But doesn't PC go too far if it tampers with historical accuracy?
Example: I am currently studying some 19th century US literature; and am re-reading,
inter alia , "Huckleberry Finn" and "Moby Dick".
In Huck Finn, the n-word is used numerous times on many pages, and Jim the escaped slave often refers to himself as a n_____,
because his character would have done so at the time! And it was (presumably) acceptable when it was written.
Should we change it, ban the book or what? Less contentiously, in the notes to my (admittedly old and dog-eared) copy of "Moby Dick", it states that the author, Herman Melville, was "the first noted native american novelist", meaning the first one
born in the USA. Would people now read that, and believe that he was what I hope I am still allowed to call a red indian? And if they do - what has happened in the 30-odd years since my copy was published to cause such confusion?
Have we really got here from a thread on formation call signs - isn't PPRuNe truly wonderful!
