Disclaimer for racial insensitivity in Peter Pan Jr.?

[Heigh-Ho]

A lifestyle is a choice, not based on race. Not that I think it's funny to mock anyone, but being a hippie is nothing like a racial stereotype.

Huh? Where did they say that? I think I missed it

Then I would go to the superintendent and give that person a heads up. We've had some bad principals (and an idiot superintendent that we finally got rid of) and this would be something the principal hired by the idiot would okay, the stupid super would have okayed it, but the school committee would have had some more ammo for firing the two of them.

That's an option but I also wouldn't assume that going that route means the author of the thread gets what they want and your words sort of imply that. I applaud the author of the thread for bringing to attention something that she disagreed with but I also don't think pitchforks are necessary either or that we should assume people are just idiots and they should just be promptly fired. If we want people to be open for conversation or to hear our opinion, difficult as it may be, different as it may be (to some areas and to some people at least), it's better, IMO, to come at it from education not 'I'm just going to go above you, call you an idiot, you're stupid, and you need to be fired'. Besides does that solve the issue anyways? Is it that this production is going to be banned from this school from now on and from all the schools out there? What's our goal here?

 

[BlueStarryHat]

Leprechauns are not Irish people, so this makes no sense to me?

Again, I was discussing what might be seen as a funny and harmless stereotype of Irish people, that they all dress up as leprechauns, whereas a *harmful* stereotype would be to say that Irish people drink too much. I explained my analogy upthread to someone else...I'm starting to think it was a crap analogy.

 

[JLTraveling]

Besides does that solve the issue anyways? Is it that this production is going to be banned from this school from now on and from all the schools out there? What's our goal here?

Right? I honestly can't even see a world where that happens...I mean, should Disney close the ride down too? And I feel like these knee-jerk reactions are what lead to accusations of cancel culture.

 

[Skywalker]

I don't love the way the Indigenous People are portrayed. My daughter and I can't really understand why they are portrayed as American Indians anyway --- did Peter Pan fly the kids all the way from London to America??? So weird.

Anyway, I talked briefly with the director about trying to neutralize those characters a litte. But she sees nothing wrong with it. Seriously? The Ugh-a-Wug song alone is just horrible!

Since I'm also in charge of typing up the program, I wondered if some sort of "disclaimer" might be in order??

I welcome your advice!

My opinion, just because you "don't love the way Indigenous People are portrayed" doesn't make it the final word on the play. You spoke to the director and she sees nothing wrong. So I think you drop it. Or, if you absolutely feel that you can't be associated with Peter Pan, then step aside and let the director deal with the fallout.

 

[DisneyJamieCA]

If you are his grandmother, wouldn't you be Native American too? How do you feel about it?

Kids have two parents. My kids are Mexican. I am not.

 

[JLTraveling]

My opinion, just because you "don't love the way Indigenous People are portrayed" doesn't make it the final word on the play. You spoke to the director and she sees nothing wrong. So I think you drop it. Or, if you absolutely feel that you can't be associated with Peter Pan, then step aside and let the director deal with the fallout.

So much this. I keep thinking about directors I've worked with over the years, and most of them would have fired and blacklisted me for giving "suggestions" about how to handle any character at all, especially one that I wasn't personally portraying. It's the director's baby, not the OP's, and that director clearly has the patience of a saint. I agree, the OP has two choices. Let it go or walk away. Anything else ends very badly for the OP.

 

[tzolkin]

Again, I was discussing what might be seen as a funny and harmless stereotype of Irish people, that they all dress up as leprechauns, whereas a *harmful* stereotype would be to say that Irish people drink too much. I explained my analogy upthread to someone else...I'm starting to think it was a crap analogy.

I do understand the spirit of your post, but I think your analogy isn't working because leprechauns are not a stereotype of Irish people; they are little mythical creatures (who happen to have Irish accents). So dressing up as or mocking a leprechaun would not be the same thing as dressing up as or mocking an actual race of people. Your analogy would apply better to the fairies or mermaids in Peter Pan. No one thinks it's racist or offensive to for kids to dress up and act like fairies or mermaids in this play because they're not real people.

 

[Heigh-Ho]

I do understand the spirit of your post, but I think your analogy isn't working because leprechauns are not a stereotype of Irish people; they are little mythical creatures (who happen to have Irish accents). So dressing up as or mocking a leprechaun would not be the same thing as dressing up as or mocking an actual race of people. Your analogy would apply better to the fairies or mermaids in Peter Pan. No one thinks it's racist or offensive to for kids to dress up and act like fairies or mermaids in this play because they're not real people.

I think that's being unfair to the person. Maybe her analogy wasn't the best but she wasn't trying to say it was the same as racial. Leprechauns are often used as a stereotype of Irish culture, often pulled out during St. Patrick's Day. And no it's not that they just happen to have Irish accents. Irish is not a race, it's a nationality and an ethnicity. Are you saying you can't mock someone of a certain nationality or ethnicity and instead can only mock someone based on their race? Do you find it acceptable to mock Irish culture?

Honestly I'm a little perplexed why the line in the sand for people here is that leprechauns aren't real so it's meh. To the Irish culture leprechauns take on a different but very special meaning, same as many cultures who have their own things. Whether or not I agree with the harmless vs not harmless I think the analogy is being dismissed in an uneven way and is unfair to the poster who I'm sure didn't mean to create a oneupmanship conversation.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

they are little mythical creatures (who happen to have Irish accents).

My grandfather's family came over to the U.S. in the late 1800s from Ireland. I was surrounded by all many things Irish growing up (they tended to ignore my grandmother's lineage from Germany). Oh my grandfather loved Notre Dame but I'm fairly certain the reason he didn't have an issue with their mascot is because it was designed to be more menacing less frolicking (my grandfather was a Marine so he sorta went on that track of portrayal) but none the less it was a stereotype of his heritage. We all sort of shrug it off probably thinking it's like the Lucky Charms character but Leprechauns are not just "little mythical creatures (who happen to have Irish accents)." so not at all like that. I respectfully suggest you take a moment and see how our modern (and I use that ironically) view of Leprechauns was born out of mocking and derogatory uses over time largely due to our disdain of those who were Irish. Although this conversation has certainly shifted away from the main post.

 

[Welsh_Dragon]

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[sam_gordon]

Going off at a complete tangent here, so feel free to ignore. I happened to notice that we are both ‘registered’ and have 113 points. I was given 4 weeks ‘time out’ for making a joke about the Dis’ spelling error in their advert…. wolrd instead of world. Apparently it was ‘an outright attack’ on the Dis. Does being ‘registered’ and the magic 113 points, indicate ‘naughtiness’?

The 113 points are based on how many posts & how many likes you've received. 113 is the max number.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Edited for consideration to the poster.

 

[JimMIA]

Going off at a complete tangent here, so feel free to ignore. I happened to notice that we are both ‘registered’ and have 113 points. I was given 4 weeks ‘time out’ for making a joke about the Dis’ spelling error in their advert…. wolrd instead of world. Apparently it was ‘an outright attack’ on the Dis. Does being ‘registered’ and the magic 113 points, indicate ‘naughtiness’?

If you have a correction to suggest, a criticism to make, or a question about a Mod's decision on something, the way to handle it is privately via PM. You will find them very responsive.

Criticizing the website or mods publicly is NOT the way to win friends -- plus it's unnecessary.

 

[Ms.Minnie]

Just curious if removing the Indians all together would be the answer? Maybe we need to remove a few others that some may also be offended by. While we're at it, maybe we need to erase the whole story, then nobody can be offended other than the people who like the story...

Should Disney remove the Indian scene from the ride?

 

[Welsh_Dragon]

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[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Edited for consideration to the poster.

 

[BlueStarryHat]

Whether or not I agree with the harmless vs not harmless I think the analogy is being dismissed in an uneven way and is unfair to the poster who I'm sure didn't mean to create a oneupmanship conversation.

Thanks...I was trying make a post pointing out the difference between poking gentle fun and being insensitive to a culture or race. It failed, obviously.