As an example of being so open minded that your brain falls out, may I draw your attention to the San Francisco Unified School District board members and their goofy idea of eliminating acronyms because they are a “symptom of white supremacy culture.”
Acronyms alienate non-native English speakers, they say, so instead of referring to the San Francisco Unified School District’s department of Visual And Performing Art as VAPA, it will henceforth be known as, wait for it, the Art Department.
I like the move. Not because VAPA is a sign of white supremacy, but because English language clarity is a good thing.
But, suppose for a moment that there actually was something to this racist acronym idea.
Marin County is one of the biggest users of acronyms in the Bay Area and it starts at the top. The Marin County Board of Supervisors refers to itself as the MCBOS, and every single press release the county sends out contains multiple acronyms. For example, a recent missive on mussel quarantine warned citizens against PSP and DAP — paralytic shellfish poisoning and domoic acid poisoning, respectively. Do you think, perhaps, the acronym-using county was trying to kill off non-native English speakers? Let’s get the grand jury looking into that.
While we’re at it, let’s examine the acronym CA for California. And, I hate to break it to the SF Giants baseball franchise, but that acronym on their ball caps has gotta go. L.A. for Los Angeles is problematic, SPF for Sun Protection Factor is literally all about the color of your skin, and what about Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s white supremacy dog whistle of a nickname — AOC.
If that made you laugh out loud, please don’t send me a note using LOL.
I’ll end this roast of the SFUSD with an acronym the board members there actually do need to understand and deal with. It is FUBAR. Look it up, board members, and then get back to doing the real work of a school district, which if I may be bold, is to get kids back in the classroom. ASAP.
POINT OF CLARIFICATION
Steve Dodge, a former Marin resident now living in Vancouver, found his way into the news over the renaming of Sir Francis Drake Boulevard. We reported that he told the Ross City Council that “’Drake is a symbol of white supremacy.” (Thankfully, no acronyms were involved.)
We added that he said that “without supporting evidence.” He wrote to point out that he, in fact, cited the work of Richard White in making that assertion.
Just wanted to get that on the record in the interest of clarity and transparency.
ON PAROLE, OF COURSE
I’m betting everyone has read details of the murder of famed San Francisco private eye Jack Palladino in the City on Jan. 28. If not please do so. It tells a grim story of the increasing random street crime there.
Two street urchins (I’m betting gang members, too) were arrested: Lawrence Thomas, 24, and Tyjone Flournoy, 23. Both had been arrested and jailed on multiple crimes in the last few years.
But, of course, despite their crimes, both men were out of custody, free to terrorize unsuspecting citizens.
This is not good for the Bay Area.
ONE MORE THING
— Some people think that TGIF on a t-shirt means “This Goes In Front.”
— Blood donation is way down in San Francisco. People are tired of being asked stupid questions like: “Whose blood is it? Where did you get it? Why is it in a bucket?
— Wouldn’t it be ironic if Popeye’s Chicken was fried in Olive Oil?
Don’t get up, I’ll let myself out. Thanks for reading. Be safe, be kind and mask-up.
(Sherman R. Frederick is the founder of Battle Born Media, a newspaper company dedicated to the preservation of community newspapers. You can follow him on Facebook at facebook.com/sherm.frederick/. He may be reached at shermfrederick@gmail.com.)
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