I've no illusions about "the good old days." Yes, maybe people were more polite, the clothes were nicer looking, there were neighborhoods and neighborhood stores, etc.--there were also incurable diseases that are curable (or at least managable) now, bad sanitation, and glacial communication.

And, unfortunately, a more pervasive bigotry.

I collect and read old books, both in print and now in e-books, and in most cases I can get through the prejudices of "the bad old days" with a sigh and thankfulness it's not like that now. Sometimes it's a hard gulp.

But heavens, it's no wonder your average white kid grew up with so many prejudices after reading some of the old children's fiction out there (chiefly the "syndicate" material). Morrison's Adventures of a Boy Reporter was bad enough, with its patronizing description of Filipinos, but nearly every other page of The Pony Rider Boys in New Mexico is fraught with stereotypes about Native Americans and Mexicans. As much as I tend to loathe extreme political correctness, I'm not certain I want to even see how it comes out.

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. . . . . noted and logged by Linda at 3:45:00 PM

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