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I wonder how many people arguing for non-bowdlerization in this forum 1. have children 2. have words that can be used in this way against them? I read my 7 year old the expurgated and shortened version of Tom Sawyer and she will be confined to expurgated and in some cases shortened versions of very many classics until she is at least 14. I assume at that point, I will be discussing more difficult concepts with her as they are presented.
I live in Berlin and I won't be taking her to Sachsenhausen this year either, although we step over a memorial to a murdered Jew every day as we enter our apartment. And she knows that too- but not the mechanism.
In such a way, she can understand the story of Sawyer (and I think she's too young for Finn) without hearing words that- today- are wrong to use. Time enough to get deeper than the concept of slavery in the future.
And people can appreciate fairy tales as children and as adult analysts and really- it's good that there are different versions.
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