One of the many unfortunate features of living in modern America is the Left’s political correctness crusade. Whether it’s bureaucrats or private citizens, there’s increasing pressure to sterilize our society so that nothing remains that might offend the delicate sensibilities of leftists everywhere.
Things like trigger warnings are bad enough, but when those aren’t considered adequate, left-wing lunatics are using the power of the State to outright ban things they find displeasing. The latest example of this can be seen in Minnesota, where some schools have removed two classic novels from their reading lists because of their “problematic” content.
Ass reported at the New York Post, “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” and “To Kill a Mockingbird” will be dropped from the Duluth school district’s English classes next year because they contain racial slurs. School officials said the move is part of an effort to be considerate to all students, particularly students of color.
District director of curriculum and instruction Michael Cary said that the decision follows years of concerns shared by parents, students, and community groups.
“The feedback that we’ve received is that it makes many students feel uncomfortable,” said Cary. “Conversations about race are an important topic, and we want to make sure we address those conversations in a way that works well for all of our students.”
Stephan Witherspoon, president of the NAACP’s Duluth chapter, said the move is “long overdue” because the literature has “oppressive language.” He said there are other novels with similar messages that can be used instead. So realistic depictions of certain eras are considered oppressive now. One would think they’d want such novels to be read, so everyone can see how evil whitey was and is.
“Our kids don’t need to read the ‘N’ word in school,” Witherspoon said. “They deal with that every day out in the community and in their life. Racism still exists in a very big way.” One also wonders what Witherspoon’s feelings are about the black community’s cavalier use of the “N-word” and other slurs, considering he thinks they can’t even handle its use in a historical, literary context.
The district hasn’t yet determined what books will replace the classics, but you bet they’ll be more modern novels by black authors. What this whole ordeal really is is another attempt by leftists to do away with the Western canon. They’ve been crying for years that curriculum’s and reading lists are “too white” and devoid of authors of color, and one way they’ve made inroads to kicking classics to the curb is by claiming the content is too problematic. It won’t be too long before kids are clueless about the long-standing classics.
Source: New York Post