Now is the time at SDA when we juxtapose!
CNN, 2011;
According to Publishers Weekly, NewSouth Books’ upcoming edition of Mark Twain’s seminal novel “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” will remove all instances of the N-word — I’ll give you a hint, it’s not nonesuch — present in the text and replace it with slave.
h/t Charles Adler
EBD >
“Do I need to spell it out further?”
Nope, understand loud and clear.
I was actually referring to the server filters though and not deleted comments. I don’t believe I’ve ever had a comment deleted from SDA. Only filter blocks for a variety of reasons. (One is posting from various international locations).
Samuel Langhorne Clemens is rolling over in his grave.
It is the height of presumptuousness to change an author’s words. The progressives (sic) have been doing it to hymns for years.
It’s really quite simple: Either write a new hymn or a new story — but leave the original versions alone. Once you change one word of an author’s work because you don’t like, or are offended — or think that someone else will be offended — by it you’ve desecrated the original.
If in Huckleberry Finn “n*gger” is going to be changed to “slave,” the author’s name should be changed to the publisher that’s doing the changing. It’s a different story.
This misplaced sensitivity is ludicrous and far more offensive than the use of “n*gger” in the context in which Mark Twain uses it.
The Grand Dragon of the -KKK- can stand in a crowd of black people smiling and shaking hands providing he’s wearing nice cloths and speaking politely.
It has happened to everyone at some point or another, you just didn’t know it.
That nice smiling guy who simply couldn’t find a place for you within the company although you felt you had what they needed.
We can gripe about the unfairness of a white author censored over the same words that a black author can use with impunity all we wish. At the end of the day the political correctness of hiding ill motives and feelings burns everyone. Favoring one race in art and literature over another will only cause rife within society, but at the end of the day – That’s what it’s all about for the “do-gooders” isn’t it? Anarchy and civil disorder, trolls and hackers, people who hate society and themselves the worst of all.
Aviator: “So, the “n-word” is just as much a slurred word as “ain’t” or “y’all”, it just means “negro” and is a mere spelling of a corrupted word.”
Only if you ignore history.
“Incidentally, I worked with black Americans who used this word with each other regularly but woe betide the “whitey” who used it. Precluding one part of society from using a word acceptable to another identifiable group smacks of racism to me – or the usual PC overkill.”
Only if you ignore context.
I don’t like that the publisher changed the text, though I can understand why they did it. Seems like the easiest thing to do is to just not buy their version.
Just wondering,has anyone ever used the term “African-Canadian”?
I believe Budweiser (or some other beer co.) had an ad a few years back in which they celebrated Hannibal as a great “African-American”, which is a great deal more surreal than the idea of African-Canadian.
Davenport >
“Seems like the easiest thing to do is to just not buy their version.”
Exactly! I want a censored version of “Roots” where white people aren’t demonized and never use derogatory language towards the Negro.
After all it is a work of fiction based on non fiction, and Alex Haley made up the dialog in his head. He obviously wasn’t actually there to witness the dialogue between “slave” and white slave master, he is simply guessing at the dialogue.
The discrimination of whites makes me feel uncomfortable reading Roots and I’m with Davenport that we should have a choice of two versions or more to pick from.
Good thing Mel Brooks isn’t filming Blazing Saddles in this day and age…
Davenport: “I don’t like that the publisher changed the text, though I can understand why they did it.”
So can I, they did it to get brownie points with liberals, is why.
Typical liberal that you are Davenport, they do what you want and then you turn your nose up at them. Liberalism is chick logic writ large.
The publisher claimed that they were trying to make the book more acceptable so that schools could still include it in the curriculum without parents objecting. I personally think they’re trying to capitalize on a part of society that should not be pandered to.
First off, check out Chris Rock Black vs. Nigger. Spot on. Remember him being interviewed by Ed Bradley. “You got your blacks and you got your niggers.” At this point Ed was ready to vault across the table and throttle Chris. “The black man works hard to raise his family right with morals, values and a good work ethic. The nigger is the neighbour who breaks into his house on the weekend and when he gets back says “Hey man sorry to hear about you gettin’ your house busted into”” Ed sat down rather meekly. I am paraphrasing.
Second, this sounds like Ray Bradbury’s Farenheit 451. Nuff said!!
“Damn you, African-Americans! I’ll enslave you and hold you in contempt as is my post-colonial Caucasian folly!”
Nope. Doesn’t have the same ring to it.
You could be doing more harm than good.
Posted by: Osumashi Kinyobe at January 5, 2011 4:11 PM
I disagree. It sounds perfectly Double Plus Good.
Here’s a book recommendation: Nigger: The Strange Career of a Troublesome Word.
Maybe they should replace it with African-American.
I recall a poster at my university during Black History Month with the title, “Great African Americans.” One of the men pictured was Nelson Mandela.
I recall a pharmaceutical ad that said, “Side effects may be particularly pronounced for African Americans.” So I suppose blacks from Africa and Europe will be just fine.
But we don’t speak of those “unpersons”, Colin.
Or do we?
The rules change so much that I have forgotten.
Do ‘e-readers’ burn at Farenheit 451?
Once all those people offended by all the Christ in Christmas get a look at the bible, sharpen the scissors.
Whatever. Make sure your kids read. To Kill a Mockingbird (another N word filled book) and Huckleberry Finn are just great books.
As for the N word- the ol’ Gray Lady…
http://www.nytimes.com/1993/01/24/nyregion/rap-s-embrace-of-nigger-fires-bitter-debate.html?pagewanted=print&src=pm
You know. I am just getting tired of pointing out double standards. All I know is they are losing right now (Thanks Ford, Harper, Boehmer).
We know a guy in Dallas who is actually a descendant of the character portrayed as “Jim” in Huckleberry Finn.
The slave’s real name was Dan and can be found in several places in the new publication of Mark Twain’s autobiography. Clements wanted the publishers to wait for 100 years before they began to release the volumes that have started to come out.
This man who is Dan’s desendant has gone on digs around the old Clements home site with archeologists and also is in cooperation with several professors and Clements societies to try to understand life as it was then and his own roots.
This man (yes, he is black, of course) would be horrified at the idea that his family’s record was being expunged. For this man part of his legacy is the authentic experience that his family actually lived. He would not wish political correctness to turn the reality of his ancestors into a fantasy so that liberals can feel more comfortable with themselves.
Blotting out the realities of history for childlike reasons and political expediency is immoral, and people forcing it to happen are culpable of a crime against history.
That certain words trigger the spam filter and others do not is a private matter that shall remain between me and the trolls.
Thus, I would appreciate it if regular readers would do me the courtesy of not speculating about my motives.
Kate >
Ok.
Apologies 😉
Courtesy extended forever this day forward……..BTW thx for posting earlier comments 🙂
ECM @9:33 – I’ve always thought that this sort of thing was a real problem with the expression “African-American”. Q: Who was that guy you met? A: I don’t know; tall, blue shirt, African-American…
But what if you don’t know he’s American? Not everyone is, you know.
What’s wrong with the word “Black”? You know they’re going to change AA to something else in a year or two anyway.
Black Mamba>
On that thought, the white South African movie actress Charlize Theron has been shat upon smartly by the PC mob when called the “prettiest African American woman in the world”.
All of the sudden, the label doesn’t fit.
What’s wrong with the word “Black”? You know they’re going to change AA to something else in a year or two anyway.
~Black Mamba
I like the term “darkie”.
It’s sorta the flip side of the coin that has “whitey” on the other side.
Changing historic literature erases the historic value of it.
It’s like dynamiting the Bamiyan Buddhas and pretending that Afghanistan was never populated by the Buddhists who built them.
We don’t have to go back to Mark Twain to find ‘sanitizers’; the PC busy bodies have been ruining movies from the past by editing out all the smoking scenes. Smokers are spat upon, sneered at, avoided, demonized and called names. Most of my ancestors smoked tobacco, why should I be forced to ‘tolerate’ the open slurs aimed at my ancestors.
Further, my ancestors were Celts (mostly from Scotland but some from Ireland), some people incorrectly use the hard C (k) to say the name ‘Celt’, should I be offended? My ancestors were starved and hanged and harried for being Celts; they were called Monkey Men,Savages…many Irish people in the Northern States of America, prior to and after the Civil War, were wage slaves – they were herded into a factory compound and kept there working 14 hr. days, supplied with a shack and forced to spend the ‘script’ they were paid in the company store. IMO, it is time to get over our ‘colonial’ segregation and become citizens of the not so new world country in which we all were born. Let us learn from past mistakes and respect (or not)people for the the true value of their character: deeds, rather than skin tone or where some distant ancestor originated. We are doomed if we continue along the PC route. PC has no sense of humour (as with all pinko commi types) and we all need to laugh – most important we must laugh with others at ourselves: ALL of us! Who is more entertaining than Red Skelton, Charli Chaplin or those crazy Air Force prisoners in Hogan’s Heros or Prissy in Gone With The Wind?
The PC crowd remind me of a bunch of old thin skinned ultra religious old maids. The latter never had any fun and they never will have any fun. They hate to see anyone enjoying life because they have given themselves permission to wallow in their own made up misery and think that everyone else should be doomed to the same boring hellish existance. We have too many idle bureaucrats in USA/Canada; too many power hungry fools – we are being bullied and the only thing to do is poke fun at those who are making up rules and getting paid to ruin our lives. PC gument ilks hate getting laughed at – they have no sense of humour so they get undone and angry and that can be very entertaining!
Jema 54 >
Huh. Well Said.
It’s funny though, all the struggles of the Irish to independently gain wealth and rise to some of the top positions of power within a few generations, AND they are still called raciest slave traders by default of their skin color.
Can we please have a big FU from all Irishmen who could give a rats ass about Affirmative Action, White Guilt and “where’s ma goddamned food stamps”.
“Dat roots book, I wrote dat book, dat book is mine” (fake letter appearing in National Lampoon, signed Alex Haley)
That was soo long ago; could you make a joke like that now?
Knight 99: “The discrimination of whites makes me feel uncomfortable reading Roots and I’m with Davenport that we should have a choice of two versions or more to pick from.”
So publish one.
Davenport says: “So publish one.”
Leaving aside the copyright issues involved there, let us assume it is done.
What will be the reception to such a thing, Davenport? Will taking the n-word out of Roots generate the same eye-roll/whatever response as taking it out of Huck Fin?
Or more likely, would your side of the aisle seize upon it as a bloody shirt and have a few jolly good riots?
Its a rhetorical question, btw. We all know the answer.
On the inside:
“In this book a number of dialects are used, to wit: the Missouri Negro dialect; the extremist form of the backwoods Southwestern dialect; the ordinary “Pike Country” dialect; and four modified varieties of this last. The shadings have not been done in a haphazard fashion, or by guesswork; but by painstakingly, and with the trustworthy guidance and support of personal familiarity with these several forms of speech.
I make this explanation for the reason that without it many readers would suppose that all these characters were trying to talk alike and not succeeding.”
THE AUTHOR
On the back:
“All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn”
Ernest Hemingway
By the way Davenport, any word on when the hordes of Left wing Feminism are going to descend on the Juba Cafe, to punish them for their discriminatory women’s seating section?
Just wondering.
Davenport >
Why work at anything? I’m sure you would agree that it’s so much easier to kick back on someone else’s time & dime.
We’ll wait for the new versions together and just stay high. 🙂
Being a blonde, busty female of Ukrainian descent, I’ve heard more derogatory jokes and comments than the average bear. And I’ve laughed at so many of them my stomach still hurts. So, when my husband and I got our two black collies, we named them Ni**er and Sp*ok just to prove we aren’t prejediced. Our only dilemma: hoping our new local vet ain’t black. People that we’ve introduced our dogs to at first seem a bit shocked, but invariably they laugh and say, “All right”!! People need to lighten up and not take life so seriously.
Well Now, I bet CNN (Colored News Network) is in a hissy about this.
,
Muledeer1945, my neighbours have a Black Lab named Toby.(Roots reference)
8^D
In a similar vein; in the museum in Victoria, BC there is, or rather was, in the fishing industry exhibit, an old-fashioned, cast-iron fish-cleaning machine embossed with “The Iron Chink”. Horrors! I remember thinking to myself, “I’ll bet this won’t be here much longer”. So, I wonder, does anybody know if it’s still there. And, if it is, I wonder how long it will remain so, now that I’ve brought it to attention; Victoria being, you know, a hot-bed of rabid, left-coast, PC leftism.
Warren Z hit the nail on the head. This and all the other PC fetish is the modern equivalent of a book burning.
PhilM @9:44 – best comment of the thread. I wish I’d thought to draw attention to something so perfect, so obvious (in retrospect), and so simple.
Rewriting the classics to satisfy political ends is reminiscent of Maoism during the Cultural Revolution in China. The darkest period in China’s history — in the end they discovered that it wasn’t enough to just to change a few words in “bourgeoisie” literature and books, so Mao just banned and burned everything. It sent China back to “dark ages” for decades.
But if they insist on changing “nigger” to something else, at least they should stay true to the contextual meaning — replacing “nigger” with “slave” doesn’t do that! Why not replace it with “Negro” instead. “Negro” is the latin root for “Black” in all of the latin languages where the word originates, is unoffensive and was in common use at the time and still used today in all the Latin languages when referring to Black Africans.
How dumb can these historical revisionists be — they can’t even be literally “correct” about political correctness! The whole thing is ridiculous anyway — when I read Twain’s classics as a kid the thing that stuck in my mind wasn’t “nigger” denigration, it was how cool Jim the runaway slave was and how cool it would be to build a raft and go floating down rivers and stuff…
In the ’50’s and early ’60’s, we had a neighbour
that had a black cocker spaniel they named Ni66er. I always enjoyed it when they would call to him to come in at night. And no, no coloured humans responded to that command. Alas, poor Nig
died soon therafter.
“Because I am hard you will not like me. But the more you hate me the more you will learn. I am hard but I am fair. There is no racial bigotry here. I do not look down on n1ggers, kikes, wops or greasers. Here you are all equally worthless.” – R. Lee Ermey as Gunnery Sergeant Hartman, Full Metal Jacket
Using Hoodwinked.
Jack Cashill
Nelson Current Books.
2005.
In 1978,Courlander sued Haley in a U.S.District Court in New York, for copyright infringement. The suit cited eighty-one passages that had been lifted from Courlander’s The African as well as the plot and certain characters.
The judge stopped the trial and advised Haley to settle with Courlander. The agrieved author got damages and agreed not to discuss this case further.
The MSM absolutely kept their mouths shut in general. Haley was a blatent plagarist. Harold Courlander was a white man, who grew up near black neighbourhoods in Detroit. He had been well versed in black history.
I should have said that Harold Courlander was highly unlikely to have written the particular passage quoted.
Merely that the structure and framework of the account of the African in “Roots” was freely borrowed by Haley.
Don’t you think that censoring the word may make it even more powerful? It seems as if they wanted to erase the bad side of history but what will then remind us that some mistakes should never be repeated?