hahaha
Yup, because only he’s allowed to express his opinion and we’re not, right? 
I didn’t say that. We’re having this discussion, aren’t we? I was specifically talking about Danson’s free speech joke.
Who gets the last say on what gets changed and what stays in the book?..
Actually, his freedom of speech does not extend to squelching other’s freedom of speech. The book is not his property.
He’s petitioning for schools to drop the book from their curriculum. It’s within his bounds to do so. I’m not saying I agree with him, and I certainly don’t think the book should be changed, but it’s his right as an American to share his views about what is taught to our children. Hell, my high school had an issue way back when with a parent who didn’t think that Greek mythology should be taught to children. He was shot down pretty quickly, but as far as I’m concerned people should be (and are) allowed to petition about what gets taught in their children’s classes. We’re allowed to fight their opinions right back.
Okay, and where did we say he wasn’t allowed to do it?
You implied that I implied that he was squelching people’s freedom of speech. All I was saying is that him expressing his opinion about what should be taught in schools doesn’t affect anybody else’s right to the freedom of speech.
Two massive problems with that:
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You’re from Canada, which was until (relatively) recently an English colony, and before that a French colony.
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Its irrelevant if your “people” enslaved blacks. Its 150 years later, we are a new generation, we can move on, not shove our heads in the sand.
In any case, I think that if a word is only as bad as the meaning behind it. If you read the words “nigger” in a book, then you’ve just read a word. If you call someone it then you are insulting them and its a problem. Banning the people from seeing the word only makes them not understand this concept, and will just lead to more censorship.
snip
Free speech in America often falls victim to the so-called “political correctness” movement, as is art and literature. That’s what I was getting at. This is an example of such an attempt to censor an important piece of literature, just because people might feel uncomfortable reading it or having it read out to them.
If the same was done in Germany, kids in school would never again be taught about the holocaust, or at all about the Third Reich, because their poor little souls could be offended by what they learn.
Instead, what schools actually do is, they send their pupils to the nearest concentration camp museum and have them watch old black and white footage of hundreds of dead jews being shoved into mass graves by bulldozers.
And that’s the way it should be. Never let your children forget what terrible things men are able to do to each other, if they are just taught to do so.
@jethro: No, it goes BEYOND merely making an opinion. He’s trying to impose his will on others…and trying to infringe on others’ free speech rights.
And what we’re saying is that what he’s attempting to do is much more harmful than allowing the word(s) to stay in the book.
Actually I think Sersoft immigrated to Canada.
In any case, the lessons we should draw from situations like black slavery are for mankind, and not just Americans.
Basically. Odds are he came from a place that at some point practiced slavery, just going on percentages. Its far from a uniquely American thing.
But it’s an attempt by a single person, not the government or schools themselves. It’s the petition of one man who happens to be a professor and it apparently attracted some attention. I’m sure that people in Germany may think that, using your example, the Holocaust shouldn’t be taught in schools. When it comes down to it, though, schools, public schools, anyway, are run by the government. Just because this particular professor takes offense at it doesn’t mean that it’s going to be censored at all.
Daniel, one man making an attempt to remove a book from the curriculum != infringing on others’ right to free speech. He is completely within his bounds to petition the book if he so pleases. I mean, if he finds it obscene, why shouldn’t he? Don’t get me wrong; I’m against censorship. I’m just playing the devil’s advocate here.
No, it’s not attempting to remove a book from the curriculum; he’s trying to CHANGE property that isn’t his.
The point that you seem to be missing is what he’s trying to do: Sweep it under a rug because it’s uncomfortable.
oic. You’re right, I didn’t catch the “pushing for a release” part, just the “stop teaching the anti-racism classic.” In that case: NO - He cannot change the book. YES - He can petition that schools stop teaching the book.
Once again my obtuseness impedes my ability to have a conversation. >_>
Ukraine never practiced slavery you numbnut.
And I always thought slavery was a stupid idea, people should all have equal rights.
Human trafficking is a major problem in Ukraine, wat u talkin bout