Promoting negative stereotypes in the name of cultural and educational
advancement is counter-productive in our efforts to promote good
interpretation for all learning styles.  As soon as interpretation
inadvertantly includes negative stereotypes for the sake of humor, it
appeals to the bigot in some at the expense of others.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Carol Ely" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Friday, May 23, 2003 9:40 AM
Subject: Re: Historic Interpretation Glossary


> > The Journeyman Historic Interpretation Glossary
> > A dictionary of common-usage terms used in Historic Interpretation and
> > Living History
> > Cloth-Jew: A tailor of historical costumes who is overly stingy with
> > period-appropriate cloth. Coined by Joe Albert Blunt,
> > Chattanooga-Chickamauga National Battlefield
>
> At the risk of seeming to be politically correct, might I point out that
> anti-Semitism isn't funny or enlightening? What a shame to see this
> offensive and inaccurate stereotype perpetuated through a mailing list for
> museum professionals. If this is indeed common usage at a public
historical
> site, I think there's a little educating to be done.
>
> As Abraham Lincoln said, in rescinding General Grant's notorious 1862
Order
> #11 expelling Jewish traders (in fact, all Jews) in the Mississippi
valley:
> "to condemn a class is, to say the least, to wrong the good with the bad."
> Lincoln would not allow any American to be pre-judged or classified on the
> basis of religious affiliation, and Grant later apologized.
>
> Carol Ely, Ph.D.
> Museum Consultant, Louisville
> author, "Jewish Louisville: A Social History" forthcoming 2003
>
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