Reading Wednesday

[sabotabby]

Currently reading: North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell. I'm about 3/4 through this now. It's delightful. Very melodramatic in that English Victorian sort of way. I like Mr. Higgins the best. I loathe Mr. Thornton, whose only redeeming quality is that he's a slightly less exploitive factory boss than some of the others around, and would like to chuck him out a window. Margaret continues to be a saint and, on closer examination, would have been better off with either a) the Nice Guy barrister whomst she rejected early in the book who despite his hurt feels helps her brother out with his legal troubles b) the deserving poor factory girl who died of being too good and too pure for this sinful world, c) on her own, an independent woman. See, this is why I don't read a lot of romance. You should also hear my opinions on Mr. Rochester, because it's 2020 and lots of people care about that. 

Comments

[pofflewomp]

Oh gods yes. I can never get my head round Mr Thornton as a love interest. How do ethically-minded people have serious relationships with people who are so, well, wrong (to put it nicely).
And this question is reminding me that two people close to me today told me how annoyed they are about the Colston statue being pulled down, and that angers ne so I'll stop this train of thought for now...
It is relevant - the statue pulling made me think of North and South.

I love this novel. I did it for A level English, so used to know it inside out. It's so still relevant now. British society is mainstreamly-ruled by Mr Thornton's descendants. And Victorian liberalism is with us. This is all in my head because one of those people close to me who vented about the statue being pulled down is also a lecturer currently teaching Dickens and Gaskell and as he hasn't actually read either yet I tried to give my humble opinions on their different approaches to liberalism.

My mind wanders.

I love this book!

[sabotabby]

I was talking with mordorbot about this book, and it made me realize that there are very few stories about labour struggles where the workers wins. I could think of one, and it's an obscure YA. It's either they lose, win a few gains but the leadership gets fired, or there's some kind of compromise that brings both sides closer together. While it's sadly realistic enough, I feel like that's a thing that's lacking.

How could the lecturer be teaching Dickens and Gaskell without having read either? Also, how do you reach that level of academia and not read Dickens? I don't think you can graduate high school here and not, or at least you couldn't when I was growing up.

The Colston statue getting pulled down was great but it's the gift that keeps on giving. Did you see the Thatcher pointing towards the Thames because she wants to take a swim meme?

[rdi]

Oh, she needs to go for a dip...

[sabotabby]

It'll be good for her.

[minoanmiss]

Ugh, I'm sorry people close to you are being deeply annoying.

If it would help, ask them how they'd feel if they'd been captured, marched a long way, stripped naked, put in chains, inspected like an animal, subjected to physical indignities, shoved into a windowless room inside a ship, transported to a different country, beaten, auctioned, worked 18 hours a day, and then had to twice a day walk past a statue of the man who masterminded all of this, who was pointed out to them as a hero. Or if they knew the above had been done to their grandmother and they had to walk past that man's statue. Or great-great grandmother. But still, not too many generations past.

[sabotabby]

Well said.

And of course they are the same sorts of people who applauded when Lenin and Stalin's statues went down, or Saddam's went down (even though that was a staged event). So in theory, they understand what the purpose of monuments are for and why they ought to be toppled when they commemorate historical atrocities. They're just not willing to extend that same recognition of humanity and social progress to Black people.

[minoanmiss]

nod absolutely.

Which is why I provided a little list of horrors, in an attempt to say, "don't think about this as about Those Others Over There Who Probably Have Violent Tendencies Anyway. Envision a few of these things happening to you and how you would feel about it."

[sabotabby]

I mean, closer to home, the last residential school closed in 1996. I was 17. If I'd been Indigenous, I could have absolutely have been kidnapped from my family and be subject to a laundry list of horrors. The majority of my Indigenous students have at least one parent or grandparent who went through that hell.

One of the universities I attended is named after an architect of the residential school system and there's a statue of him out front. And white people get reeeeeaaaallly upset when students call for it to be removed.

[minoanmiss]

I cannot roll my eyes hard enough. The man presided over a genocide and some people get mad when it's suggested he doesn't deserve a monumnent. I hope those who rightfully desire to take it down are emboldened by the current movement to do so.

[sabotabby]

What irritates me, as someone not even affected (because they already took down the Hitler statues) is that...this is such a small thing. Who gives a shit about a statue when real people are dying in the streets? Things like reparations, restitution, defunding/disarming/defanging/deleting the cops, reforming the justice system, reforming the economy, schools, housing, everything, those are big and require smart people to figure out the logistics. Taking down a statue is easy and quick and removes one bad thing that doesn't need to be there.

Sorry to rant when you bear the burden of all this shit. I just bet whoever complains passed that statue every day and never felt any sentimental attachment to it. I've never heard of the dude before now.

[minoanmiss]

OMG I adore your rant, in specific, in you-general, and in general-general. after decades of feeling so alone on these topics and experiences. hugs you a LOT

[sabotabby]

<3 <3 <3

And you as well.

[frenzy]

I meant to ask you, we're doing an anti-racist reading group. Its going to be a facebook group and its laid back, but the idea is to read either our own choice or all together, anti racist fiction and nonfiction books and talk about it.

If you think this might be relevant to your interests, lmk and I can add you. If not, Id love to get a few books you liked that fall in teh category because youre always reading The Good Shit.

[sabotabby]

I'd be into it! Depends on timelines because a lot of my reading is contingent on when stuff comes in on my library holds but if it's reasonably laid back, I could manage it.

[frenzy]

It seems very laid back. We're just hashing out the details. Ill send you an invite.

[sabotabby]

Thanks!