Near the Old Man of Storr, Scotland I took this in 2004

Friday, November 6, 2009

The Racism of Agatha Christie

Before we begin, please continue to sign my petition asking the Canadian government to include animal rights in the constitution.

Here's the website: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/put-animal-rights-into-the-constitution

Something weird: The petition won't register signer #286, and has jumped from # 285 to 287. What happened to the person, signer #286, who took the time to sign, where's her/his signature?


I like reading, and I also like reading well-written stories. Though, when I read a story peppered with racial epithets, I feel very uncomfortable to angry, and more times than not I stop whatever book it is I am in the throws of.

Agatha Christie is a major culprit. She always has characters, or just the tone of her narrator's voice, spouting what I would call racist crap. I try to think, "Well this is how the rich, WASP, British of a certain era behaved." But still I find it ??? what? difficult, no, because she, as the author is not at all reflective, so perhaps a better word would be, angry.

Reading about a character using the n-word to describe a type of fucking dessert, and have another character repeat the word, to understand what type of dessert was being described is sick.

Then, to have Christie as the narrator's voice, talk, always about so-and so the 'stingy', or 'wealthy',"Jew" or "Jewess". And btw, the adjective wealthy, is not used in positive way, it's meant in a smarmy way.

Disgusting.

She is the pre-eminent doyen of crime writing, but she also completely upholds the wealthy, WASP majority sensibility.

I hate the word "Jew". I find it anti-Semitic. I refuse to use it.

It's just tiring, having to put these books down, when I get all interested in them.

I think maybe the publishers could take more responsibility and put disclaimers on the covers of the books. Disclaimers like: " Caution, a lot of racial language and British, WASP entitlement involved."


What do you think?