Good point, well made DD. Worth the wait!

Clearly we should also rewrite To Kill A Mockingbird, since it blatantly portrays black people as criminals!

Changing the past to suit the moral conventions of today is wrong on so many counts – if we change it, we are in danger of returning to it.

Removing the word in question is dangerous – we need to be constantly reminded that the fight for racial equality and acceptance in the USA, the world’s supposed ‘civilised and democratic’ superpower, has only been (partially) won over the last couple of generations.

Context is everything – surely it’s useful for kids growing up today to see things how they actually were, not as we wish that they had been?

However, how is a teacher supposed to teach it as a great work of historical fiction to a class of different races AND deal with the rights and wrongs of the word “****” being used.

Explain the context & ask questions:

Did Twain use the word himself in his own life?
Was the word used by everyone in society regardless of intention?
What other words were used to describe people of different races and why? When did the word become pejorative?
Was Twain aware that the word was offensive and placed it in the mouth of his hero purely to show that even those with good intentions can cause unintended offence?
All these things could be discussed to give context to the book.

If we don’t talk about these things, they fester.
Pretending they never existed is even worse.

if we change it, we are in danger of returning to it.

Most of your post was funny but this was friction hilarious.

Most of your post was funny but this was friction hilarious.

Well go then DD, explain why! 🙂

Would you suggest a special version of ‘The Merchant of Venice’ with all the anti-Semitism removed?

What about Othello?

Should we delete all references to the Holocaust when dealing with WWII?

Perhaps we should rewrite everything we teach, in case anyone asks awkward questions about the beliefs and attitudes of our predecessors?

CAREFUL! You’ll have the STW police ban you and you’ll then be greeted with “You are banned for 24hrs nasty **** racist”.

This happened to me when i wasn’t even being racist!

For the rest of you purists who are just crazy to read books with the word “****” in there

Ooh, DD you big tease. I’ll cross out the N word in my old edition… and achieve what, exactly? What about its use in A True Story, Repeated Word for Word As I Heard It? Essentially, a dead white anglo-saxon male pretending to be an old black slave woman?

He was quite rude about the Irish on occasion. I’ll start a campaign, just for you. 😀

Anyway, as a post-script to this thread: I keep on meaning to get around to reading this.

(And the last word should always go to A Tribe Called Quest).

Have you actually read the book? What the book actually says is that if you were a black person being tried then in the deep south of America you were unlikely to get a fair trial.

As for Wing Commander Gibson (VC, DFC and bar, DSO and bar) leave him and the name of the dog alone – it was a common name for dogs at the time (and it isn’t now) and it’s a fact – get over yourselves.

Are we now saying that Gibson was a racist and a bad person (which I don’t think he was)? Does it matter anyway considering the debt we owe to him and his comrades?

As for Wing Commander Gibson (VC, DFC and bar, DSO and bar) leave him and the name of the dog alone – it was a common name for dogs at the time (and it isn’t now) and it’s a fact – get over yourselves.

Indeed. Lest we forget, Adolf was also a popular name, but now it is not.

The N Bomb has never exactly been a term of endearment.
Should the books be censored? I dunno. If left in, then I would hope that a good teacher would use it as an anti-racism discussion point, which would then be reinforced by the storyline. Kids will know the word before the curriculum teaches it to them anyway from films, music etc so it’s not like it would be instantly added to their vocab.
Then again, it has been replaced with the word “slave” and if it really doesn’t take away from the story and the message then why not? Also, I don’t like the idea of black children sat embarrassed due to the language of anything taught in school. Undecided.
EDIT;

(VC, DFC and bar, DSO and bar)

FLIPPIN ‘ECK!

He was quite rude about the Irish on occasion. I’ll start a campaign, just for you.

Really. There’s no need. I’m not sure you’d be up to it tbh. 😉

My daughter corrected my singing of bah bah black sheep the other day. Apparently her nursery is teaching them bah bah White sheep.

For why exactly??? That’s not the blimmin words!
It doesn’t even scan right.

EDIT;

(VC, DFC and bar, DSO and bar)
FLIPPIN ‘ECK!

Yes, quite. Bit of an understatement. Those were not handed out with the rations.

Also, I don’t like the idea of black children sat embarrassed due to the language of anything taught in school.

Well, as DD said, this is an entirely valid point – though I would hope that any Lit teacher worth their salt would teach the book appropriately.

But I just find the wider debate bizarre – as if changing the text of Huck Finn somehow lessens the often-appalling reality of slavery-era America. Especially given Twain’s personal beliefs and his tireless campaigning for social justice.

Really. There’s no need. I’m not sure you’d be up to it tbh

No win, no fee – I promise! 😀

Rather than using the N word, could he not just refer to him as his “bro from another Ho”?

Yes, quite. Bit of an understatement. Those were not handed out with the rations.

No joking. I’m not really up on the RAF, I love the stories of individual courage; Paddy Blair Mayne and Tom Durrant are particular favorites. Darcy, you should be familiar with the former?

Darcy, you should be familiar with the former?

Embarrassingly, no 😳 Military stuff not really my strong point. Y’know me…hand wringing pacifist that I am 😉

Hey look, I’m not suggesting that we retrospectively censor every novel/play with offensive terms or that portray certain communities negatively. (yes Rusty, that’s for your benefit matey before you make more silly suggestions) We live in more enlightened times. I’m sure that case by case common sense will prevail. And the more enlightened among us will decide what’s best for the rest of you. 🙂

I studied the Merchant of Venus – at a time when anti Semitic jokes were bandied about quite freely. Did it make us worse? No. Did it reinforce a negative stereotype? Quite possibly, yes.

And the more enlightened among us will decide what’s best for the rest of you

The STW mods can’t be everywhere, mind.

Glad that was taken as it was meant. 😛

Glad that was taken as it was meant

I can’t afford to get on the wrong side of either you or Backhander. I am returning to Bristol in a few months. 😀

Darcy, he played rugby for Ireland, the Lions and went on to be a founder member and eventually CO of the SAS. His antics are folklore even in the modern SAS. Possibly the hardest man to ever have come from these isles.
Noteeth, let me know if you fancy a (slow) ride or a fast beer!

he played rugby for Ireland, the Lions and went on to be a founder member and eventually CO of the SAS

Mark Twain was in the SAS?

Ta, Backhander. I should be back by summer – been away five years and suffering severe Bristol pub withdrawal symptoms…

Literature can only reflect the author’s outlook and is often of it’s time. Updating for modern sensibilities is fine if the context remains undiluted. Is the dog’s name in the Dambusters central to the plot? Probably not, so why offend some of the class for the sake of authenticity?

Obviously if race or colour is the core subject matter, as in Huck Finn, Roots etc, sanitisation would likely be counter productive to the storyline, so leave well alone.