Prudish dad can't handle Big River

Wow. I'm pretty sure this guy missed the entire point of the show.

madbrian, that'd be boring as hell.

Of course he missed the point of the whole show.

As an African American who has seen the show, it did not bother me. Look at when and where the show takes place. As a teacher I would suspect that you should know that this word was used much more then than it is today. As a teacher, maybe you could explain that it is not now socially acceptatble and explain why it was used.

---

I bet that guy uses that word daily. HYPOCRITE!

Did he call the word unnecessary? I'm pretty sure the word is necessary in that story...

What an idiot.

Again, he missed the point of the show. I'm directing the show right now and the "word" is essential to the story. To take it out would do a great diservice to the show and its intention.

Wow, everything that children see acted out onstage in a show with a far-removed setting and a specific moral message is suddenly "...validated as somehow socially acceptable?" I guess we'll have to remove the Big Bad Wolf from "The Three Little Pigs." And what about those stepsisters in "Cinderella?"

Children have a gift this gentleman doesn't posess: the ability to place a character's actions in the context of a story. Besides, I for one want children to know the ugly, hurtful history of that word. What a great opportunity for post-show discussion.

This man calls himself an artist. I would bet that his "art" involves popsicle sticks and google eyes. I would further bet that he is someone who is frustrated with his lack of influence on any level in the world around him, and is probably a white man who does not have a single black friend.

Why are people so afraid of causing children to think?

im more surprised that a newspaper actually printed the letter than I am that someone wrote it. do we think the editor of the letters to the press page is unfamiliar with Big River and why it uses such language?

no, of course the editor doesnt have to agree with an opinion they choose to put on a page, thats not what i meant. i just wonder the thought behind the choosing, it could very well have been controversy.

Letters to the editor are supposed to represent the voice of the community. And most papers -- except large ones like the New York Times, that get a tremendous volume of letters -- will print anything they receive so long as it falls within the paper's set guidelines. At one of my old jobs, we used to run a big LaRouche-head's letters all the time. He was nuts, yes, but he was a part of the community. They're never edited for intelligence.

To the paper's credit, they're usually pretty good about printing letters that have wildly varying opinions. I'm not at all surprised they ran this letter, as the Barn's two summer productions are kind of a big deal, since they're produced by the County Parks System. Someone objecting to a production that the County produces is exactly the kind of thing the APP would want to print.

Really, he should take it up with Mark Twain.

---