Friday, November 30: The play will go on. Gary Hines will have to find a different idiotic cause. Will somebody give that man a real job? Or a hobby?
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6:47 a.m. PT: Provocative title, eh? Keep reading.
When I was a teen, my grandmother used to watch “Murder, She Wrote.” I thought the hour-long mystery drama was exceedingly boring. Years later, after the show went into syndication, I watched a few episodes to see if the show lived up to its 80s hype. Indeed. I was hooked. I’ve probably seen every episode from all 12 seasons.
I’d heard the main character, a teacher-turned-mystery-novelist named Jessica Fletcher, was modeled after British mystery author Agatha Christie, who wrote such books as The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (my favorite), Murder on the Orient Express, and Death on the Nile. I don’t know whether it’s true, but I started reading Christie’s novels. I was hooked.
(See Agatha Christie’s Official Site)
I especially enjoyed the novel And Then There Were None. It was originally published in 1939 under the title Ten Little Niggers, which came from a nursery rhyme of the same name. The title eventually was changed to Ten Little Indians, then to And Then There Were None.
By now you’ve probably heard the latest NAACP uproar. With no important work left to do, a local NAACP branch president in Ohio pitched a fit complaining about an upcoming high school performance of a play based on the book.
Gary Hines, who owns a “diversity training” consulting company that no doubt exists because of and has benefited from skin color preferences, said the “lack of diversity” at the school explains why a play based on a book with an offensive original title was chosen.” The school caved and canceled the play. (Source)
Two points here. First, Christie was a product of her times. When she chose the title Ten Little Niggers, the term nigger was in common usage, at least in the U.S. In due time, the title was changed. That doesn’t make it any less offensive, but the book’s original title doesn’t detract from the intricately plotted story she wove together. The book itself isn’t racist in the least. I’d recommend her books to anyone who wants to enjoy a good, old-fashioned, “cozy” English murder mystery.
Second, I think it was ridiculous of the school to cancel the play. But you already know what I think. If Hines is bored with his day job to the point of complaining about a high school play (free advertising for his skin color-based business?), I’d recommend he give it up and travel the country researching racist intent behind everything from local laws to historical landmarks to gun control (I wonder if he believes in the right to bear arms…) to works of art to church traditions. If he looks hard enough, he’ll find it.
The very concepts of dialogue, discussion, and debate have deteriorated in this country, thanks to that odious practice called political correctness, let alone actually engaging in these things. It saddens me that individuals and institutions prostrate themselves before the PC god, deathly afraid of appearing insensitive at best or racist at worst.
Both Christie’s book and play have inherent value worth discussing, and discussing “offensive” things would help those high school students hone their intellect. Engaging in debate – learning how to formulate and support arguments, cross-examine opponents, etc. – is a stimulating exercise that shouldn’t be stifled because the subject might be controversial or offensive. Canceling the play, no matter how trivial it may seem to have done so, sends the wrong (albeit PC) message.
But believing that makes me a product of times past, gone forever.
Also see Michelle Malkin’s posts here and here.
Update: Commenter Doug writes: “Just a note: Christie’s novel was never published in the U.S. under its orginal title, only as ‘Ten Little Indians’ and ‘And Then There Were None.’ Amazingly, the Brits stuck with the orginal title until the 1980s. This is the first controversy I can recall over the book, which is the world’s bestselling mystery novel.”
Look at that Google juice, man. Not a cool distinction, but nevertheless…
Later…Commenter and blogger Bob Krumm writes: “Mr. Hines apparently isn’t against all plays containing the n-word–even plays that still use it. Just three years ago he, himself, appeared in a community theatre production of A Raisin in the Sun.”
Very good!
