Friday, 7 January 2011

Our changing standards !

In 1884 that Mark Twain classic " The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn " was published for the first time. It contained the vernacular of the day - and as a result the word " Nigger " appeared over two hundred times.

For the following hundred years that was accepted as being a normal description of coloured folk - and the book was read and enjoyed by millions from most countries of this planet.

Now we have reached the twenty-first century and a reprint of that book will see the word " Nigger " replaced by " Slave ". It is said that to be politically correct offensive words must be banished from the dictionary - despite the fact that changing history distorts a great piece of writing.

How strange that we seek to tidy up the language of the past - and at the same time our films, newspapers and television are peppered with words that would have been considered utterly offensive just a few decades ago.

Even the F-word is freely used on television after 8-30 on most evenings.

What a pity the censors see fit to decimate the raw appeal of this entertaining story in the guise of mitigating offence. History censored is history rewritten !

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