Call Me Atticus T. Lunch
If words hurt, or even if they simply have the potential to hurt, it doesn’t matter what is “in your heart.”
Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch in ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’
I’m changing my name. Well, I mean I’m not changing my name. I am changing the pseudonym that I use to write this column. Words matter. I chose the name Atticus T. Lynch for a few reasons. The first was that I thought it would be cute to use the name of a famous literary lawyer, particularly one that worked in a small town, because this column – though frequently guilty of meandering to different topics – is predominately about being an attorney at a small firm in a small city. Second, rather than simply using the name Atticus Finch, which I think may have caused its own form of legal hijinks, I decided to go with Lynch. For you see, Lynch rhymes with Finch. Third, I added the “T.” in the middle so that my initials would be ATL, just like Above the Law, the blog for which I, I mean Atticus, writes.
Recently, a conscientious reader sent me a courteous and well-reasoned email observing that perhaps my choice of name, particularly use of the “Lynch,” may have been an insensitive choice. With their permission, here’s a passage of that email:
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On a slightly different note, I wanted to mention something to you that is kind of awkward. On the plus side, I love the whole pseudonym approach (which I am assuming is how you are operating), and of course Atticus is the classic lawyer name. The last name, “Lynch,” is throwing me off a bit, though—I get that it rhymes nicely with “Finch,” of course, and it is indeed a real surname… But I am just wondering if it might come across as offensive or disturbing to African-American attorneys, given the legacy of slavery, civil rights, Jim Crow laws, etc.?
S**t. The reader’s right. I had, in my cute attempt at wordplay, appropriated the first name of a literary character, Atticus Finch, who was defending a black man from false accusations of the rape of a white woman, with a last name that describes the crime against humanity the threat of which that black man was continuously subjected for no other reason than he was black. I didn’t do it intentionally. That doesn’t matter. I did it because I didn’t think about it. I should have. I can’t change that. But, now that it has been observed, it would be stupid not to change the damn name.
I have noticed a recent disturbing trend among white people. When challenged with the notion that we are causing harm through our words, many of us now feel comfortable reflexively calling it “political correctness” or throwing up a defensive wall by saying “I’m not a racist,” or something equally inane like “you can’t look into my heart.” These are non-sequiturs. Words matter.[1] If words hurt, or even if they simply have the potential to hurt, it doesn’t matter what is “in your heart.”[2] If you’re more concerned that you are called out for doing something racist than the fact that you might have done something racist…well, let me paraphrase Jeff Foxworthy, you might be a racist!
As for all of that. No thanks. As the reader said:
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I hope you will accept this suggestion in the spirit in which it is offered, from one fellow traveler (and person who cares about helping lawyers practice the best they can in a very demanding profession) to another, and without any judgment or airs of superiority, at all.
Suggestion accepted, reader. And to those whom I may have offended, I hope you can accept my earnest apology. From now on, call me Atticus T. Lunch. Nobody doesn’t like lunch.
[1] Please, save your breath about the First Amendment. If the government starts coming after you for saying something racist, I have your – albeit stupid – back. This is a discussion about whether you should say something, not whether you are legally entitled to do so without governmental reprisal.
[2] Spoiler alert: the heart is made up of three layers, the epicardium, the myocardium, and the endocardium. None of which has any bearing on whether you are a racist.
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Atticus T. Lunch, Esq. is an attorney in Any Town, Any State, U.S.A. He did not attend a top ten law school. He’s a litigator who’d like to focus on Employment and Municipal Litigation, but the vicissitudes of business cause him to “focus” on anything that comes in the door. He can be reached by email or on Twitter.
