I love it when I read something incredibly racist but have no idea because the stereotypes and slurs they're using don't even fucking exist anymore.
this post was submitted on 10 Nov 2026
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"I will weave together a beautiful philosophy that shows that all men are equal and then lazily scribble in why people with dark skin are the exception."
I started rereading Catch-22 for the first time in like 20 years (it's so funny), and was a little taken aback to see the n-word in the very first chapter.
It was, of course, being used in a satirical way that mocked a racist character from Texas. But even then I was like whoa. Came out of nowhere.
Important distinction of course.
There is a difference between how Twain or Heller uses it vs. someone just unironically dropping N bombs.
Oh for sure. However, in this case, that particular joke didn't really land with me and I think it could have gone without it.
Written by a person who obviously has read zero literary classics.
That says more about your language's classic literature and society than classic literature in general.
Somewhat for English speakers. It's a huge problem in Victorian era literature in particular but the insanity is mostly contained within a few centuries.
The problem in terms of English literature specifically is that the first English novel. Robinson Crusoe, was written in 1719 and is largely a rant about how English colonialism is better than Spanish colonialism because English people are better at keeping their slaves alive, and it was popular enough that all the early adventure novels kind of just copied that vibe.
You go back a couple more centuries though and you've got black knights in Arthur's court and the explicit message is that it doesn't matter what color a person's skin is (as long as they're Christian)
I've read more than enough world literature to know that every culture has its cringe periods. Meiji Era Japanese literature is a particularly wild period imo, you've got authors exactly as the meme described and then they swerve into "and that's why all non Japanese should be our sex slaves, that's what this newfangled Marxism is for"
Louic CK had a bit on why he reads Tom Sawyer and not Huck Finn to his children:
CW: Slurs are quoted https://youtube.com/watch?v=VmeRYo10acg
No racial slurs in Don Quixote.
no slurs or it uses antiquated slurs we have forgotten about? or slurs we excuse because were common back them?
I counted 160 "moro" in Don Quixote.
"Moro" is still commonly used and not considered a slur. It can be used incorrectly to refer to any muslin person but is not offensive in itself.
it 100% is a slur, only people who disagree are the ones using them
Just because it’s not considered offensive by white Spaniards does not mean it’s not offensive
https://spanish.stackexchange.com/questions/29187/is-moro-a-racist-term#30243
So it's more of an example of a normal term used to describe a group that becomes disliked and turns into a slur. Like "American" for example - neutral term that slowly becomes a slur.
Nor anything by Victor Hugo to my recollection.
Sexist tho.
Interestingly, Don Quixote - very feminist. Cervantes clearly believed women should be able to decide for themselves.
Cervantes also handeled a fake sequel to Don Quixote better than any author ever has or ever will.
A fake Part II was released so Cervantes stole part of the plot and includes it in his own Part II which is broadly considered one of the best sequels of all time (to be clear that's almost always included in the modern form of the novel)
Not just that, in his second part Don Quixote reads the fake sequel and shits all over it criticizing bad language and factual errors.
Should have seen all the anti-Norwegian bigotry in the first draft of Les Miserables, though 🫣😬
Do tell, please.
Sorry, I made it up as a joke..
I haven't read it yet (though the musical based on it is my favorite ever), but I'm pretty confident that there's no mention of Norway or Norwegians in any version of Les Miserables 🤷🏻
So disappointed :(
Again, apologies for the letdown 🤷🏻
Norwegia didn’t exist back then so … of course it wasn’t brought uo
Or Georg Büchner's Lenz. I don't remember most Shakespeare works being particularly racially charged, either. E.g. not a lot of non-British people in medieval Scotland (McBeth).
Wasn't Othello black?
Shakespeare has The Merchant of Venice, which comes with some antisemitism controversy
And it's written in archaic so every sentence is a horrible pain to read.
“really is just”
I suppose we’ll be seeing this in social media for the next year or two?
Can’t wait.
Phrase has been around forever. You just wake up from a coma or something?