With nothing more than a pair of laptops, Joseph Shahda is waging a do-it-yourself war on terrorism that is proving very successful at frustrating his targets. Not to mention the federal government.

His beloved Jasmine Sola stores are slated to close next month, done in by a bad corporate marriage and a less-publicized sexual harassment scandal with him squarely at its center. To hear the chain’s brash founder tell it, though, the real victim in this sordid affair is him.

Ask sports fans from across the country to describe Boston, and you’ll hear this: “City of Champions.” Ask athletes themselves the same question, and you’ll hear it described in very different terms: as a city of racists. If it’s not a fair label anymore, as so many of us insist, then why won’t it go away?