AMERICA IS LOST. We have become senseless, stupid and accepting of idiocy.
“It’s the single most offensive display of public art in Pittsburgh, hands down,” Paradise Gray, a hip-hop activist, musician and writer, told the Post-Gazette in August . “It permanently depicts the black man at the white man’s feet………Others say it highlights that Foster was inspired by black spirituals. Some historians contend the 1848 song is actually an early, subtle anti-slavery song.” But Paradise Gray won! Statue’s gone!
I like Foster’s music, My Old Kentucky Home, Beautiful Dreamer, Camptown Races, etc, songs American children learned in school but don’t anymore, more’s the pity. Isn’t it amazing that a Black man posed as playing music for, obviously, a composer, is looked upon as racist. Funny, even Wikipedia says that the park in Philadelphia honors Foster with this statue….(not anymore).
Who’s fighting these things?
Z
geeez2014
GeeeZ .... 
Interesting. That was a Yahoo news article.
All the comments I read opposed the move.
.
As I look at the statue, I see a dignified white man learning from a humble black man. Ot maybe it was “Cultural Appropriation” (theft).
.
It’s like a sports trade though.
The statue will be traded for a statue yet to be named:
“A statue honoring an African-American woman will be put up in its place. Residents can submit nominations.”
LikeLiked by 2 people
Years ago, I discovered via giving piano lessons that my students were no longer familiar with the Stephen Foster tunes before starting piano lessons; some Foster tunes were included in certain piano-method books, the ones that I use and, for decades, my students had known the tunes before encountering them in piano lesson. I figured out way back when that schools were no longer including Stephen Foster singalong. Nevertheless, every single one of my piano students loved learning the tunes. Such catchy tunes! Especially, “Oh Susanna!”
Now I anticipate that all those piano-method books will be forced into publishing new editions.
Another joy lost — in the name of political correctness.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Yes, Ed, and a LOT of pro-left articles on Yahoo’s comments pages are anti the sentiment in the article. Gives me a tad bit of hope. It’s quite surprising.
AOW, kids today know NOTHING of what we knew in traditional American songs…how many do you suppose could sing the Star Spangled Banner’s lyrics? It was a wonderful way to sing joyful songs and learn music and get a good appreciation of solid, good music.
This is such a shame…………..as is most everything taught in our schools these days 😦
LikeLiked by 1 person
I read that article (or one similar) yesterday and left a comment to the Mayor of said city on FB. Whilst he’s having “anx” over inanimate objects, all around him people are dying of drug overdose or in Planned Parenthood death camps. The Mayor, and the over offended, should pick their battles a little more carefully.
LikeLiked by 2 people
O.K. So
we erased the history of the Confederacy . . .
we celebrated same-sex marriage . . .
we elected an unqualified un-American to the PotUSy . . .
we dismantled the nuclear family unit . . .
we dumbed down our educational system to coddle minorities . . .
we ignored our southern border . . .
we developed “sanctuary” hideouts for criminals . . .
we shunned Christianity in favor of a 7th century moon-god death-wish cult . . .
we restricted speech in cases where it may hurt snowflakes’ delicate feelings . . .
we allowed middle-aged men to go pee with little girls . . .
we gave the popular majority vote to a greedy, unindicted career felon . . .
we defeated a brutal Iraqi dictator and replaced him with a Neolithic caliphate . . .
we gave up on traditional morals and ethics . . .
we made the mass murder of unborn infants a government-funded sacrament . . .
we bought the myth of “Hands-Up/Don’t-Shoot” . . .
we replaced royalty and aristocracy with actors and athletes . . . . . .
Hey — why don’t we just
completely do away with that moldy old 18th century Bill of Rights thing,
make privileges rights,
establish cradle-to-grave entitlements,
get our current events commentary from late-nite comics,
redistribute all wealth,
euphemize all the names of “holi”days,
subjugate ourselves to international rule by the UN,
sing “Kumbaya” and eat tofu burgers on gluten-free buns with water at $2 for a 500ml bottle,
and ride to the Rap Music Festival in our self-driving electric cars with batteries charged by pixie dust and unicorn farts?
Today’s American snowflakes and professional victims resemble the men and women who built and defended this nation about as much as Shih Tzus resemble their wolf ancestors. And they’ve learned about as much from history as I’ve learned from Nepalese sit-coms.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Sparky, excellent point.
Bocopro…you been okay? I worry if you miss a day here in Comments 🙂 I really do!
Your lists are excellent..and so sad and so true. Everything you said is TRUE and, even five years ago, we’d have laughed and said “Well, that’s an exaggeration and SO funny!”
It’s so freakin’ NOT funny now 😦
LikeLiked by 1 person
“you been okay? ”
Well, okay. as a guy on his 78th trip around the center can expect to be. If I don’t drop a comment in a particular thread, it’s very likely that I had nothing worthy to say, or that what was on my mind was unfit for ladies and chilluns.
Then sometimes I just get sidetracked, like this time last week Milady offered our place again for the one-year marker of the passing vigil for the MGySgt friend of ours. Their particular brand of Catholic does a 9-day vigil and then an anniversary vigil one year later.
We had enough food here to feed the entire Israeli Defense Force — pansit, salads, eggrolls, fried chicken, adobo, fried rice, a whole roast pig, cheesebread, cakes, cookies . . . you name it.
They go through a ritual of prompt and response, then the wife says her final goodbye, the deacon or priest (if he’s here) does a final blessing, and then they chow down. Think Reggie said there were about 50 people here that night.
It’s a bit of an annoyance . . . they park all OVER my lawn, making ruts in the sod, and of course there’s the setup and then the cleanup. But they’re mostly pretty considerate and respectful, and when they leave, they go through boxes of ZipLocs and styrofoam containers to make off with the leftover food. I imagine some of ’em live for days off what they take home. The Sarge’s wife paid for it all . . . hate to imagine how much, but he left her in pretty good shape moneywise.
Milady has a sense of noblesse oblige she learned from her father, who was a surgeon in Quezon City, which compels her to help, or offer to help, anyone victimized by fires, floods, disease, divorce, death . . . whatever. It’s a deep need to be needed, and she neither can nor wants to resist it.
So, nacherly, I get drafted for the setup and cleanup duties, including moving cars around, strategically placing plastic bags for the paper plates, chicken bones, plastic bottles and cups, and so on, saying hollow platitudes to people I don’t really know.
And before that, I was busy all week replacing a board fence . . . dismantle the rotten one, dig up the concrete feet, set the new posts with Sakrete, put up the runners, then nail the slats, then haul the old lumber out to my son’s place where he burns it in a huge firepit and roasts fish or fowl or deer or whatever on the coals.
Job that would’ve taken me 2 days 30 years ago took me 5 days, not including the trips to Lowe’s for materials.
LikeLike
It’s pretty obvious that black people in America resent their history. There is nothing anybody can do to erase the history of black slavery in the USA, or the rest of the world, even though blacks are trying.
It was obvious that Stephen Foster’s music would be on the chopping block, along with a lot of Samuel Clements works. In a way I don’t blame them but I also firmly believe that we should leave written history alone. We should learn from it, not hide it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
BOB; THAT is what I think ..”We should learn from it, not hide it.” The school I sub at has kids reading Huck Finn…instead of the N word, they are told to say “slave,” I think it is. Drives me nuts. Yes, our school is deeply integrated…tons of Black kids I ADORE (by the way), and I THINK, personally, that saying the N WORD would make it more powerful….it might hurt feelings but IN CONTEXT it’s important for all kids to know that’s what used to be said…and HOW FAR WE HAVE COME from then……..we should LEARN from it, not put another name on it. Agree?
Bocopro….and, of course, I’m fine with you not feeling like commenting, it just worries me! And 78 is NOT SO OLD, by the way! And it sounds like you do pretty well in spite of the years you seem to feel so heavy upon you 🙂 You have a full life and adore your family…..can’t beat it! XXX
LikeLiked by 1 person
OH SUSANNA? NAH. IT NEVER MADE SENSE ANYWAY.
“THE SUNS SO HOT I FROZE TO DEATH?” I MEAN, C’MON.
:o)
LikeLike
Commander Bocopro…”A job that would’ve taken me 2 days 30 years ago took me 5 days, not including the trips to Lowe’s for materials.”
I need the exact same thing on my 15-year-old wooden fence too! I’ll give you a week if you’re interested in seeing Boca?
LikeLike
As my grandfather used to say in situations like that — “Get two hats.”
LikeLike
Mal! You don’t think this is really about that song, right? And I’ll bet you love MY FUNNY VALENTINE, with the worst lyric known to man!…about her mouth…” When you Open it to speeeeak…are you smaaaart!?” OMG! 🙂
The thing about these folks songs like O Susanna is learning lyrics, enjoying a fun, quick rhythm…learning music. But that’s all gone years before this statue was removed.
Boco….go to Boca 🙂 !!!!
LikeLike
I know, Z. I was just funnin’ ya!
LikeLike
Complaints about statues and monuments got all this started. So, where is going to lead to next?
LikeLike
Mal…good question. I’ve been amazed that some of the Moses-type of stuff in the capital building, etc., is still there. There are some Biblical references here and there on Capitol Hill. I suspect those things will be next. GOT to strip America of God…at least the Christian God. That’s a far cry from “O Susanna,” but …Robt E Lee, (NOT a racist) and so many other statues are gone….this isn’t over. I don’t think it’s all about RACE, I think some of it is, but I think it’s also about diminishing anything but secular socialist hope for this country… Anything that reminds the far Left of American prowess, goodness, faith, is going to go. And we’re all allowing it.
LikeLike
I also believe most of ’em just want to upset things just to prove they can. It all ties in with everything else thats been going on, Z. Historical monuments and statues should never have been allowed to be touched…by ANYone, and when they sued to have them removed, they should’ve been protected by the law and the courts. No backbone.
LikeLike
Mal, I couldn’t agree more.
LikeLike
A country without a history is like a man without a memory.
Alzheimer’s isn’t pretty.
LikeLike
Giving in to these PC movements is lunacy because their demands will never end.And ignoring history doesn’t make it go away.
LikeLike
Ed, that’s exactly right….
Cube….right….lunacy, SHEER lunacy…and, yes, they’ll NEVER EVER stop. They despise this country and I don’t see what’s going to get them to SHUT UP, get a good education, make a healthy family and get on with life.
LikeLike