A pub that is several centuries old could be renamed after critics said its name was racist, offensive, and insensitive.
The Black Bitch is a popular destination in Linlithgow, a town in Scotland’s West Lothian, where it has stood proud for 350 years.
Now, it has come to our attention that the bar could be renamed The Willow Tree following complaints suggesting the current name is offensive to people of color.
According to the reports, it will be up to the Scottish government to either ditch the old name and order the pub to be rebranded or allow the name to carry on as it has for centuries.
The decision has been put forward at the government level after thousands of angry locals and citizens blasted the “unnecessary” name change.
Meanwhile, historians and experts claimed the name was in no way offensive because it was simply referring to a local legend about a black dog that has been embedded in the town’s history for an era.
“The term ‘Black Bitch’ has been associated with the town for over 700 years, natives of Linlithgow are proud to be known as ‘Black Bitches;’ it is a term of affection with no negative connotations,” The West Lothian History and Amenity Society explained.
“The term describes a female canine, rightly called a bitch which is black in color – nothing offensive, no misogyny involved. Greene King have jumped to the wrong conclusions and read something into the name which does not exist.”
The outrage comes after Greene King, a pub retailer and brewer that owns thousands of pubs in Scotland, proposed a name change for the pub they manage to be “truly anti-racist.”
Since the name change was deferred by a local council, the matter has been elevated to the government level.
“According to the their managing director, Greene King is on a journey to become a truly anti-racist organization and has already changed the names of a few of their public houses in England on the grounds that the names have racist connotations,” Linlithgow Civic Trust commented.
“However, there is nothing racist about the name The Black Bitch. It accurately describes a female canine with a black coat.
“We note that Greene appear to have no plans to change the names of their public houses called The Black Horse or The Black Bull.”
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