He was great on race, but his gender stuff was always kind of shit.
His bit on white privilege was brilliant. Too bad he couldn’t keep his dick in pants around women who worked for him.
15 Likes
Sure. That is the “cost to community” vs “educational benefit” argument. It’s also a lot harder to teach all of Twain’s intent, the offensive language, and the difficulties Twain has escaping his own bias despite his intention, than it is to simply remove it from the curriculum. It’s certainly a topic that takes some maturity.
But removing it from the curriculum without teaching those difficult lessons in other ways seems more like a whitewash. Considering the prevalence of people that deny racism still exists today, it seems like there’s a long-standing dearth for those lessons.
2 Likes
Are you implying that it’s sometimes removed from the curriculum ostensibly because of the language, but really because the light it shines on America’s past makes some people uncomfortable? I can believe that does happen, and I would agree with your criticism of it.
1 Like
Yes, I think that happens. I also think many people assume the absence or avoidance of racially charged terms equates to an absence of racism, when it doesn’t. Somewhere out there is a good essay on how being nice / polite in the public sphere doesn’t equate to allyship, but I’m not finding it at the moment.
I don’t think you’ll find an essay that advocates white people using the n-word or telling black people not to use it as a good proof of allyship.
8 Likes
Zero tolerance policies are bullshit, and I hope this security guard can get some recompense for this stupid situation.
Also, anyone complaining they can’t say racial slurs, or complaining about having to use euphemisms, even when discussing the slurs as words, is probably an asshole. See: Louis CK.
5 Likes
…Ok? But if you’re teaching Tom Sawyer/Huck Finn, it’s going to come up… ? And if you don’t at least teach the topic, it may contribute to the false notion that racism has been eradicated?
Who said not to teach it? People have to teach charged subjects all the time. It’s why teaching is a skilled job.
There’s lots of wrong people who think sex education has to be some hard choice between either abstinence/silence or field trips to strip clubs. But that doesn’t make teaching sex ed impossible.
Teaching about our racist culture does need nuance, it does need a sensitivity to context and reception, and it does still need to be taught.
7 Likes
A white teacher can teach the subject matter without using the word.
13 Likes
That is the exact context of my response that you responded to? That schools may avoid teaching Twain because it is easier to avoid the topic and terms than it is to present them competently/compassionately?
OK? I am not arguing the book has to be read out loud (although it may need to be accessible in audio format for ADA compliance… but that wasn’t my point at all.) In any case - if the teacher teaches the topic, the word itself will be presented to students in one form or another.
You seem to be equating the idea of dealing with charged subjects in a respectful, contextualized way with “being nice / polite in the public sphere” .
Those aren’t the same thing.
You’re the one who brought up that some people avoid teaching Twain, or teaching about racism. No one here has said to avoid the subject or cover it up or not teach it.
6 Likes
And saying “the n-word” is an acceptable work around for a white teacher. It’s a simple solution that lets the student know what we’re discussing, without having to employ the word itself if one is white.
But again, teaching Twain is not the topic of this thread. How about we get back on topic here.
9 Likes
No I didn’t. Someone brought up Twain and whether or not to teach it like 8 hours ago.
And if you don’t see the relevance of discussing the importance of teaching young people about racism in the context of a school firing someone over a zero policy, well, I don’t know what to tell you.
Are we not talking about inadequacies in our schools?
You weren’t the first to mention Twain, but you were talking about the specific actual people you found to have stopped teaching it.
But what the hell are you talking about here?:
Literally nobody is saying not to teach about or discuss racism in schools.
4 Likes
And it was off topic then, just as it is now.
Though related tangentially, the usage of the racial slur in literature isnt the topic.
The actual subject is the security guard who basically got fired because he didn’t specifically say "Don’t call me ‘the n-word.’ "
Also not the actual subject, though an important discussion to have, to be sure.
You can start the topic yourself if you like, and I’m sure that many people will be happy to oblige you.
7 Likes
To some extent, but it’s not about teaching or not teaching Twain, as we have no idea if this book is on the curriculum there. We DO know this guy got fired for a dumb reason that seems to me entirely unrelated to whether or not a white teacher presenting Twain uses the n-word or the actual word. This school might very well be teaching Twain, but it’s entirely speculative on our part.
Plus, there are many, MANY other books on racism in American TOLD from the perspective of the oppressed. Why an overly narrow focus on Twain as if he’s the holy grail of talking about race in America, when his work was but a single work that explores the themes of American racism and there are likely more effective works that address the conditions of race in America as they currently exist. If we want to talk about racism NOW, reading Ta-Nehisi Coates, Alice Walker, or Colson Whitehead might be better options for that.
11 Likes
His name is Marlon Anderson, and I think we all agree that his firing is a stupid / malicious / racist consequence of an inadequate, inappropriately applied school policy based on his taking ownership of the racially charged word that was used against him.
4 Likes
Good job; that is the actual topic.
Thanks.
10 Likes
