"Sanitizing" Huckleberry Finn is Sacrilege!

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   Ralph Deedsposted 13 years ago

   http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/07/books … amp;st=cse
   
   “All modern American literature,” Ernest Hemingway once wrote, “comes from one book by Mark Twain called ‘Huckleberry Finn.’ ” ...
   
   Controversies over “Huckleberry Finn” occur with predictable regularity. In 2009, just before Barack Obama’s inauguration, a high school teacher named John Foley wrote a guest column in The Seattle Post-Intelligencer in which he asserted that “Huckleberry Finn,” “To Kill a Mockingbird” and “Of Mice and Men,” don’t belong on the curriculum anymore. “The time has arrived to update the literature we use in high school classrooms,” he wrote. “Barack Obama is president-elect of the United States, and novels that use the ‘N-word’

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      Stump Parrishposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      It's getting rediculous, Texas removes facts about our founding fathers they don't like, This crap about the literature famous Americans wrote and Arizona has now outlawed teaching American students about any group of people other than white Americans. It's no wonder this country is in a race to be the dumbest country in the world.  And let me address this question to Jim, When did Texas and Arizone become progressive? Ask anyone from those states and I'm sure they will state they are living in a conservative christian state. Are we to believe that the conservatives in these states have all drunk from the progressive well?

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         Shadesbreathposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         Uhh... what?
         
         You need to slow down a little. You have wayyy too many things crammed in there without any explanation, so the whole thing makes no sense.
         
         All I got is something about Texas and Arizona somehow represent the entire nation in every way and that literature written by famous Americans is crap.
         
         I'm fairly sure that's not what you meant, but I'm not sure.

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            Stump Parrishposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            All three items you mentioned have been in the news lately and all are examples of the censorship that is being used to control the education of our children. The resulting education they are receiving is second rate at best. Decisions about text books in Texas do effect the entire nation as Texas is the largest consumer of school text books. Most new books are being written so they can be purchased by the Texas censorship board. The resulting books are what becomes available for other states as a result. What's crap about the famous literature is that another group is hell bent on censoring this also. What part of that was so confusing, lol. End result of all of this is that students in America learn  ore lies and opinions than facts. Students in other countries know more about American history, literature than Americans do. Great plan in effect here if you are planning on rasining idiots. Plan sure seems to be working well doesn't it Shade? BTW, I can't slow down, your gonna have to hit the gas and try and keep up.

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   Jim Hunterposted 13 years ago

   Progressives are at it again.
   
   Progressives are responsible for murdering the Native American and causing global warming.
   
   Progressives must be stopped.

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   Jeff Mayposted 13 years ago

   While I have no idea why Jim Hunter is ranting about progressives (makes no sense), I do agree with Ralph in that the N word should stay in Huckleberry Finn.

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      Jim Hunterposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Sure it makes sense.
      
      Its progressive thinking that has caused the problems in this world.
      
      Now they want to ban words from appearing in books.
      
      They have even tried to change the meaning of words.
      
      Let me guess, you consider yourself a progressive?

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   Evan G Rogersposted 13 years ago

   All the liberal parents: "ZOMG!! THE N WORD IS IN THE SCHOOLS!!!"
   
   All of those liberal parents' children: "Duh, the N word is in the schools. where the hell have you been, my n***a?"
   
   ---
   
   I'm teaching at public schools. The n word is everywhere. I try to ban it in my classrooms because I don't want to accidentally start saying it (if you hear it enough, it will become a part of your vocabulary).
   
   But it's everywhere.

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      habeeposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Agreed. I taught at a public high school and heard it all the time. I, along with the other teachers, tried to discourage students from using the word. Kids are pretty resourceful. For a while, they substituted "ninja." All day long, I'd hear in the halls, "What up, my ninja?" from blacks, whites, Asians, and Hispanics.

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      Friendlywordposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Some Young, Dumb, African Decended people thought it would be a good idea to let the whole world call them Ns, because it would "TAKE THE POWER AWAY FROM THE WORD" and the world would see them as brilliant, forward thinking, geniuses. Instead, the world sees them for what they are; Stupid cowards without the backbone needed to defend their race. Shaming and disrespecting their elders and making themeselves disgusting bad jokes to all the peoples of this world who take pride in who they are. So cowardly and stupid; they think they're cool in a crowd of people calling each other "My N". They never hear the disdain in the crowds voice. They never see the disgust behind the smiles of the crowd. They don't want to see, because that would require taking action to defend what they are and where they come from. A whole generation of willing slaves. To sad for further comment from me. I'll just say it is wrong, and hurtful to older educated Blacks that know their history.

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         habeeposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         Could you perhaps travel around to American high schools and give this speech?

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            Uninvited Writerposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            Bill Cosby, Jessie Jackson, Oprah have all been saying this for years.

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         Stump Parrishposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         There is more than one way to look at this issue IMO. In the 60's and 70's the young people embraced and and publically expressed that which the older generations hid from even themselves. By bringing supposed taboos in to the publics presence they changed the perception of the acts or words.
         
         By bringing a previously racist word into every day use, I feel they have removed, or at least reduced the negatives associated with that word. It is now only a racist word in the hands of a different colored racist.
         
         I for one think that the acts of a lot of comics would suffer if we kow tow to those who wish to decide for the rest of us, which words in the english language we are allowed to use or read, in America. No good will ever come from censorship in any form.

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            Friendlywordposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            I would agree with you that words in a book should stay there. In the case of Huck Finn and To kill a Mockingbird; the word is needed to tell the story.
            
            But using the word in everyday conversation is racist, or hateful, or just stupid. In some instances it can be very dangerous! If you say that to the wrong person; you could get beat down or maybe killed. Everybody is not as highly educated as you. The don't understand the little intricate details that make it alright for you to call them a N3$%#r.
            
            So, for safety sake, stop and explain the great advantages one gets out of being called a N^%%$r to that 6'4" Black linebacker you meet for the first time. Make sure he appreciates your vast knowledge and experience with being beaten, and hosed, and spit on, and called a N#$&$r. I'm sure he will be honored to be called a N&*#%r by you.

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               Stump Parrishposted 13 years agoin reply to this

               Hey friendly, Let me start off by saying that this is not a word  I use that often in my daily conversations.  What bothers me about this entire subject is those who seek to restrict the use of any words by any people. A judge just struck down a law in NC that  made it a criminal act to use profanity on a public road or street. The sidewalk is acceptable but not on a road. The fact that this law was still being enforced is beyond my comprehension. It seems that most of the people fighting the use of the "N" word are white. If this word makes them uncomfortable, don't use it. Are we to remove every word that makes anyone uncomfortable from our language? This reeks of the victorian mentality that seeks to impose their moral beliefs and opinions on the rest of us. So few in this country have the ability to grasp that their rights end where my nose and your nose begins.
               
               Thanks for the comments about my education. I am quite certain it will suprise you to discover that I dropped out of high school in the 11th grade. Just goes to show you that if you desire intelligence the last place you need to be is in one of our public schools.

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                  Friendlywordposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                  9th Grade education here. I completely agree with you about free speech. Bad judgement is the topic here!

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   Shadesbreathposted 13 years ago

   The only people who complain about this are those incapable of fathoming the literature. There will always be idiots trying to dictate culture because even dumb people want to have a voice. The rest of society just needs to tell them to shut up.

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   Pandoras Boxposted 13 years ago

   It's the "i" word too, I hear.
   
   You know, that dirty word -- "injun."

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      Stump Parrishposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Little Big Man is my favorite documentory about the Native American culture. Dustin Hoffman did an excellent job with his portrayal.

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   Doug Hughesposted 13 years ago

   Yeah, and I think Michelangelo's David has to be fixed with a Speedo. It's indecent - not to mention puny.

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      tony0724posted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Doug I must not be feeling well. I agree with you.

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         Doug Hughesposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         The law of averages catching up with us both.

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   Mighty Momposted 13 years ago

   If this goes through, where will it end?
   We can't go back and sanitize literature just because it mentions words that aren't PC today.
   And anyone who thinks To Kill a Mockingbird is no longer relevant is completely missing the point of that book! Sad.

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   uncorrectedvisionposted 13 years ago

   Really?  Long over due!  One cannot create the new Soviet Man while wedded to the decadent capitalist past.  It is time to make all literature bend to the sensibilities of the enlightened modern culture.  Maybe we should make Tom and Huck homosexual lovers and get married?

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    tony0724posted 13 years ago

    Is Othello next ?

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       uncorrectedvisionposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       God I hope so.  Shakespeare - dead white guy - wrote in language too hard for us to understand these days.  To Quote Ezra Klein "Isn't Othello like at least a hundred years old. Oh My God! that is like way too old to keep reading.  Isn't it like as old as the Constitution and that is just too hard to, like, read, you know."(hair twirl, gum snap)

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       uncorrectedvisionposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       Casting for a new Othello for an Old New Old Vic production
       
       

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    C.J. Wrightposted 13 years ago

    Isn't there a saying....those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it...???
    
    Of course it should stay as it was originally written. We can't run from our past. We shouldn't dwell on it either. Learn the lesson and move on. How does sanitizing history help?

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       Stump Parrishposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       CJ, how does one go about learning from our history when so many seek to keep it from those being taught? The fact that some don't like the truth is all the reason they need to keep others from learning it. Each time some self serving oeganization manages to censure the history of this once great nation, we move a litlle closer to becoming what they envision America to be. The land of the stupid and home of the ignorant.

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          china manposted 13 years agoin reply to this

          Over here in China they are moving in completely the oppoosite direction with education becoming more accessible and partly free and less and less censorship.
          
          Chinese history - one of the emporers didn't like the way one school of philosphy was going - so he burned all their writings and buried about 500 of them alive to  kill the whole idea.

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          C.J. Wrightposted 13 years agoin reply to this

          Teach your children. Nevery stop being a student of History. There is little we can't learn about today from yesterday.

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             Stump Parrishposted 13 years agoin reply to this

             I am rapidly becoming an advocate for home schooling here in America. The biggest problem I have with it right now is the types of programs that are offered to parents who aren't qualified teachers. I did some research into this awhile back and discovered that, if you desire to home school your children and aren't an evangelical christian, you can't find a program anywhere. With this continued censorship of our national history, it will soon be next to impossible for the average person to discover the actual facts of the country they were born in.  It has gotten to the point that an individual can disagree with something they read and feel it is their right to keep others from making an intelligent decision about it themselves.
             
             If we are required to learn from the very history these people seek to destroy or hide, would it stand to reason that these people seek to have us repeat it. I can only assume that they honestly believe that the only way to stop something from happening in the future is to force people to forget that it has happened before. By removing the fact, dont they also remove the need to examine the warning signs?
             
             By seeking to remove the use of certain words from our recorded history, they are simply taking the path of least resistance to guaranteeing these words resurface every couple of generations. That indicates that somewhere in our history the word "nigger" was a popular slang word used by many races with the same disregard "honky" was. 
             
             I think that as a nation we have the right to the truth about our country both today and yesterday. The fact that part of our history offends some people is just too darned bad. It happened and it might have been some of your ancestors that did it. Deal with it America and remember,  nothing in our Constitution states that you have the right to, never be offended.
             
             Now, unless some of  those who can't accept the truth about our country's past, have managed to re-write the constitution, anyone can do the research on any subject. This assumes that the classes on thinking hadn't already been censored from our schools when they attended.
             
             What is gained by pretending something didn't happen that people still alive, remember? Are some so ashamed of how their generation behaved they have to remove all evidence of the facts from what their children and future generations learn about them?

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                Druid Dudeposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                Fahrenheit 451. The sound of jackboots marching through Krystalnacht. The echoing sounds of Zieg Hiel, Zieg Hiel, Zieg Hiel. The fascists are coming...they're heeerre.

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    thisisoliposted 13 years ago

    Since a lot of modern music seems to contain the n-word, surely the work of Twain is still as relevant, if not more revant to modern day society.
    
    Looks like I can talk as much bullshit as the person who was quoted in the OP :p

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       Stump Parrishposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       oli, Perhaps that's what this is all about. It's a big game of bullshit and he who spreads the most wins. I think i'm going to pick a famous part of our history, rewrite it and see if I can get it to spread as fact.
       
       On to your to your point, Twain made fun of the bible and  nothing Twain said will ever be considered relevent again. Before someone jumps me over this, it's going on right now in this country so there (insert wet  raspberry audio track).

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