Winchester Star
Wednesday, February 20, 2008

By Lynn Oldach-Engle/Bits and Pieces

COLUMN: What's in a name?

WINCHESTER, MA – When a new human being comes into the world, much thought is given to the name this shiny, new arrival will receive. Favorite relatives and friends, as well as historical descendants, figure into the choices. As time goes on, the name becomes part of that person's identity.

Personality and temperament become merged with the given name and ever after, mere mention of it will conjure up the face that goes with it.

An equally thoughtful process is used to afford the names of towns and schools and sports teams. Typically, the names are chosen from popular or historically significant figures from the area. And just as images are brought to mind upon hearing a person's name, so too does the name of a beloved sports team elicit feelings of affection and allegiance.

Recently, the moniker for Natick's sporting teams, "The Natick Redmen," has been called into question. An alumna of Natick High School decried the name as offensive and now the town is considering changing it. Changing the revered name of a team should not be done lightly, and certainly not because of one, lone dissenting opinion. Sometimes in the effort to be inoffensive, we fail to take in the vast picture.

It is a fact that the meanings of words change over time. What was a considered a slur in the past often becomes a cry of accomplishment and success. Notre Dame's team name, "The Fighting Irish," for instance, was once used as a term of contempt. As the Irish immigrants settled in New England, they were grouped together with all the Catholics and collectively viewed as troublemakers. History, however, has reconstructed the significance of the name. "The Fighting Irish" now denotes unflagging courage and faith and is a rallying cry for a prestigious institution.

Should we be removing references from our pasts due to fear of offense? If we eliminate a name every time someone complains, won't we be whitewashing our history? It is not inconceivable that biographies of prominent figures will soon be called on to omit unsavory details and references to ungracious behavior.

A recent showing of Shakespeare's Richard III in Providence, R.I., for example, modified the facts of Richard's physical deformities out of deference to political correctness; at the time, physical malformations were believed to be manifestations of evil. At the talkback session after the show, the actors asserted that the original depiction of Richard's abnormalities would be offensive to the physically handicapped in the audience and chose to portray the cause of his physical flaws as the results of gunshots. Creative license is always a given, but isn't a politically correct Shakespeare just plain wrong?

Natick schools and the community have gathered for half a century in a united effort under the name "Natick Redmen." The chants they hear are affirmation of a laudatory effort on behalf of an honorable team. These athletes don't play for money, but for the chance to add some glory to their school's history. They strive for success in the name of their team, which is referenced with great pride and loyalty and represents decades of athletic accomplishments. Declaring the name of their team now as offensive and disreputable diminishes the success of those accomplishments.

Changing the time-honored name of a high-school team will have the same result as changing the names of a playground full of children. Regardless of how many times you call them, they will not respond. In their hearts and minds, their identities are enmeshed with the honorable names given to them years ago. Telling them they will now be known as something else, not only jeopardizes their self-image, but also nullifies their existence up to now.

Lynn Engle can be contacted at Engle.Lynn@Gmail.com.