” when describing how he feels about the railroading of an innocent black man. He also stands before a jail house, blocking a mob of armed men, alone, to defend the same man. If the, fictional, Atticus Finch isn’t the perfect man to emulate, he’s almost certainly doing his best for his time.
Senator Warren posted a photo of her 4-year-old grandson named Atticus on her verified Facebook page this past Wednesday. The photo shows a curious, healthy looking boy with his grandfather. Warren is clearly enthralled with him. Who couldn’t help be? Perhaps some type of rogue?
One-thousand-six-hundred-and-six people named Atticus in the United States; a country with over 321 million people. It’s not the most common name. There are reports that previous scholarly research, as reported by New Republic , indicated what has become apparent in Go Set A Watchman, which is that Atticus is actually racist. It was described as “bombshell” news.
The Reverend Al Sharpton was quoted.
“Now to find out that Atticus Finch was not this statesmanlike racial hero, but was in fact portrayed at first by Harper Lee as racist in many ways, reflects the burden we’ve had in real life of the northern liberal who ended up being racist.”
One-thousand-six-hundred-and-six people named Atticus in the United States. If the name Atticus were to become sullied, who could benefit from such a thing? Who could be hurt? Could anyone sully the name of a child but a scoundrel?
[Photo by Drew Angerer / Getty Images]