For the first time in a while I have been roused out of my usual sense of “I have nothing to say on this particular topic”. That’s all gone now, dispersed by the winds of “Are you freakin’ kidding me??”.
 |
| Image courtesy of Mr.Enjoy |
Outrage, incredulity and a complete lack of surprise all found their way into my realm when I learnt about a little endeavour that is in the works.
The current plan is to change the school edition of a classic, Huckleberry Finn, because it uses a word that is (Oh dear no! I cannot bear it!) offensive.
They’re trying to pass off modified works as a classic, without batting an eyelash over how much it changes the consistency and point of the novel! The worst part is, it’s not even just censorship. It’s forgery, lies… lunacy.
Ok, ok, I know that this debate has been going on for eons, but I want my two cents in the bank – thankyouverymuch.
First off. One word, good or bad, carries a certain depth of meaning that cannot be portrayed as well by any other word. That is one of the many reasons why writing a book takes so damn long. If you don’t choose your words correctly you will never convey exactly the point you want to, and then what really is the point??
Change the ‘n-word’ to ‘slave’ in editions of Huckleberry Finn and sure, you’ve just eliminated a word that has no place in today’s vocabulary but you’re also destroying the historical implications of the book. Finn’s views of the world have suddenly changed, along with the very essence of the novel. Do this and you’ve begun to crumble the backbone of the classic.
I’d worry more about the generations of youth that use the word in everyday speech. They are the ones causing offence – and I hate to tell you this, but the majority of them didn’t learn it from a book. You can all rest easy knowing that most school children will simply read the notes, learn enough to pass the test, and flip through the pages a few times to make it seem like they actually read it.
Maybe it would be a good thing for students to understand the historic implications of such a word and just why that would have been the only word Finn would have used. Maybe then when they hear it 18 times in their favorite song they will realize just how ludicrous the use of it is. Maybe.
It is amazing to realize just how many passages and works are censored in today’s schools. Here’s a novel idea for you. Instead of ripping out a passage of text because an individual may not approve, or it paints the historic female situation in a bad light – maybe try pointing out that passage and explaining why things have changed.
Or wait. Are you trying to make us forget that not very long ago women had as few rights as a dog, or that individuals with colored skin weren’t even considered to be human? This is our past, as unpleasant and horrifying as it is. As soon as you try and take it away you are also depriving the human race of all the lessons that the past is meant to teach us.
What is next? That’s the part that makes my stomach knot.
Are Jane Austin’s books going to be changed because of how they portray women? Are classic paintings going to be modified because the women are topless? Is someone going to have to wrap a shawl around the Venus de Milo?
Of course, watching porn and promoting products with sex will always be perfectly fine, just so long as it’s making money.
Planet earth. You have lost your mind.
