Learned a new word today

[Juan Marrero]

[quote='My Name Is Kate' pid='48980' dateline='1435356198']
Huckleberry Finn is banned from libraries (where have I been...)? That is an anti-slavery, anti-racist book. Mark Twain intentionally wrote it with an ironic tone to give it more power and make a greater impact on the reader. He hated slavery.

Is it because of the use of the n-word? Take that word out, and its impact is greatly diminished, IMO.

I wonder if banning HF has more to say about today's students than the book itself. There are a lot of schools with discipline problems and having to explain the context of the "n" word to a group of teenagers (regardless of race) might be just be too much bother for over-burdened teachers.

Every child in America knows that the "n" word will get you in more trouble than any other and it might well be confusing to discern when it is literature and when it is hate.

The class focus might end up being all on the "n" word and very little about the book. Think about it being the "f" word instead of the "n", what school would want it on the curriculum, especially dealing with irate parents. Educators, like everyone else, don't want to buy trouble and may figure that "To Kill a Mockingbird" is safer than HF and may accomplish the same reading goal.

Ridiculously, my daughter's eighth grade teacher got grief from several parents when it was announced that the kids would put on an abbreviated "Romeo and Juliet". One dad practically screamed that on no condition would his daughter kiss a boy on stage (even if it was a chaste kiss to a dead Romeo). Next year's choice is likely to be something very anodyne--maybe "Tela-tubies go shopping." Better to put the audience to sleep than deal with the angry parent.

Reminds of something that allegedly Stalin said about dealing with people: "lots of people, lots of problems; a few people, a few problems; no people, no problems." He had a dry wit, I suppose.