A 350-year-old pub in the Scottish town of Linlithgow has been given permission to change its name, fearing it could be seen as racist. “The Black Bitch” (the black bitch) will thus become “El Sauce” (the willow).
The decision was made by the Greene King company, which owns several pubs across the country. Greene King had to seek government help after the Regional Council postponed a decision to change the name of the pub.
No “connection” to historical fact
as reported the independent, the name of this establishment comes from a local legend about a black dog, which appears on the city’s coat of arms, and which would have brought food to its hungry master. A statue commemorating the legend stands today in the center of Linlithgow.
The case for the pub’s name change went all the way to the government, in charge of listed buildings, who concluded that the current name “had no direct link to historical fact” as the establishment had two other names before it was called ” The Black Fox.” “.
“Nothing offensive”
According to a local association cited by the independentthe term ‘black bitch’ has been associated with the town for over 700 years, and the people of Linlithgow are ‘proud’ to be called ‘black bitches’.
“The term describes a female canine, aptly named a bitch that is black in color, nothing offensive, no misogyny involved,” they stated.
A petition was launched against this name change and collected more than 11,000 signatures, while the town of Linlithgow has only 13,000 inhabitants.
Source: BFM TV
