Political Correctness.. a dilema

[thereallyniceman]

I have been editing more banjo scores for the MUSIC LIBRARY and many have titles with the "N" word and Coon, Darkie etc etc.

My dilemma is, do we post these scores as original or, do as seems to be the way nowadays,  change them to make them "more palatable"?

My opinion is that they were written at a time when they must have been deemed widely acceptable and we are re-writing history by sanitising them.

What to me seems to be the greatest contradiction is that nowadays we are expected to deny racism from the past by altering what happened, the reason being that we do not want it to happen again,  whereas anyone attempting to deny the holocaust is vilified, for the very same reason.

Perhaps I am a naive but it seems a bit of a paradox to me.

How would members prefer that "dubiously" titles scores are dealt with?

[Trapdoor2]

As vile as some are, they are a window into our past. Keep 'em as is. Put a 'disclaimer' on the lead page.

When I'm playing or discussing these tunes (or this period of banjodom) in front of an audience, I usually spout a few sentences about tune titles and cover art, etc. Greg Adams has a whole soliloquy on the subject for his "Minstrel Era" presentations.

Some of the tune titles have hidden idiomatic meanings. "Sunflower Dance" is one of them.

[Greg Adams]

This is an important, real issue, Ian. Thank you for bringing it up. In my experience, we cannot ignore the past because too many aspects of banjo history are tied to persistent cultural traumas such as racism, slavery, and exploitation--things that run counter to the great, positive sense of community this site and others can create.

One response I can offer is that this site and others need to consider, use, and acknowledge the ways in which banjo history and the artifacts of that history were not only used in the past, but also explore how the legacy of that past is still a point of major impact today. On the Ning Minstrel site, we made an attempt at addressing this. I offered this youtube video as a way to bring these issues forward: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4kXHBnnakc&list=UUf99nxmXL2E1D0...

My feeling is that we all have to take responsibility for our involvement in this music, its history, and its impact. If we are not going to change lyrics or titles, we have to be prepared to have conversations with our audiences and community members about what these materials might mean. The problem is that not everyone is going to do it in the same way. I have been working to come to grips with these issues in my own life and this is depicted in my recent graduate work: 19th-Century Banjos in the 21st Century: Custom and Tradition in a ...

These historical realities have the potential to push us out of our comfort zones. The question is, how will we react to the cognitive dissonances that accompany our own involvement with this form of the banjo (and others) and potential to both build community, on one hand, and, yet, maintain or perpetuate divisive attitudes, on the other.

No easy answers, for sure!

Greg

[marc dalmasso]

mainly France , UK & Germany , wez are on the point to become mad with this ........ forget it , Ian , it is an historical site  and , ,;;;;;;;;;more , my wife is spanish , she say  negro for black , the colour  ; less problems in Spain for this ;

[Jody Stecher]

"Politically Correct" is a term invented by the opponents of those who advised an ethnic majority to be aware of the sensibilities of ethnic minorities. The term was intended to sound ridiculous. The attitude that was being ridiculed  is founded on a good idea but which has been implemented blindly and stupidly. An answer to Ian's question may possibly be discovered by abandoning the notion of PC and instead asking directly what harm or good is being done by preserving or changing the original titles etc of certain banjo solos, artwork etc.  In other words forget about ideology and look directly at the situation.  My tentative conclusion is that a strict across-the-board policy would be less effective than a case-by-case basis.  

Marc: in the USA "negro" and "nigger" have different emotional connotations and they are different in different communities, and the effect of the word depends on who is saying it and in what tone of voice. Broadly speaking, in 2013 "negro" sounds outmoded and stodgy, and "nigger" sounds like an incitement to violence against a person of African descent, though not in all cases. In French speaking southwest Louisiana  "  'tit negre' " (pronounced tea negg) is a universal term of affection. I have witnessed its use black to black, white to black, and black to white without a hint of a problem. So It All Depends. But "negro" is not a problematic word like the other one is. 

Personally I think the ABF's retitling of the banjo solo Niggertown to Banjotown results in a better title when spoken. When presenting the repertoire I agree with all those here who have advocated not revising history. A general disclaimer declaring the good intentions of this website might be a good idea. A central idea to put forth might be the following:  Classic Banjo as a field is not racist. 19th century and 20th century white American and British society *was* racist and the titles of some of the Banjo Solos reflect the values of that society.

[Steve Harrison]

They are historical documents which, as you say, reflect opinions and attitudes of their time. It's a dangerous precedent to start rewriting the bits of history that may offend modern sensibilities or with which the government of the day disagrees. Josef Stalin and subsequent communist governments were masters of this.  As Orwell said "He who controls the past controls the future" I think we should publish them as they are and be prepared to answer any criticism. Presenting true historical facts, however unsavoury they may be, is not against the law even if some people may be offended.

[Mike Moss]

The good thing about Classic Banjo is that there are so many solos published that you can easily learn and play thousands of them without having to deal with racist titles. To be honest, in most cases the racist titles seem more like a gimmick intended to sell more copies at the time -- racism was practically an industry at the turn of the century, and it was used to sell all kinds of products, music was no exception -- and the solos themselves are quite harmless, but it does pose a problem nowadays. The music is a portrait of its era and to change it would lead to an idealised misrepresentation of our troubled past. Of course, CB is not the only genre affected by this problem -- many Old Time standards are nothing but whitewashed late-minstrel songs with originally unsavoury lyrics. The modern banjo itself, as an instrument, was born from a form of entertainment based on caricatures of black people.

I personally avoid songs with un-PC titles as I'd rather not have to give explanations about the music I play or post online. It would be easy for someone to get the wrong idea on what this is all about and to think CB is about hatred rather than music.

[marc dalmasso]

I am with Steve ; even if you do not use the " racist " tittles , one daay , there will always be somebody to say " you play this music because you are racist " or something like that ;;'((((((((((((( live experience , one day , a girl said when we wera playing bluegrass ; " i hate you , you play  the music of the cowboys who killed the indians " , no joking , true , lol ......... 

[Jody Stecher]

To fully appreciate the (unintended) irony of the girl's comment to Marc one must be aware that there was no bluegrass music before 1945 and that a significant portion of the first generation bluegrass musicians (and now as well) have Native American ("Indian") ancestry. All were and are proud of that. 

[German David Patarroyo]

Interesting subject Ian. My comments about it: To me, music is simply another aspect (a big one) which describes a society, therefore it is a good tool in order to trace our paths (as society) when you put all in a historical perspective. However, if someone modify or adapt some of these aspects (e.g. a song title, a fact, etc), I consider you lose part of the tale you want to understand (how, when, why). It is quite similar to read a scary story omitting the ugly parts because you do not want to have nightmares at night. All societies have a awful memory, so we have to treasure all the aspects no matter they are despicable. Therefore, as a single individual we have the responsibility to preserve any kind of knowledge we collect in our lives...music is a beautiful subject, but besides it there are hundreds of aspects related with the tune, the author and the interpreters (again, why, how, where) that we can share with people, again enriching ourselves and more important our mesmerizing mankind. 

In conclusion, it is not fair that we put away tunes because their unfortunate names (actually), lets play them no mater what people say about us and moreover, lets talk the story behind them...

[Steve Harrison]

Music also evolves out of peoples personal experiences. A classic example is the blues which was born out of oppression and slavery. Are we therefore going to ban the blues because this aspect of our history reminds us too much of past sins?

[thereallyniceman]

Thanks to everyone for the reasoned discussion and suggestions. Sometimes when sitting here decisions on what to add to or remove from the site come easily, but on this topic I was cautious to include anything that may cause offence without first seeking the views of others. My views may have been contrary to those and it is good to see that the consensus is that I should include these original, though dubious, titles.

 

I will add a disclaimer to the MUSIC LIBRARY, as suggested, and then members will be aware that they may come across scores and lyrics that could upset modern sensibilities.

 

Thank you for the help.  There are currently over 600 scores available for download and soon we should have over 700 !!!! 

 

That is a LOT of FREE music (and a lot of darned Photoshopping).

 

The total is growing all the time.  Enjoy  ;-)

[Richard William Ineson]

I don't feel comfortable with words like Nigger and Coon but I do not know what the answer is. If it is a good tune, it should be played, so, perhaps we should change the title for a regular audience, but keep it for banjo fans. I can't even say the word nigger, I think that it is just really bad.