Unspeakables....And Unreadables

A local Houston Al Sharpton wannabe Quannel X remains a media favorite in spite of his crazy racist rhetoric. Tonight I'm watching the news (because American Idol night is tonight--I also watch House and do some general channel surfing) and there he is decrying the racism of the John Steinbeck novel Of Mice and Men. He said something to the effect, and I'm paraphrasing, "If we're going to get rid of the word 'nixxer' in rap, then we need to get rid of this book too."

The Steinbeck controversy started because a black teenager assigned the novel was shocked at the language, as was his father Jeffery Jordan who says:

"We are living in a society where this word is so offensive. Why would it be okay [sic] for them to have to read this book in class,” said Jordan.

Instead of illuminating how society has changed for the better, the idea is to expunge history.

Some write about the need to have a conversation about what is permissible talk and what isn't. I guess the conversation will need to include classic literature. Who gets to decide what is permissible?

Political correctness sure looks like censorship these days.