A letter to the editor of USA Today states that we all should know that the use of this word "supports racism and segregation" and there is "no place in respectful society" for it. The author also notes that the word was also used by "the English to emphasize that Irish Catholics were subhuman and by Americans who said that Southern Europeans who had darker complexions were subhuman". I have never read of this in any other forum; is it true?
(Source: "N-word has no place in respectful society" by George Chapman of Salt Lake City. In the USA Today newspaper on 1/18/11).
This fixing of Twain's use of the language of the time is a really really bad idea. Thoughtful discussion of his book, his language and the times is what is needed in the classroom. I did do a post on this recently on one of my blogs
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