MLK the Giant Has Got a Posse

Unfortunately, it's chockablock with revisionist do-gooders, living in a state of denial.

The King County Council will vote on whether to adopt the new logo this morning, and most expect the vote will be favorable.

The county was renamed in honor of King in 2005. It was first named in 1852 for William Rufus de Vane King, vice president under Franklin Pierce.

As it turns out, in addition to being the vice president to Franklin Pierce, William Rufus de Vane King, was also, over the course of his lifetime, an ambassador to France, a plantation owner (where it is believed some slavery occurred), and a United States senator from the state of Alabama, who voted for the Fugitive Slave Act. And we can't have that.

Now, I'm all for Dr. King having his due. I'd love it if we talked about the man more, honored his works, and taught our children and students more about his philosophy and goals.

What I'm against -- and hate -- is the way we sweep our history under the rug, instead of dealing with it, like a mature nation with a healthy respect for public discourse and debate.

What happens when little Jimmy and little Sally ask how it is possible for King County to be named for MLK when King County was King County nearly a hundred years before Martin Luther King was born? Are we going to have a frank discussion about William Rufus de Vane King then, or are we going to pussy out and pretend the years before 2005 never happened?

Grow up. This country has a slave past in its closet. It would enrich our public life to deal with it and its effects, not weaken it. So let's get on with it and stop sticking our heads in the sand.