black race issue alert
I cannot even fathom why there's been such a backlash with the "Read a Book" video. I mean.. seriously. The Rev. Jessie Jackson has gotten in on this. Really? REALLY. He devoted a whole radio show to it; saying such bullshit as "Music shouldn't pull us down, it should bring us up". WHAT THE HELL IS HE TALKING ABOUT? Has he heard any music since
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a) Some of that really cuts through race issues, I think, and strikes a chord with probably any teacher (or, in my case, someone who's been reading about being a teacher for like a week)--"Read a motherfucking book" is such a primal instinct for people in the community who care about kids. That may not be the point here, but I mean, I really liked it. I wouldn't play it in a classroom but only because of the fact that heterogeneous middle school classrooms can't often deal in a mature way with racial language/stereotypes.
b) Jesse Jackson just seems to be confused in a pretty straightforward way--he just has it plain old bass-ackwards.
c) Have you SEEN the CNN piece with the creators of the video? It is, hands down, the WORST piece of television reporting I've ever seen including Bill O'Reilly, et al. It's on Youtube. They lead in with clips from Sesame Street and Schoolhouse Rock and the fucking ELECTRIC COMPANY, which was off the air before we were born, let alone the kids watching this video. Then they proceed to talk about how awful it is that children's programming has deteriorated to this level. There's a panel of self-righteous parents talking about how NOW they have to monitor what their kids are watching. Um, what were they seeing on this SAME SHOW before? But no one makes that point until one of the guys who made the video is FINALLY given a chance to speak and says "Hey! We didn't ask to be held up to PSAs and toddler shows--hold us up to the song they play directly ahead of ours!" The anchor is, in turns, incredulous, hostile, and just bizarre. It's a truly terrible piece of work, with a thread of sanity from the artists who actually say, look, it's great that this has started a discussion about what our kids are watching every day, that's wonderful, because they AREN'T watching Sesame Street, they're watching this countdown, and they're seeing some pretty offensive stuff.
d) The argument that adolescents can't understand satire is bullshit, especially when it's so clear-cut...but parents, here's the chance for some guidance! Don't just turn it off--talk to your kids about it! Ask them what they think it is. I bet they get it, or can learn from a discussion of it!
e) Hi, how are you?
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