Hilton Head Plantation should follow the lead of others and change its name

On HHP

The leaders of these companies, organizations, etc. determined that reconsidering their racist and offensive nicknames, brands, logos or mascots was simply the right thing to do:

▪ The Washington Redskins.

▪ The Cleveland Indians.

▪ Uncle Ben’s Rice.

▪ The Miami (Ohio) University Redskins.

▪ Aunt Jemima Syrup.

▪ Dreyer’s Eskimo Pie.

▪ The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

▪ Dixie Beer.

▪ Geechie Boy Mill.

▪ Sea Pines Plantation.

▪ Palmetto Dunes Plantation.

▪ Indigo Run Plantation.

▪ Wexford Plantation.

So what about Hilton Head Plantation?

We encourage our HHP board to do the right thing and change our brand for the better.

Dave and Lavonne Hales, Hilton Head

On the Supreme Court

A recent editorial by The State Editorial Board admonished Democrats to stop whining about the Republicans’ intention to fill the vacant Supreme Court seat following the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Not only was the writing in the editorial condescending and sophomoric, it also lacked context; the message of the editorial was “Suck it up and go vote.”

Here are some facts about the Supreme Court:

▪ Since 1789 there have been 13 justice seats that have been vacant during an election year, and nine came open during the first six months of that year.

▪ Of those nine vacancies, eight were confirmed — the only time it was not filled was in 2016 when President Barack Obama nominated Merrick Garland to replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia, only to see the Republican-majority Senate refuse to take up Garland’s nomination.

▪ From July 1 to Election Day only four vacancies have come up — and none of those four vacancies were filled.

So the Republicans have, in hypocritical fashion, cited precedent and constitutional duty — yet with the presidential election less than 40 days away they have conveniently ignored their argument in 2016 that the will of the electorate must be respected.

So, yes, our vote is more important than ever.

But we now have a president who will not commit to accepting the election result if he doesn’t win — and one who plans on having a conservative majority in the Supreme Court to hand him the election.

Not surprisingly U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, the president’s most sycophantic enabler, is saying exactly that even before the first vote is counted.

This president has shown no respect for the rule of law and incites violence by his supporters, some of whom have already tried to intimidate voters in Virginia.

The issue is larger than shedding tears over the fight for a Supreme Court justice.

Let’s hope we are not shedding tears and more over the fight to preserve our democracy.

Virginia Murray, Bluffton

On the Town Manager

We thank Town Council for deciding to delay the Town Manager selection.

Hilton Head Island is on the brink of implementing Our Plan, the community’s comprehensive future vision. For it to succeed we need an exceptional new Town Manager with a track record of implementing significant changes.

We urge Town Council to begin a new search with meaningful input from the public from beginning to end; repeating the past process will not be successful.

Town Council must ensure that an honest, fair and open process without special interest intervention is in place. The process itself must be transparent, with executive sessions taking place only when they are absolutely required by law.

We live and work in a wonderful, beautiful community with engaged residents, so Hilton Head Island should be able to attract numerous qualified candidates.

We deserve the best Town Manager we can afford.

If you agree, let the mayor and Town Council members know by visiting https://tinyurl.com/y8h32bgf.

Risa Sreden Prince and Patsy Brison, Hilton Head Island

Sreden Prince and Brison are co-founders of the Coalition of Island Neighbors.

This story was originally published October 1, 2020 at 7:51 PM.