I guess I'm squarely in the preservationist camp on this one, but I agree on picking your audience and explaining the context of the song/play/poem.

On the way to work today I was listening to a Sonny Boy Williamson II song that contained a verse:

Whup her when she need it, the judge will not let you explain
Whup her when she need, the judge will not let you explain
Because he believe in justice
And a woman is the glory of a man.

It's a great tune, partly because it shows the rough-and-tumble lifestyle that spawned a lot of the blues. I'm not sure when it was recorded — I made a mental not to look that up when I get home; I suspect pre-1950 — but with a proper introduction it could be a fine example of exactly why the anti-abuse laws of today were necessary.

It also makes a platform for commenting on both the "progressive" attitude of the judge and the fact that SBW could expect harsh treatment for something the same judge would turn a blind eye to if he weren't black.

Losing the likes of that song as a demonstration of the damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don't kind of things African-Amercians faced for decades would be a real loss — probably worse than the loss of more open protests like Big Bill Broonzy's

If you're white, you're all right
If y ou're brown, stick around
But if you're black, oh buddy
Get back, get back, get back.

One last observation and then I'll get off the box — I wonder if the proponants of PC, who will tell you very quickly what they find offensive, ever twig on the fact that some people find their revisionist attitudes equally offensive?

Keep it all, I say — just make sure you and anyone you show it to understand exactly what it is....

cheers

david