“why would anyone in the world be subjected to these whimsical nationalistic banana republic renaming stunts?”

Maybe because everyone in the world is subjected to these whimsical nationalistic banana republic renaming stunts.

How do you think the names of geographical areas came about in the first place? Did everyone in the world get a vote on the official Geographical Naming Commission? Oh wait. What should we call this official commission? What language should be the official language for the naming commission?

The overblown outrage over this issue is absolutely silly.