Junkyard Scrapped By Political Correctness

The Washington Post has been corrected on its political-incorrectness. Here’s a letter to the editor by Genevieve D. Sapir:

On behalf of the salvage industry, I object to your use of the term “junkyard” [” Clunker Parts’ Crossroad: Useful Spare or Gritty End ,” front page, Aug. 21]. That term went out when “Sanford and Son” went off the air. These days we prefer to be called “auto recyclers.”

Although many of our businesses have been around for generations, we have modernized considerably over the years . . . .

Ms. Sapir concludes by telling us, “Although I am now a Washington bureaucrat, I cannot deny my auto recycler roots.”

I hope she’s kidding because as fan of the late Jim Croce this is simply intolerable. What would become of Bad, Bad Leroy Brown? You may recall, Leroy is the character who, at the end of the song, got his comeuppance, having learned a lesson “Bout messin’ with the wife of a jealous man.”

Well the two men took to fighting
And when they pulled them off the floor
Leroy looked like a jigsaw puzzle
With a couple of pieces gone

You will also recall, no doubt, Croce’s classic description of Leroy Brown as “Badder than ole’ King Kong, And meaner than a junkyard dog.”“Meaner than an auto recycler dog,” just doesn’t seem to cut it.