Let me be rude and judgmental and defer apology.  <LoL>

Any of us from time to time would wield the hockey stick and bludgeon each
other with the arrogance of our ignorance.

That's pretty good.  I'll say no more for now about that and even commend
Joanne for so copiously and generously presenting us with her point of view
and you too Betty.

As for your mother's papers.  Consider: to discard them will also slant her
truth and that of her class.

There are many was to distort history.  Every class,  from "first" to
"least" sees "truth," if relatively.  The apparent constant is that nearly
everyone wants more than already had.  And, along with need and greed, we
seem at every "level" insufficiently informed.

When this country opens Native and Afro American Holocaust museums we well
may address more objectively and more openly acknowledge the complex ways in
which our predecessors practiced genocide and slavery.  We will gain insight
into what some of us view as contemporary racist and imperialist attitudes
and practices.

The thing about Truth is that while it may or not be relative it requires
the willingness and abilities of individuals to "get" it.  ;-)

S.




----- Original Message -----
>
> Date:    Mon, 4 Dec 2000 00:39:58 EST
> From:    Betty B <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Re: Education/Educators
>
> This is very interesting Bobby.  I didn't know the origin of the red oak
> leaf.  I'm reading about the Seminole Indians right now.  This stuff of
> history is truly fascinating.
>
> Joanne, I must apologize for my forceful demeanor in previous posts. I
have
> guilt feelings and I'm sorry for the way I spoke to you.  In retrospect, I
> realize that I was being rude and belligerent.  Perhaps I can explain my
> current train of thought, and I will try to remember to be more kind the
next
> time I am in a debate with someone.
>
> This is a hot topic for me right now because I am going through my Mom's
> papers -- her typed works through the years -- and finding much that
> misrepresents American history. This is no surprise; I knew my Mom for 42
> years.  It's just that I'm faced with the decision of what to keep.  I
don't
> want to pitch out my own Mom's life work, but I am also bothered by the
> premise of white supremacy it represents.
>
> The slant of her belief system was heavily in favor of my family's Anglo
> heritage.  My maternal ancestors were slave owners in Virginia,
specifically
> in the Williamsburg area.  I have -- at times -- been so anguished for the
> people who have been pained by this particular injustice, that ancestral
> pride has often been overshadowed by ancestral shame.
>
> I loved my Mother and cherish my memories of her.  She never abandoned me
and
> when I became disabled she altered her entire life to try to help me.
> Ultimately, I believe that the physical and emotional stress she suffered
in
> my behalf is what really killed her.  I am certain of it.  I can't do
> anything about it, but if I had not been "thrown to the wolves," so to
speak,
> I am sure she would be alive and well now.
>
> If I may digress for the specific purpose of supporting my argument: My
> former comrades will paint the history of these events differently.  They
> will never see what damage they have done, not only to me but to my
Mother --
> the last person in my family and the woman who gave me birth. Because they
> will color these events to their psychological advantage though, they are
> going to do this again.  The next person in their circle who finds himself
in
> similar circumstances will suffer the same fate.  My old friends have
learned
> nothing, or at least nothing they are willing to admit to themselves.
>
> History is likely to repeat itself for lack of courage to conduct honest,
> self-searching critiques.  There is great tragedy in this for everyone
> involved.  It's okay to throw a human being away when he becomes
> inconvenient.  We can't kill him because that is illegal, but we can
pretend
> he doesn't exist anymore.
>
> Lesson learned -- end of subject.
>
> We see the devastating results of white supremacy in our society today.
The
> forceful European influence has had negative and lasting World-Wide
effects.
> I believe that it is imperative -- to the success of this nation's
future --
> for our children to closely examine the sociologic and economic
implications
> of the historical events that got us where we are, and that reestablished
the
> power structure of the entire world.
>
> To wrap up one explanation of why I'm going on like this (because I am
going
> back and forth), I will say that I am in a personal struggle with my
Mother's
> life work.  Do I preserve it, even though it represents everything that
has
> resulted in vast devastation to other peoples, or do I throw out
everything
> that represents who my own Mother was?  I have a dilemma to resolve, and
this
> has come out in my recent posts.  I'm not excusing myself, just giving
some
> background.
>
> It happens also that my thoughts of this personal struggle extend to civil
> rights in general.  We have not given proper attention to the events of
the
> past.  In particular, we are not teaching our children how to apply the
> understanding of cause and effect.
>
> I offer -- for example -- the rise of white supremacy since
reconstruction,
> and how it eventually led to the civil rights movement.  Little attention
has
> been paid to cause and effect in that case.  The civil rights movement
> "simply happened."  To paraphrase James Loewen, everything in history
simply
> happened.  Events in high school history textbooks are not addressed with
> intent to cause students to pause for thought or examine for the purpose
of
> applying the lessons of history to the future.
>
> The thrust of what I believe should be taught to our youth is not to
vilify
> those with European ancestry, nor should it be.  Allowing our students to
go
> out into the world without teaching them the true purpose of learning
history
> -- to understand cause and effect -- is a grave injustice to them, and to
> those whose lives they will influence in the course of their futures.
> Additionally, the falsehoods that we have constructed with regard to this
> nation's history continue to protect the upper layers of stratification,
as I
> recently asserted.  Morally, this is wrong, and it is in direct violation
of
> what we profess to be as a nation.
>
> That is why I am adamant about teaching the truth, and making sure that
our
> children are being taught the truth in the educational arena.  I must
> reiterate that my comments are directed toward text book content.  I am
not
> attacking our educators.
>
> My intent is not to rub the noses of those with European ancestry into the
> past.  My own pug nose has British roots.
>
> Similarly, to cite another and more personally provocative example, there
> seems to be a similar treatment of disability rights.  If we -- the
largest
> minority in the world -- allow this institutionalized manner of recording
> history to be applied to the disability rights movement, we will (I
believe)
> be party to our own condemnation as ongoing members of the lowest layer of
> this stratified society.
>
> Is society "giving" us accommodation?  Did this Eurocentrically dominated
> society assimilate African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and other
> minorities?  In short, is society granting inclusion to those who are
> inherently lessors?  In my mind, that does seem to be the underlying
message.
>  We are quietly, but perpetually, being regarded as the problem segments.
>
>
> To tell you the truth, this makes me a little nervous.  I would like to
see
> children being instructed to take analysis of this subject to the deepest
> possible level.
>
> Plus -- on a general and somewhat lighter note -- children need to be
taught
> that it's cool to think.
>
> Nevertheless, there is no occasion that gives me the right to be rude and
> judgmental. For that, my dear Joanne, I do humbly apologize
>
> Betty
>