In the Left’s dream to destroy America, the creation of a new job, “sensitivity readers” was miracled. There are expectations for “professionals” in this field. Consider the following "characteristics" listed by the University of Alberta that sensitivity readers "tend to have":
- They want to make a difference in the world.
- They love to read.
- They belong to a marginalized group.
- They want to work from home.
- They have personal experiences to draw upon.
- They understand that they are not censoring anything.
"Sensitivity readers” critique manuscripts searching for “insensitive, offensive, or archaic portrayals of minorities. These readers are active members of that marginalized group.” No mention of whether they can be white and identify as a marginalized group member. Also, no word on whether they need a comprehensive understanding of history or the types of books “they love to read.”
Once a “sensitivity reader” has sifted through classics (we’ll get to what classics are and why they’re under scrutiny in a moment) they highlight their subjective opinions of what they deem to be “ offensive content, misrepresentation, stereotypes, bias, lack of understanding, etc (etc. could mean anything) and create a report for an author and/or publisher outlining the problems that they find in a piece of work and offer solutions in how to fix [the problems].”
Then, plagiarists are given the green light to destroy classics.
What makes a book a classic? Many children don’t know. New York public schools by and large don’t even distribute physical books, they give the students printouts of inserts, so what they’re reading is out of context and only a sliver of the story. This says nothing about the books from which these printouts originate.
The DOE (department of education) has very important criteria for deciding what books are to be read for kindergarteners through 12th grade; race and gender.
According to silive.com:
“New York City education officials announced a new book list for students in kindergarten to 12th grade that includes more diverse and culturally responsive books. There is a 16% point increase in the number of black authors, from 9% of the authors on the list in 2018-2019 to 25% of the authors this year. There is a 9% point increase in the number of Asian authors, from 9% last year to 18% this year, and an 11% point increase in Hispanic authors. The race/ethnicity of the main characters in the books on the list is more culturally responsive, with 11% American Indian or Alaskan Native, 22% Asian, 20% black, and 21% Hispanic/Latinx. About 11% of the books have LGBTQ characters and themes and 16% feature characters with a physical disability, learning disability, or mental illness that affects their life. The NYC Coalition for Educational Justice (CEJ) released the report, ‘Diverse City, White Curriculum: The Exclusion of People of Color from English Language Arts in NYC Schools.’”
In a country with 75.8% whites, they appear to be represented below 10% of the authors acceptable on this list. If you want a glimpse into why children are confused, angry, and depressed (HHS U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says children’s anxiety has increased by 29%), take a look at the suggested DOE reading list.
Private school children fare better; at least they are given physical books. But many private schools have bowed to an illiberal mob and removed from the reading list beloved authors such as Shakespeare, Harper Lee, Margaret Mitchell, George Orwell and many more.
So what makes a book a classic, and why are they the ones the “sensitivity readers” are targeting? A classic is a novel so in demand, it sells millions of copies. This means two things; first, it’s a target because of visibility. Second, it has struck a chord with readers. Why? A classic represents a genre or a writing style, history, and it is considered to have made a contribution to the literary field. No small feat. Classics are historical testaments revealing to readers sentiments and facts from a period we would otherwise have no understanding.
To revise a classic is to remove the underpinnings of why it is a classic. If certain racist words are removed from To Kill a Mockingbird, the plot isn’t merely watered down, it’s moot.
Recently, Ian Flemming’s wildly successful James Bond books have gotten the whack job. His novels are to be “reissued with a number of racial references removed and a disclaimer that the books might use terms of attitudes ‘considered offensive by modern readers.’” Firstly, how many “modern” readers were polled? Are these “sensitivity readers” or normals? Normals likely understand that the premise of the main character, James Bond, had to be white (unlike the black actors they toy with replacing him with on film) because he was an “Old Etonian” which is a historical reference that is specific to when the books were published, 70 years ago.
By removing subjective “offensive” language, phrases, characters, and plots, there is zero point to pretending these books exist. Moreover, there’s zero point of pretending history exists. How can we discuss the American Civil War? It is impossible to do so without actually discussing racism, the origin of slaves (not America), how slaves were treated, etc. If we can’t get into the details, then what is the proof to the current generation or the ones following us that it existed at all? How can we give reparations if we can’t describe slavery? If the American slave owners are replaced on film with blacks, Asians, transgenders, the picture looks different.
With the ascendency of non-whites in today's society due to the successful revision of actual history, there is no need for affirmative action anymore. As our president, the leader of the free world, Joe Biden stated, “I may be white boy, but I’m not stupid.”
