David makes an excellent point about the attitudes one
cultural/religious/racial group of people MAY HAVE against people who are
not of the same group. There is no one group that does not have derogatory,
insultive, or just plain nasty names for people who are outside that group
(look at the way Americans have been mocking the French over the Iraq war).
Therefore, to me, the question is not to superficially wipe the slate clean
through the use of politically correct language nor to automatically claim
prejudice and demand retribution. As a historian, I think it's more
important to examine the "roots" of the language, attitidue, etc. to
determine development and then a way to work out of it. How do museums do
this? Can museums help break down pre-conceived notions? For example, I
never noticed how the Am. Museum of Natural History reinforced the idea of
the human nuclear family as dad, mom and babies in its animal displays until
I went with an unmarried friend of mine who has a child.
Or, did I just experience the displays that way because I was with my friend
who felt criticized by them? Should the museum put up a disclaimer for
unmarried parents, especially when the animals displayed do not live in
groups?

> But it is undeniable that SOME Gypsies, who believe as part of their
culture that they are innately superior to
> non-Gypsies, have practiced deception and dishonesty in their dealings
with non-Gypsies, giving rise to the stereotyped slang.  I have always
thought that one could learn a great deal about bigotry by studying
attitudes by Gypsies, who are generally very insular, toward the larger
cultures with which they interact, and vice-versa.

=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:

The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).

If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).