I found Andrew Rilston's notion that it's not what wearing blackface meant *then* that ought to inform our decision to adopt it or not, but what it means now that is important interesting. Also, that it is less important whether you intend to cause offence than whether you actually do.
I've got a *lot* of sympathy for the view that we shouldn't offend people or make them feel scared. I also don't hold the view that we need to preserve artifacts of our past as perfect simulcra.
But how one manages the transition from "X used to mean Y, which was fine, but now means Z, which is less okay" I don't know.
I also still remain intrigued by the number and status of non-white peope in British Isles in historical periods.
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andrewducker) wrote2019-09-01 01:13 pm
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Morris Dancing
I've got a *lot* of sympathy for the view that we shouldn't offend people or make them feel scared. I also don't hold the view that we need to preserve artifacts of our past as perfect simulcra.
But how one manages the transition from "X used to mean Y, which was fine, but now means Z, which is less okay" I don't know.
I also still remain intrigued by the number and status of non-white peope in British Isles in historical periods.