NP? "the formerly colonised coming back to haunt us"

[Dave Monroe]

And then ...

--- Cyrus <cyrusgeo at netscape.net> wrote:
> 
> You know I respect you 100%, but I cannot understand
> this kind of reasoning. What if there were only male
> monsters?

Only one (discernably) female monster, vs. many, many
(apparently) male ones ...

> Wouldn't the absence of the female element qualify
> it as sexist too?

This has ceratinly been remarked about Tolkien ...

> I don't see why we should demonize everything along
> the way.

We aren't.  We still read the damn things, and enjoy
'em.  We just like to be conscious of what they might
well be unconscious of, is all ...
 
> Now, as for racism, a writer of fairy tales (and the
> LOTR is one) has to use sterotypes.

Doesn't HAVE to, but they ARE a generic feature. 
Again, thinking the unthought ...

> But the fact is, for Tolkien and his first audience,
> white was good, and black was bad. Why associate 
> it with "white supremacy" and "fear of or contempt
> towards coloured people", and not with "joy of
> daylight" and "fear of the dark", traits 
> common to many people of many nationalities even
> today?

This is not irrelevant, but still ...

> Why not simply ignore race altogether and treat
> everybody the same way?

Well, now that's the problem being addressed ...

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