Is this political correctness run amok?

[LincolnMan]

There really is no safe-guard to prevent any historical figure from becoming a victim of the "PC Police." That, for me is most troubling. There is nothing to prevent Lincoln from falling into the same situation. In fact, he already has to some extent. As I've mentioned in another thread previously, both Washington and Lincoln are no longer posted on the walls of our area public schools.

[Rob Wick]

The term "political correctness" has really no meaning further than something one disagrees with. Given the influence of talk radio and Fox on the conservative movement in America, every perceived slight is blown out of proportion to its real meaning.

That said, I can't see this conversation going anywhere constructive, so I think I'm going to bow out.

Best
Rob

[Hess1865]

Forrest did join the klan, but he wasn't one of the founders and he eventually quit because of the excessive violence. His dedication to a cause he held sacred is unsurpassed. Like I said, we have to look at the times they lived in. That said, where does it end? Do we take all the founders who owned slaves off our coins and currency? It's weak and ridiculous.

The real reason Forrest left the Klan was the fact that President Grant started a major crackdown on the group.
Forrest knew they were violent when he joined.
But regardless of whatever Forrest did, it was in the context of 150 years ago, not 2013.
PC is BS IMO!!

BTW, Grant's crackdown really set the Klan back for quite a few years.

[Laurie Verge]

Shall we start in on Woodrow Wilson since he had some very politically incorrect views according to the standards that our liberal forces set today...?

[Liz Rosenthal]

Shall we start in on Woodrow Wilson since he had some very politically incorrect views according to the standards that our liberal forces set today...?

Sure. For many reasons, I think Woodrow Wilson was a shameful individual and president.

Do you think that being offended by racism is just being "PC"? If so, what you're really suggesting is that racism is not a valid issue - not a significant aspect of American history and not something worth talking about today. So long as we're giving people a pass for thinking a certain way in 1872, then let's fast forward to 2013. Shouldn't we be more enlightened today?

[My Name Is Kate]

Alot of people in Denver want that satanic horse, "Bluecifer" removed from the airport. They say it's cursed because it killed its own sculptor when a chunk of stone fell on him while he was working on it.

(Lucifer has always had plenty to do with history.)

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB12339518...Dslideshow

[Laurie Verge]

This is strictly my own opinion (and I consider myself a centrist - neither liberal nor conservative), but I do not consider that remembering the past and its sore spots is being politically incorrect. I believe that learning about the past, recognizing that you had nothing to do with it, and moving forward in a positive manner is what education is all about.

A statue of Taney or Forrest or a no-named Confederate soldier (and I'm relating this only to the CW era) can be a teachable moment. Teach both sides of the story - good and bad (whether historic event or human) and encourage good reasoning to help understand all sides. Just wiping out our ancestors because their way of life and thought is different from that in 2013 is not the way to go.

I remember teaching Manifest Destiny to 8th graders and pointing out errors in that way of thinking and some bad events related to the theory. At first, my students (this was in the 60s and 70s) thought that I was Communist! The light bulb dawned after several significant assignments and discussions. You can't wipe out the bad parts of history, but you can try to understand why they happened and move the heck on. We are never going to progress until we do.

[Hess1865]

Shall we start in on Woodrow Wilson since he had some very politically incorrect views according to the standards that our liberal forces set today...?

Strange coincidence, but TCM is running the old bio/movie 'Wilson' tonite

[MaddieM]

Alot of people in Denver want that satanic horse, "Bluecifer" removed from the airport. They say it's cursed because it killed its own sculptor when a chunk of stone fell on him while he was working on it.

(Lucifer has always had plenty to do with history.)

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB12339518...Dslideshow

I think it's rather awesome.