Kipling Replaced Upgraded?

[fender62]

i do not understand this, trying to erase history ignore rewrite it, i find this very immature.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5967459/Manchester-students-paint-classic-Kipling-poem-imperialistic-works.html

[TheChair]

//i do not understand this//
That's pretty obvious.
Removing a poem and replacing it with another does not amount to //trying to erase history ignore rewrite it//

[Old_Geezer]

Their "justification" for doing so shows it is.

Sounds like an act of vandalism to me. Do they have the right to replace it ? Ought they remain at a university where they do this ?

[woofgang]

Well I wouldn't want that poem on my wall. Like many other things, it was of its time.

[Deskdiary]

What does "it was of its time" actually mean in the context of If?

Where are the "racist and imperialistic" words in If? Or are the snowflakes in Manchester, and snowflake-in-chief Sara Khan having a general whine about Kipling's work when, as woofgang points out some of it (a lot of it) was of a different time, and therefore shouldn't be measured against today's sensitivities. Although 'it was of its time' doesn't work with If.

This censorship infuriates me - and this has especially infuriated me because I like the poem, see nothing wrong with the poem, and Manchester was my university.

Pathetic crybabies.

[naomi24]

Pathetic weak people who need to grow up and get a grip on life.

[Jackdaw33]

It was bad enough in the 70s with the anti-arpartheid and anti Vietnam war demos. I would hate to be at university today.

[Peter Pedant]

deep thought there

isnt a university a place where the status quo is questioned and discussed ?

[Rockrose]

They are at university a time where you question everything and rebel against 'the norm'.
I feel that people have forgotten that - you need to think back to when you were at uni.

[Old_Geezer]

They may debate it as much as they wish. Just not vandalise.

[fiction-factory]

We may disagree with them but they are thinking about what is good for society rather than just being out for themselves. I agree with PP. One of the great things about university was the discussions about how to put the world to rights. Many of us probbaly fought for causes at Uni that we now look back and think "it was the wrong thing but maybe for the right reasons- or at least what seemed right at the time"

[woofgang]

What does "it was of its time" actually mean in the context of If?

well for a kick off "You'll be a man my son"

[Old_Geezer]

Ah, "transitioning" eh ?

[rowanwitch]

Would it not have been better to ask the student body to suggest something they would find inspiring, maybe even hold a competition to generate a completely new piece of writing. If is a good example of the work of the period,at a time when Kipling and Britain's role in the world were both seen very differently.

I am not sure it was the right choice but I think it was chosen for the right reasons

[naomi24]

//isnt a university a place where the status quo is questioned and discussed ?//

But, outside of ‘the team’, its removal wasn’t discussed, and neither was the choice of replacement. //Fatima Abid, the general secretary of Manchester's SU, added on Twitter: 'Today, as a team we removed an imperialist's work from the walls of our union and replaced them with the words of Maya Angelou//

[Deskdiary]

"well for a kick off "You'll be a man my son""

Eh?

It was written for/to a male.

[Old_Geezer]

Although the sentiment remains true whatever the gender.

[Togo]

Perhaps they could replace it with the "Thoughts of Chairman Mao" or some of Pol Pot's warblings.

[youngmafbog]

Pure act of vandalism. The perpetrators should dfeel the full force of the law and be made to fund the restoration.

If people dont like something then surely, especially in a University, is to debate it and/or demonstrate/protest. If I dont like something at work I cant just go and change it I'd be fired and these little darlings need to understand the world is not fair and will often be full of things you dont agree with but have to accept and move on.

[youngmafbog]

I'm sure they would love that Togo and so would their great leader COB.

Mind you now you might get the far right round posting up excerpts from Mein Kampf.

[ToraToraTora]

I always liked his cakes