book differences

[darrin_burnett]

No: HPFGUIDX 40486


> Rosie said:
> >>I noticed from the differences list that they introduced Dean 
Thomas
> in the Sorting Ceremony in the US edition too, and described him as
> black. Does anyone know if this was because someone decided he 
should
> be introduced earlier? Or was it (as I fear) because they 
thought, "Oh
> no, we better point out that some random characters are black to be
> more inclusive, even though we don't both pointing out when people 
are
> white, and even though it has no bearing whatsoever on the story."? 
I'm
> all for books representing the whole of society... but I think it 
looks
> very clumsy to just point out that the odd character is black, or
> Asian, or whatever, and just assume that obviously everyone else is
> white; it looks as if it's just been done so that the publishers 
can go
> "Look! We had a single mother/black child/wheelchair user" etc.
> Although maybe it was just to get him mentioned earlier. What do you
> think?<<

Liz Muir said:
> 
> It's called PC - politically correct - and it's the reason American
> books and tv shows tend to be not so great. People always have to 
worry
> about someone sueing them for being racist/sexist/biased just 
because
> their books haven't had a major black/female/whatever character yet.
> The sad part being that they actually have to worry about this. 
People
> take consitutional rights and equality way too far over here. When 
they
> have a cow about not having a black person or whatever in a story
> because "we're all the same," it seems like they are proving 
themselves
> wrong, since if we were all the same, it shouldn't matter what race 
the
> characters are. We shouldn't discriminate against others, but you
> shouldn't get special privledges for being a minority either. Does 
this
> make any sense?
> 

Oh, come on now, lawsuits of this kind, if any exist, are extremely 
rare, and have never had any success.

What members of a minority group WILL do, and have done, is refuse to 
watch a TV show, or read a book series, or attend a movie, if it too 
lily-white. That is their right as consumers. 

Inserting minority characters is seen a good business by many 
publishers and producers.

But lawsuits? Please, that is PC backlash taken too far, and I'm by 
no means a PC fan. 

However, if we're going to make a mistake with our Constitutional 
rights or concept of equality, I'd rather we take them too far than 
not far enough.

Having said that, is the phrasing of the insertion of Dean Thomas 
clumsy? Absolutely.

Darrin
-- Doesn't want our European friends to think we're THAT lawsuit 
happy yet.