On Monday night, the Mukilteo School Board in Washington approved a resolution to strike To Kill a Mockingbird from school reading lists. The move was supported by District Superintendent Alison Brynelson, according to the agenda.
The book has been controversial since it was written by Harper Lee in the 1960s. It has always been a big seller and the theme addresses the unfairness of racism.
The school decided the book is racially insensitive. However, it is actually anti-racist by depicting the times as they were and the cruelty that ensued.
The novel is not outright banned and can still be found in school libraries, however, and teachers may be allowed to use it in the classroom if they choose, Fox News reported.
According to the school district, parents, teachers, and students who spoke at the school board meeting spoke overwhelmingly in favor of removing the book from the required reading list, with one student arguing that the book “…did a lot of damage” to her as the only black student in the classroom.
“It really did a lot of damage,” said district spokesperson Diane Bradford to Fox News. “Not only was it uncomfortable but for her, it turned out to be traumatic because of the way that it was handled and what it brought out with her classmates,” Bradford said. “She said it actually led to more use of the n-word and she felt bullied as a result of her response in class.”
If that did happen, it sounds like the teacher handled it badly. The book should teach the opposite.
The school is now basically burning the book.
The book is set in the 1930s and focuses on a young white girl who must learn to understand the racial injustice of her small Alabama town. In the story, her father, a lawyer named Atticus Finch, defends a black man falsely accused of raping a young white woman. Despite all evidence proving his innocence, the jury finds the man guilty of rape.
The book focuses on racial injustice and its message is clearly anti-racism.
You can comment on the article after the ads and subscribe to the Daily Newsletter here if you would like a quick view of the articles of the day and any late news:
I’m amazed at how History is so damaging to the fragile Liberal mind. I was taught through much of my Grammar School years that Hitler was German and so by extension Germans were scumbags. In my study of history I found that Hitler was born Austrian and moved to Germany to be a world class trouble maker. In my study of Ancestry, I found that my Great Grandfather was Austrian and came to America in the early 1870s. My ancestry does not make me a World Class Troublemaker. I am not troubled or horrified that I am of Austrian Ancestry as was Hitler and no longer look upon German’s as scumbags. This took enlightenment as teenager when I dropped out of high school and going beyond the “indoctrination” of the American Assembly Line so called education system.
We need to teach real history with all it’s imperfections and flaws so people won’t make the mistakes of the past. I seriously worry about how people are so easily “disturbed” by History and are so willing to become a victim because of the historical imperfections of man and people in the past. One of the things I got out of “To Kill a Mockingbird” was how the American Justice System claims to seek Justice. In reality it is little more than a dual of words between Lawyers and is very imperfect as it is not a quest for truth or justice. Justice in America is a battle to be won. The root reason for this is money and greed. The Justice System in America is now not only business, but a tool for abuse. It is not a call to civic duty.
While Capitalism with it’s money and greed and power are good drivers to advance society, it is not a good formula for Justice. Justice requires a much greater dependence on morality and common sense. That requires a strong religious conviction because to administer Justice you have to be able to judge the soul and intent of the accused. Too often we Judge people based on a moment in time and not a view of their whole life and accomplishments that advance the soul of society. This results in life long criminals going free and one time incidents condemning good people to prison. Take the money out of the Justice System and hire “Professional Juries” that can’t be easily manipulated and Justice would be far more fair because it would be far harder for the State to let criminals off and railroad others. A reality of life is some crimes are morally justified and other acts really are criminal while not violating the law. Uneducated Juries can easily be manipulated and many are subject a mob mentality. That results in very bad verdicts. It takes controversial books and in depth discussion of the issues they raise to truly educate our children.
” Your purpose in the nomenklatura would have been to increase the power and influence of yourself, while obtaining more resources and power over the common population. You would have had to dominate the politics, military, industry, and the entire state with a parasitic bureaucracy controlling every aspect of life. And, you would have had to it in the most inefficient way possible.”
The Pandaemonium of Screwtape (Milton/Lewis reference). (h/t-JGC)
When the Salem racist hysteria really gets going with active purges and executions will external enemies make their hostile takeover move?