I've heard when you take things out of context it changes their meaning, is that true?
I just sat down and read the whole thread! To hell with records.
What I was thinking about was OliveR's statement that soulstruters were a joke when it came to race topics.
I blame the education system.
Most strutters are responding from what they have learned in school: 1) A long long long time ago there were slaves, but then we realized it was wrong and freed them. After that everything was good. 2) Then a long long time ago there was segregation laws and Blacks had to use a different drinking fountain and sit at the back of the bus. Then Martin Luther King gave his I have a dream speech. We realized it was wrong and stopped making Blacks use a different drinking fountain. After that everything was good.
From this many strutters have come to the conclusions: 1) I am not racists. 2) America is not systematicaly and instutitionaly racists. 3) I have gained (lost) nothing by being born the color I am. 4) If we just stopped worrying about racism it would go away.
1) I had that 78 at my Babas house when I was very little. I realize now that it disappeared while I was still little. Someone figured out that it was not appropriate.
2) I am against banning books.
3) There is no way that Little Black Sambo is not offensive and racist in this country. There is too much history for it to be viewed otherwise.
4) How the hell can we know what the Japanese are thinking when we don't even know how the book is viewed in India.
5) I work with a volunteer k-3 reading program in a neighborhood school. We have strict guide lines on what books are appropriate. LBS will never be in our program.
6) Huckleberry Finn or LBS could be good teaching tools for understanding race relations in this country.
7) 40 years ago, when I was 9, it was near impossible to find a single cultural image of an African (American or otherwise) that was not offensive, demeaning and negatively stereotypical. A few African Americans (ie Nat Cole, Lena Horne) were what was called "a credit to their race", all others were forced to play to stereotypes or suffer the consequences. One of the goals of the Black Power Movement was to destroy those stereotypes. Lets not bring them back now under the guise that they are just "drawings" or "stories" or "don't have that meaning to me".
Comments
I just sat down and read the whole thread! To hell with records.
What I was thinking about was OliveR's statement that soulstruters were a joke when it came to race topics.
I blame the education system.
Most strutters are responding from what they have learned in school:
1) A long long long time ago there were slaves, but then we realized it was wrong and freed them. After that everything was good.
2) Then a long long time ago there was segregation laws and Blacks had to use a different drinking fountain and sit at the back of the bus. Then Martin Luther King gave his I have a dream speech. We realized it was wrong and stopped making Blacks use a different drinking fountain. After that everything was good.
From this many strutters have come to the conclusions:
1) I am not racists.
2) America is not systematicaly and instutitionaly racists.
3) I have gained (lost) nothing by being born the color I am.
4) If we just stopped worrying about racism it would go away.
I suggest that we all read more.
I need spell check.
Dan
2) I am against banning books.
3) There is no way that Little Black Sambo is not offensive and racist in this country. There is too much history for it to be viewed otherwise.
4) How the hell can we know what the Japanese are thinking when we don't even know how the book is viewed in India.
5) I work with a volunteer k-3 reading program in a neighborhood school. We have strict guide lines on what books are appropriate. LBS will never be in our program.
6) Huckleberry Finn or LBS could be good teaching tools for understanding race relations in this country.
7) 40 years ago, when I was 9, it was near impossible to find a single cultural image of an African (American or otherwise) that was not offensive, demeaning and negatively stereotypical. A few African Americans (ie Nat Cole, Lena Horne) were what was called "a credit to their race", all others were forced to play to stereotypes or suffer the consequences. One of the goals of the Black Power Movement was to destroy those stereotypes. Lets not bring them back now under the guise that they are just "drawings" or "stories" or "don't have that meaning to me".
Dan