Comments on Dealing with racism in childrens' classics.TypePad2012-06-15T17:50:23ZLeilahttps://bookshelvesofdoom.blogs.com/bookshelves_of_doom/tag:typepad.com,2003:https://bookshelvesofdoom.blogs.com/bookshelves_of_doom/2012/06/dealing-with-racism-in-childrens-classics/comments/atom.xml/dangermom commented on 'Dealing with racism in childrens' classics.'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8345169e469e20163069c7a4c970d2012-06-15T22:00:56Z2012-06-15T22:00:56Zdangermomhttp://www.howlingfrog.blogspot.comHey, that was a pretty good piece. I don't quite like this: "And so I’m hedging, cravenly. I believe this...<p>Hey, that was a pretty good piece. I don't quite like this: "And so I’m hedging, cravenly. I believe this is the very definition of white liberal guilt: I feel bad but I won’t change my behavior."</p>
<p>I guess that was about his skimming over the Asterix question? Or was it about not getting rid of Asterix altogether? I don't blame him for leaving the racism question until his 6yo is older, but I see no reason for throwing Asterix away.</p>
<p>History is full of racism. The books reflect that fact. To ignore them or pretend they didn't exist, to me, means you're pretending that stuff didn't happen and we've all been happy forever no more discussion. I'd rather give my kids the original literature with cringe-inducing bits and have to uncomfortably explain things than not.</p>
<p>I'm OK with never reading Tintin in the Congo, which is an awful book. But we have the rest of them, we love Tintin, and my kids know the Congo one exists. (Is it even in print in the US? I never saw it until I lived in Denmark when I was 15-16. I was horrified!)</p>