I grew up poor and I seem to have returned to my roots. Songs about economic struggle or poverty do not upset me. I cannot speak to the sensitivities of other people, but I am not in favour of revisionist history. There's been too much of that.

When I teach students about the birth of rock and roll, we go back to slave songs, gospel, jazz, bebop, folk, etc. And we talk about Billie and her addiction just as we'd discuss Sir John A Macdonald's love of the bottle, or more accurately, its contents. Students have to be exposed to music that shows the period--because all that music was written based on someone's understanding of what was going on.

People still read the book called "And Then There Were None". It was originally published in England with the title, "Ten Little Niggers". Later, when they went to release it in the US, they figured they'd better change that title, so, in keeping with the time, they named it "Ten Little Indians". Those facts don't change. And knowing that little snippet of information lets me know a bit about what society then considered acceptable. Nigger is not a word I use. However, when I see it in "Huckleberry Finn" it lets me understand that there was a time when I WOULD have used the word and been quite comfortable with it. I am thankful I'm not, but Twain's classic shouldn't be revised to appease the sensitivities of people who'd rather pretend to be aghast than address the issue and provide some critical thinking skills for the kids at the same time. IMO.