A war revisited

RE David Mamet’s “Attack of the Creeping Misnomer” [Oct. 2]: I take it that he was attempting to write something halfway between serious and preposterous. He succeeded.

Just for the record, I’ll try to clarify one point. “The French and Indian War” is indeed a lousy and ambiguous name for that conflict. There were plenty of Indian allies on both sides. During that struggle, the war didn’t have any definitive name and was referred to by its veterans as “The Old French War.” Historians later retitled it for school texts. Indians were the “bad guys” in 19th century America, so they were associated with the losing side.

As for the remainder of his article, I have a much better understanding. Having recently married a nice Jewish woman from Massachusetts, I’ve found that it is she who has to do most of the tolerating.

CHARLES REILLY

Manhattan Beach