In Marek Hłasko's The Graveyard (set in communist-occupied Poland) there is a scene where, in a political party meeting one of the party members (Nowak) is forced to change the name of his dog. This change is met with uproar from the rest of the members and Nowak is forced to change the name of the dog to "Red." I am wondering about the context of why this is such an unsuitable name for a dog. From searching it up, it seems it has historically been a racial slur, although that explanation doesn't seem to fit this scenario. Here is an excerpt from the scene:
Someone cried out: "Comrade Nowak has an Airedale terrier called Sambo. I ask you, why Sambo? We must put a stop to this, once and for all."
Franciszek recognized the voice of the young Blizniaczek.
"That should be in the ad lib motions," people cried. "The ad lib motions!"
"Why wait?" other cried. "Such things must be settled at once. One day it's Sambo, and the next day—what? Throwing napalm bombs on Korean children maybe?"
"More vigilance, comrades!"
"Disgusting!"
"Sambo! Why not Bombo?"
"So that's where you get your inspirtation, Nowak?"
"Put a stop to all this!"
"There was starvations, there was misery, there was capitalism..."
"Hand in your party card!"
As The Graveyard was written as an attack on the authoritarian control of the communist party, I can see how this may just be a commentary on the absurdity of scrutinizing such a name. For example where it says "So this is where you get your inspiration, Nowak?" it is in reference to "Sambo" sounding like "Bombo", which is ridiculous, so maybe that's the point. Although that doesn't seem right to me. Any insights? Thank you.
note: Slur removed from title; it isn't possible to ask the question without discussing the word, so it has been left in context. This question is asked in the interests of scholarship and understanding, not in an attempt to belittle any individual or group