In Wilton, men are men and so are women, at least in the opinion of Selectmen William Condra and Kermit Williams.

During the February 12, 2018, selectmen’s meeting, the two defeated a motion proposed by Selectwoman Kellie-Sue Boissonnault to change the official name of the group from its present designation as the Board of Selectmen to the more accurate name of Select Board in recognition that the Board members could consist of all women, all men or, as it is at present, a combination of the two.

Mr. Condra observed that the Board has been called Board of Selectmen for 200 years (referencing no source for the assertion) and that the proposed change is a matter of political correctness. I’m sure he understands that men and women differ in innumerable ways, none of which pertain to politics.

Mr. Condra and Mr. Williams agreed that changing the board’s name to Select Women was impractical inasmuch as the board’s members aren’t all women. Both men were apparently blind to the irony that their observation was precisely the reason for Ms. Boissonnault’s motion.

Obviously, her proposed name change to Select Board is accurate regardless of the gender mix of the board. To reject such a reasonable proposition suggests to me that Mr. Condra and Mr. Williams failed to assess it on its merits, but rather on dated and mindless attitudes about women’s roles in 2018 compared to those prevalent in centuries long ago.