Walt Whitman

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The Real

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On one hand, he shouldn't have to perform the piece if he doesn't want to. The issue should be dead right there.

On the other, excluding entire bodies of art based on the views of the artists isn't really a productive way to go about life. I don't endorse every statement in the hip-hop songs I listen to, or all the political views of the actors and directors whose movies I watch, or the racist views of some of the 19th century philosophers who interest me, etc. Nonetheless, it should be a matter of personal choice.
 
KAWS

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I think it's weird that in college a student doesn't have a choice of which work to present, but the professor is most likely requiring every student to do the same thing so he can evaluate them fairly.

Almost every prominent pre-1930s figure in American history has espoused racist views at one point. Every Abraham Lincoln. Would you support a student refusing to read the Gettysburg Address?
Any good artistic work takes a life independent of the author. I really don't see the big deal here, unless he was required to perform a piece that actually called black people baboons...:yeshrug:
 
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KAWS said:
I think it's weird that in college a student doesn't have a choice of which work to present, but the professor is most likely requiring every student to do the same thing so he can evaluate them fairly.

Almost every prominent pre-1930s figure in American history has espoused racist views at one point. Every Abraham Lincoln. Would you support a student refusing to read the Gettysburg Address?
Any good artistic work takes a life independent of the author. I really don't see the big deal here, unless he was required to perform a piece that actually called black people baboons...:yeshrug:
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put ya hands down yeezy. :stopitslime:

the reason the professor should not have even asked his student(s) to perform any song from a KNOWN racist. now its one thing if it wasnt a KNOWN racist. because now i have to check the professor and now we know what he's talking about at home.

if i know i might have a class of students from all backgrounds. i will not intentionally ask a jewish kid to play a song from a known Nazi guy. or known Jew hater. i just wouldnt do it. because i might have some jews in class.
 
KAWS

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rapbeats said:
put ya hands down yeezy. :stopitslime:

the reason the professor should not have even asked his student(s) to perform any song from a KNOWN racist. now its one thing if it wasnt a KNOWN racist. because now i have to check the professor and now we know what he's talking about at home.

if i know i might have a class of students from all backgrounds. i will not intentionally ask a jewish kid to play a song from a known Nazi guy. or known Jew hater. i just wouldnt do it. because i might have some jews in class.
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:stopitslime: your reply ignores the basic tenet of my post. The piece of work is an entity in and of itself. The fact that is was written by someone who harbored racist views is inconsequential. Walt Whitman is one of the best poets of the 19th century. Writing him off as a racist is intellectually dishonest.



I guarantee the piece itself wasn't racist, but this so-called scholar wanted to show off the fact that he was aware of some skeletons in Whitman's closet that he wasn't exactly hiding. :childplease:



The kid wasn't singled out, stop making it worse than it actually. It was for the whole ensemble to perform.



:youngsabo: And it's funny you bring up "known Jew haters." The performance of Richard Wagner's works isn't without controversy, but it's done in Israel. Theodor Herzl, the father of Zionism, was a big Richard Wagner fan too.



Plenty of people think Kanye is a douchebag, but still enjoy his music. Just being a douchebag isn't as bad as promoting racist views, but most people are able to separate the art from the artist, and just enjoy the product. If you learn to do the same, your life will be a lot more enjoyable.
 
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KAWS said:
:stopitslime: your reply ignores the basic tenet of my post. The piece of work is an entity in and of itself. The fact that is was written by someone who harbored racist views is inconsequential. Walt Whitman is one of the best poets of the 19th century. Writing him off as a racist is intellectually dishonest.



I guarantee the piece itself wasn't racist, but this so-called scholar wanted to show off the fact that he was aware of some skeletons in Whitman's closet that he wasn't exactly hiding. :childplease:



The kid wasn't singled out, stop making it worse than it actually. It was for the whole ensemble to perform.



:youngsabo: And it's funny you bring up "known Jew haters." The performance of Richard Wagner's works isn't without controversy, but it's done in Israel. Theodor Herzl, the father of Zionism, was a big Richard Wagner fan too.



Plenty of people think Kanye is a douchebag, but still enjoy his music. Just being a douchebag isn't as bad as promoting racist views, but most people are able to separate the art from the artist, and just enjoy the product. If you learn to do the same, your life will be a lot more enjoyable.
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I would say he pretty much bodied this thread.
 
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