OT - History Without Violence

[Charles]

My wife, the college history Prof, had a student come to her with a complaint yesterday. This student purported to be speaking for himself and others. They objected to having a section on the Salem Witch Trials included in the American History course as they didn't want to be forced to read of such violence.

Her response is that she doesn't write history, she just teachest it and facts are facts.

Strange ol world we live in today!

[jeepnik]

Simple solution. Tell the kid to drop the class. If they don't, and don't attend the class on that part of history, fail them. I think it would be a pretty good lesson.

[Kansas Ed]

Tell him to go sit in his Prius and think over his next question before he is stupid enough to ask it.

Ed

[Charles]

She has over 100 students in this class. Before it is over 30 or so will drop the class and about half of what is left will fail.

[mescalero1]

And those who fail and drop are our future leaders! Oi Vey!

[stew71]

Sounds like they need to put on their safety helmets before leaving the house in the morning so they don't get hurt out here...

[J Miller]

If it weren't for violence, the human race would have no history. Most technological advancements came about during war.

Joe

[Cliff]

What would be interesting is to them do an assignment to write a paper on where we or mankind would be today if there was never any violence happening anywhere in the world at any time in history. Or have them describe what they think of violence, pro's and con's. Probably give them all headaches and confuse them the rest of the year. Making them think is just plain wrong in today's world. Good Luck.

[Ridgerunner]

H.G. Wells' THE TIME MACHINE broke it down to the Eloi, such as the milquetoast students and the Morlocks, who represent the thugs and dicators of the world....As I recall, he set the future 800,000 years from now, I think he was off about 799,900 years. His future is now....

[Doc Hudson]

She should have told the twerp:

"The history of humanity is a history of cruelty and violence. Always has. Always will be. Grow up and get used to it."

Reckon that is a result of no good Westerns or WWII shows on TV for the last 25 years of so?

[AJMD429]

Just like the non-hunters who say "I could never kill an animal" - maybe not, but they have no trouble 'hiring it out' to an often far less humane slaughterhouse!

These are the kind of people who mooch off the freedom and material success of others, while criticizing how those people got their freedom or wealth. Guns and Capitalism "BAD". Their hypocrisy destroys both the security and safety of societies once they get into positions of political or cultural influence.

[JerryB]

AMEN DOC!!! that is exactly what we are seeing in our president's bunch of cronies right now.

[adirondakjack]

First they need a BIOLOGY class (without the PC spin) to learn that HUMANS, despite the tremendous capacity for kindness, are predators with a brain. Any COLLEGE grad ought to understand this. If they can't deal with it, they ought to be working the door at walmart and leave higher education to the better suited candidates.

[FWiedner]

There are a lot of fine experienced people working the door at WalMarts all across this country.

I'm pretty sure that those folks could tell you a thing or two about violence and several other facts of life.

[greyowl]

It would be good if a history class could be taught that did not have violent content, but it would not be real history. History is reporting what happened, and as best as can be determined, why it happened. It can also be a guide as to how to keep something from happening again if it was bad and we have learned from the experience. Or to bring about a similar result in the future if it was a positive thing. It's like using ammo that your rifle doesn't shoot very accurately, and you know it. When you miss the shot you shouldn't be suprised, history told you it would happen, then you get violent calling the gun the ammo the weather and everything but yourself a *** for missing. So history and violence go together, if we ignore history we often get violence.

[2ndovc]

Unreal!

I can't imagine how these sissies are going to turn out.

Tell them to read a book about the first or second world war and find out
what violence really is. Read about what the Germans did to the jews or the Japanese did to
the Chinese and Koreans.
The Salem Witch Trials will seem tame in comaparison.

Or the Dark ages when you could be struck down just for standing in someone's way!

What a joke!

[GoatGuy]

There are a lot of fine experienced people working the door at WalMarts all across this country.

I'm pretty sure that those folks could tell you a thing or two about violence and several other facts of life.

+1!

[Charles]

Greyowl mentioneed the Holocaust. The college where she teaches has blocked all major Holocaust sites on their internet server as they are too violent and don't want their students to go there. My wife objected as a historian to this censorship and inability to do research on 20th Century history. Her objection got her no where.

This is a Texas state school.

And so it goes in this the year of our Lord 2009.

[Bullard4075]

Didn't that "violence" thing start oh... about Cain or so.

[mescalero1]

Charles,
I went to school in Texas, when did they get so sissified?

[handirifle]

Now I'd figured this was a CA school, but TEXAS? Good Lord, what is it coming to? Very sad. That is not history, this is the land of make believe. These are the same folks that go around rewriting history to suit their way of twisting facts.

What's really sad is when you hear people try to do the same thing to Pearl Harbor memories. They do not feel it's appropriate to "offend" the Japenese people. Well I got news for them, the Japanese that did that, needed a bit more than being offended. They needed what they got.

I get really PO'd when people try to rewrite history to make it more acceptable today. It is what it is, whether it was a good thing or a bad thing, is something we each take from it, but it's NOT our duty, right or responsibility to rewrite it.

I am now a former government employee (retired) and was fed up with all the PC stuff that was going on. The things I was not allowed to participate in, or talk about. By golly I am now! 26 1/2 years of holding my toungue and now it's a gonna flap.

[adirondakjack]

One oddity here is TEXAS gets a bad rap for BEING violent (use of death penalty, etc), yet won't let kids learn about the holocaust????? Sounds about as silly as the Islamofascists and their Madrassa schools where they don't learn anything except that which is approved by the head clerics, and makes their side look good (or how the Soviets rewroter history every few years, excizing mention of any rivals to the regime, etc) . A recipe for even MORE tragedy. HISTORY ought to teach us about progress and enlightenment and impediments to same, and about the evils of dictators, etc. Sure "we" (Christian western world) had some nasty history like the inquisition, Salem witch trials, etc, but if we don't talk about it, how do we progress beyond that? WE DON'T.

[Charles]

Political correctness has nothing to do with learning, making progress or any such things. Political correctness is all about people's feelings and not making anybody feel bad about anything. It is institutionalized "feelgoodism".

I don't know how much of this applies to other Texas institutions of high learning. I am only talking about where my wife works. I teach at a banch of the Univ. of Texas thirty miles south and have had no problems. As long as a professor uses common sense in the classroom, there are no problems. But, I had not tried to access holocaust sites from one of their computors. I will have to give that a try.

[Ysabel Kid]

Problem with most of the last several generations, mine included. They think somehow what they "think" or "want" and especially what they "feel" means diddly-squat. Good for your wife Charles!

[Old Time Hunter]

There are a lot of fine experienced people working the door at WalMarts all across this country.

I'm pretty sure that those folks could tell you a thing or two about violence and several other facts of life.

Excellent comment from my stand point!

Grover Cleveland once said that "education" is the opportunity of youth and intelligence is the reward of experience that eliminates the prejudice of teaching. Teachers have to be aware of their own prejudices and the ones imposed upon them by "educators". That being said, the bulk if history is repetition, only violence is recorded.

Any "educator" of any ilk will make people read Aurthur Schlessingers history of the American People and see even in our nation's short history, we keep repeating ourselves...except around the violence.

[El Chivo]

for a while Rush was going over some changes to history books.

They deleted or reduced lots of "evil white male" accomplishments and inserted lots of feminist milestones. For example there was 1 paragraph on Chrisopher Columbus, and 10 pages on "Seneca Falls" which was some feminist sit-in. Bunch of ladies refusing to churn butter or something.

[rhead]

The statement that "violence never settles anything" may sound nice but it is a lie. Violence is usually the only thing that will decide anything. How many instances of global or national importance were decided without the threat or application of violence.