Should we censor historical language?

I took it to mean that the author had no concept of the meaning of sexism when he wrote the book but obviously included some shining examples in his work.

Mice I don't understand what he meant. Was he saying that sexism doesn't exist and it's just an artificial construct?

I've just been rereading David Lodge and in the afterword to 'Ginger, You're Barmy' he says (in1982)

And in the twenty since the novel was written Jonathan had acquired some new vices that neither he nor his creator had heard of - sexism for instance. It strikes me that several of his observations would now earn their place the Guardian's Naked Ape column.

Worth pondering.

I re-read John Buchan's novels a few years ago and I was horrified at the casual racism they betrayed. I see Tintin has been purged!

We had a favourite book as children - The Wind on the Moon by Eric Linklater - which our dad read to us over and over again at bed time. I bought a copy of it a few years ago, but when I read it, I realised that there were serveral references to smacking children, pretty much as a matter of routine. So it's still in a drawer and won't be sent to any of my GC.

I was also brought up in a liberal-minded family. Sex of any shade was never mentioned but there was a boy in the street who played with the girls and was quite clearly what was then called 'a cissy'. My father merely remarked that he was 'a bit different, but none the worse for that'.
Oddly enough, the boy was not bullied.
We also had one mixed-race girl who was accepted without question - she had short frizzy hair and would spend hour plaiting my long, fair hair into dozens of little plaits - it took my mother ages to undo them!
I was bullied a little when I was going to grammar school in my uniform, so the prejudice on the back streets of Salford in 1950 seems to have been based more on class-hatred than on ethnicity, colour or sexuality!

Your father seems to have been most forward thinking Joan and you were very lucky particularly at that time. My mother was also before her time and used to suggest 'I don't need to be equal to men; I am better than them'. Mostly I feel the same but find that the older I get the less tolerant I become.

Personally I feel the word 'black' is misused in relation to people and to me it holds an evil quality which is not what I think or feel. We were always told to use 'coloured' intended as a courteous word. I feel the problem wil only be erradicated when there is no desire to differentiate between skin colours at all. I am not white, just a person.

Getting back to the OP I think my opinions have been changed and it was right that those black toys should be written out. If I had the originals, which sadly I don't, then I would explain to the DGC but why on earth did anyone want to mess with PC Plod?

We got this version: The Tale of Little Babaji for DD3 in the early 2000s. It's a great, classic story. My other (older) daughters missed out on it because it was so non-PC when they were small.

I was interested to read in the Wiki entry about it that the Japanese loved it, partly, it seems, because 'sampo' means to go for a walk

I don't think the original version made me racist. I think it made me accept Little Black Sambo as someone just like me when it came to nice new clothes and scary tigers. And his mum and dad were lovely.

Time to stop agonising about every bloody thing methinks.

We all change, Hannoona, especially from our childhood attitudes. We simply did not understand the issues as children. As a little 5 year old, for example I was instinctively homophobic.

While walking with my Dad we bumped into a man who worked for him, Alan. I had only ever seen Alan in his boiler suit and flat cap before, but here he was, gay as a daffodil, in a linen suit, shirt embroidered with roses, and long auburn hair cascading over his shoulders. I was decidedly rude, staring and giggling etc. When we parted company and went on our way, Dad took me to task about my attitude. So I criticised Alan's hair and clothes and the fact he and Dad had talked about Alan's BOYfriend.

Well, Dad asked me why he was not allowed to have long hair. and I said that was wrong for men. "Why?" asked my Dad, "Should we all look alike - wouldn't that be boring?" In the end I conceded that it was OK to have different hair.....the questioning went on and on, all the way home, until by the time we got home I was embracing differences and being glad of them. I believe Dad's way of questioning me and leading me to a better conclusion is called the Socratic method, but Dad would not have known that. He was simply far more decent about human differences than most folks in 1950.

So I was educated from a very young age against all sorts of prejudices, including racism and sexism as well as homophobia, but the truth is, few people had that advantage.

It took many long decades for change, and as long as we move with the times and reject old prejudices and bad attitudes, we should not be ashamed of what we once thought.

Little Black Sambo was my favourite book also and I recently bought a copy at an antiques fair. It cost 90 pounds and its horrible reading in this day and age. In fact I cant understand why even back in the day it was my favourite book.

Was I really that person?

We think its something to do with justice for all! Sounds good! We always say that with regard to the overriding principle!

elegran,

But, what is the over-riding principle?

Kindly explain, galen ??

No, you were right the first time. An over-riding principal is a headmaster on his high horse.

Is this a misspelling?
Should it be 'over riding principals?'

In the tribunals we have the 'over riding principle!'

So "white trash?" (Wooden spoon)

It is quite a simple origin - from the latin word for "black", as the French word "noir" also did. Like many words it started as a factual description (of people whose skin was a lot darker than people of European ancestry) and turned into an insult because in America at that time, those people were slaves doing the heaviest and dirtiest work and by association were the least valued.

Still don't understand the origin of the word - I understand the slavery aspect but where does the word originate from? Wonder if Google will tell me!

Probably the connection of the name with the attitude of those who "employed" the black slaves who were called by it, and their treatment of them. It was a term with much more of a note of abuse than Geordies or grockles.

I am totally ignorant as to why this particular word is offensive, can somebody please explain the derivative of it for me? I know we use the words "Geordie" or "grockle" plus a lot of other words to describe the roots of British people with no problem...............I hope that I am not being insensitive - I just need some education

We used to call it "Bullsh*t Bingo" Micelf - same principle - great fun!

oh I have been exhorted to 'drill down' and to 'cascade ideas' to do a 'brown paper exercise'!!

All an attempt to say the same things in new ways!!

Ha ha, MiceElf. We did something similar in our middle managers' meetings, when a particular chief officer, whose every sentence contained jargon, came to visit. We would have a couple of words each to try and shoehorn in. I remember having 'drilling down' (a David Blunkett favourite) and 'lessons learned.' Made a change from the usual meetings, which were like the Vicar of Dibley!

Wonderful, MiceElf!