We interrupt our usual flow of sarcastic humor for a few more-serious observations about the all-Republican Loudoun Board of Supervisors and their extraordinary resolution, unanimously adopted this last week, “defending” the Washington Redskins’ racially offensive name against the forces of “political correctness run amok,” in the words of Supervisor Ralph Buona (R-Ashburn).
On one level the resolution was simply fatuous, indignantly asserting the team’s “right” to “weigh customer input and take action in the best interest of the corporation with regard to their brand,” as if such a “right” were in question among anyone who has simply exercised their right of free speech to argue that it is offensive and outdated to continue using a racial slur as the name of a prominent professional sports franchise that is a prominent part of American life.
But on an even slightly deeper level the entire episode shows a degree of hyper-partisanship, insularity and small-town smugness, and a very disturbing set of values that this Board has brought into local government — elevating the interests of business and capital to almost sacred heights, while continually showing contempt for representative democracy. Continue reading
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