The reason Flagler Palm Coast [Fl] High School students won't be performing "To Kill A Mockingbird" boils down to one ugly word.
"I think it's the 'n-word,' " said Ed Koczergo, the school's theater director. "It's in there 23 times and it scares people."
He said the word can't be removed from the script because of copyright laws.
A school committee recommended canceling the production because members didn't want students to be in the middle of a controversy, according to Jacob Oliva, the high school's principal. He said he started hearing concerns from parents, students and other community members about the offensive language in the play when the students were in the third week of rehearsals.
"Nigger" is a despicable word. Its infusion of condescension, dehumanization, and provocation is intentional and malicious. It is a word used exclusively (contemporarily) by bigots and ignorami. And no one in the history of American art has depicted that as clearly as Harper Lee, the greatest author ever to publish only one book.
Atticus Finch is a hero whose time has come again. These Florida hand-wringers do a great disservice to their children and to the cause of liberty by muzzling him.
To Kill a Mockingbird, as the novel or with Gregory Peck as the protagonist in the movie, is truly one of the most moving pieces of literature/cinema I have ever had the privilege of reading/viewing. It is one of the few books in my opinion which has been transferred with equal results from the printed page to the large screen (although I admit to limited sample size, as I much prefer the printed page.) For such a great work of art to fall victim to such misplaced "political correctness" demonstrates how far we have to go as a society in dealing with meaningful issues honestly. Anyone who can read/view this work of art and remain a bigot must lack heart, mind and soul.
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