• We have updated the guidelines regarding posting political content: please see the stickied thread on Website Issues.

BC and AD are not PC

COMMON ERA!!!! DON'T GET ME STARTED ON THIS ONE. I'll stop shouting now. Just who is the current era common to? Eh, eh???? Christians for ***** sake, that's who!!! Why oh why do we have to put up with these imbeciles who like to change these sorts or things? Surely if we wanted to start a truly common calender it would make more sense to start year zero from something like an extremely rare astronomical event? We could go back to the Babylonian records or other more ancient records (if any, knowledge a bit hazy on this one).
Common Era? - my arse
 
Astronomers use a system called the Julian Day, which simply numbers all the days consecutively from a starting date in 4713 BC (or BCE!) Nothing to do with the Julian Calendar, BTW, and don't ask why that starting date was chosen. (No doubt some Googling would tuen up an answer.)
 
Jealous?

Apparently this Christ was some sort of teacher or something, maybe these British teachers are professionally jealous of his success?
Keep BC and AD I like it, it's poetic.
 
Re: Jealous?

Rich said:
Apparently this Christ was some sort of teacher or something, maybe these British teachers are professionally jealous of his success?
Keep BC and AD I like it, it's poetic.
Click to expand...

Sounds a bit like librarians!!!!

Up to at least the 1970's, it was impossible to get certain childrens books from public libraries. Just William, Noddy, Biggles, just to name a few.

The head librarians of the time considered that these books were unsuitable for children & therefor, unilaterally refused to purchase them!!!

At least one banned author considered that librarians were failed authors & so were jealous of a successful writer!!!!
 
The Nazis burned books, these people are nearly as bad in that respect. This is one of my favourite bees in my bonnet, but won't bang on about it here . . .

Carole
 
Re: Re: Jealous?

David said:
Up to at least the 1970's, it was impossible to get certain childrens books from public libraries. Just William, Noddy, Biggles, just to name a few.
Click to expand...
Well, I had kids during the 70s and 80s, and I took them to the library plenty. I never noticed the lack of the Biggles etc. books, but then I never looked for them. I never liked reading them myself as a child; besides which, there were plenty of great books there already. There were all the Roal Dahl books, for instance, all the Narnia books, all the Paddington books, Winnie the Pooh, Wind In the Willows, lots of kids' SF, loads of other great books.....
Most likely, the old Noddy etc books simply weren't being reprinted, because there was no demand for them. So libraries couldn't restock when their old copies wore out. If you were a regular of public libraries, you would know that librarians don't ban books - just take a look at the rubbish reading that's available for adults!
 
Re: Re: Re: Jealous?

Annasdottir said:
Most likely, the old Noddy etc books simply weren't being reprinted, because there was no demand for them. So libraries couldn't restock when their old copies wore out. If you were a regular of public libraries, you would know that librarians don't ban books - just take a look at the rubbish reading that's available for adults!
Click to expand...

I regret to disagree with you Annasdottir. In the late 60's & early 70's censorship was in full flood!!!!

Not only were books not purchased as a matter of policy, but a few years later, books were disposed of as being surplus to requrements. To my gain & to the public's loss, I have copies of the English Place Name's Societies Publications, late of the Chelsea Public Library. While at the same time, I regret that I was unable to purchase local histories dating back to the 1750's & Victorian copies (copies, what do I mean!!!! They were original editions!!!!!!!) of Edward Mybrig's (yes I know I've spelt his name incorrectly), books on human & animal movement!!!!!!!
 
Annasdottir has a point, though, Noddy does seem to have disappeared in favour of Spot and others.- he is rather dated. MY kids started their reading life in the early 90s, but they were never really into Noddy and his ilk. I seem to remember one of their favourite characters was Mog the cat.

I can, however, remember reading somewhere that Noddy had been banned from certain Australian libraries for the spurious sounding reason that he was perceived as being gay because he shared the same toadstool as Bigears and it was also racist because all the baddies were gollywogs (ie, black) Or is this an UL??

Carole
 
Re: Re: Re: Re: Jealous?

David said:
I regret to disagree with you Annasdottir. In the late 60's & early 70's censorship was in full flood!!!!
Not only were books not purchased as a matter of policy, but a few years later, books were disposed of as being surplus to requrements. To my gain & to the public's loss, I have copies of the English Place Name's Societies Publications, late of the Chelsea Public Library. While at the same time, I regret that I was unable to purchase local histories dating back to the 1750's & Victorian copies (copies, what do I mean!!!! They were original editions!!!!!!!) of Edward Mybrig's (yes I know I've spelt his name incorrectly), books on human & animal movement!!!!!!!
Click to expand...
I wasn't talking about general library disposals (and I agree that they are a very bad thing). I was just pointing out that there wasn't much public demand for the Biggles, Noddy and Blyton books during the 70s and 80s. I should know - I was there!
 
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Jealous?

Annasdottir said:
I was just pointing out that there wasn't much public demand for the Biggles, Noddy and Blyton books during the 70s and 80s. I should know - I was there!
Click to expand...

The dates I quoted Annasdottir, were late 60's & early 70's & at that date, the books I mentioned, were in great demand.

It was a demand that we were unable to meet due to Hertfordshire county policy!!!!!!!
 
carole said:
...
I can, however, remember reading somewhere that Noddy had been banned from certain Australian libraries for the spurious sounding reason that he was perceived as being gay because he shared the same toadstool as Bigears and it was also racist because all the baddies were gollywogs (ie, black) Or is this an UL??

Carole
Click to expand...

that happened a couple of times, I've still got the newspaper clippings from the most recent round... these days, you can only buy the 'new' versions of the books... nary a golliwog in sight... I think they changed Big-Ears, too :eek:
 
I think you'll find Annasdottir that early 70's Liverpool, Birmingham and Hull tried to ban not only the Blyton books but also the availability of Shakespear in school libraries (Merchant of Venice, I'm sure about but also Othello, I think) and also many books of nursery rhymes. The thing is it was not the Public libraries where they were banned but the School libraries. ILEA didn't but not because of lack of pressure from the peoples republics of Lambeth, Camden and Brent.

The sell off of original editions from public libraries had nothing to do with this. It was an attempt to reduce costs (furbishment, conservation and binding) and, officially, make space for new books. The argument was that new books could be bought and stored, whilst the old editions would still be available from the major National and University Libraries.

Of course there Councils made few new accessions. The money was better used they said for performance art events or similar ephemera; or better yet for field trips to the States, Europe and other overseas destinations to study library and education practise in such places :monster:
 
Thank God that Aberdeen City Council doesn't care what anyone thinks!

I went to Bankhead Academy, which had a huge and remarkably well stocked library (I used to work in it at lunchtimes if it was raining) but when I had to go to Dyce Academy for chemistry in sixth year, I was dismayed to find that they had mostly large print or picture books...confirmed everything I'd heard about that school. They did have FT, though, and I used to liberate copies on a regular basis. More than a quarter of my personnal library is ex-library stock.
 
Back to AD BC/CE BCE

I dunno, I'm all for non-religiousizing of stuff... (I'm also all for making up words) so I have no problem with AD and BC being changed... But I don't think its THAT big a deal... CE and BCE defiently don't sound as nice.
I really don't think its being overly PC at all...

Meanwhile, US coins still say In God We Trust, ech.
 
The very act of trust is an act of faith. It's part of human nature to believe in something whether wooden idol or heavenly body. The problem I have with religion is people always want you to go through weird ceremonies and so on, but I think if we have some great history or culture which we are proud of, then we would be better off remembering it. Just because you don't like the medieval mumbo jumbo, it doesn't take away from the fact that Jesus Christ was an inspirational person, so were Ghandhi, Mozart and Einstein. maybe there's a nut somewhere who worships wooden statues of Einstein, but would that put you off his Physics?
 
Yes but Einstien doesn't want us to worship him wheras Jesus does.
 
Yes but Jesus became a symbol of benign humanity and the beauty of the world and I think that's really what he wanted people to worship.


Although "worship" is a musty word which has become inseperable from strange old books. "Appreciate" might be more modern. People ought to appreciate the greatness of the Universe and the beauty inside people.

Personally I'm quite sad the druids were made extinct, they sounded quite helpful chaps. Maybe we should comemmorate them in some way. And you know the days of the week are named after Freia, Woden, Thor, (Saturn, the Sun?). I like that too, I think that's charming and interesting, though obviously the Norse way of life, going beserk etc, is rightly not encouraged, though some still practice it at football matches.
 
Inverurie Jones said:
I went to Bankhead Academy, which had a huge and remarkably well stocked library (I used to work in it at lunchtimes if it was raining) but when I had to go to Dyce Academy for chemistry in sixth year, I was dismayed to find that they had mostly large print or picture books...confirmed everything I'd heard about that school.
Click to expand...
Large print books are for people who have eyesight problems. Such people are not necessarily stupid or illiterate.
 
Rich said:
Personally I'm quite sad the druids were made extinct, they sounded quite helpful chaps. Maybe we should comemmorate them in some way.
Click to expand...

Possibly by bringing back human sacrifices?;)

Someone please correct me on this, but I recall the druids (pre-19th century romanticism) being very much into the human sacrifice thing. I'm not entirely sure that this fits in with them being helpful chaps.
 
Druids

Erudite Points about Druid Sacrifice:

1. Sacrifice shmacrifce, I heard they gave people good advice and medicine and things.
2. I'm sure it was only every now and then, it wasn't like every day.
3. People had such short life spans in those days it probably didn't make much difference to them.
4. The Romans were into much more elaborate badness and I bet you think they're just wonderful most people seem to.
5. There's good and bad to be said of everybody.
6. After all these years isn't it time to forgive?



Here's a good idea you've given me, why not every year we sacrifice the most rubbish politician. Everyone gets to vote on it.
Ok that's silly, but every 3 years?
Stephen Byars?
Tempting?
 
Re: Druids

Originally posted by Rich
....The Romans were into much more elaborate badness and I bet you think they're just wonderful most people seem to.
Click to expand...

Actually most if not all of what we know about druids comes from Roman writings (Caesar's Gallic Wars, mainly), and as enemies of the druids we cannot expect the Romans to give them a good press!
 
Re: Druids

Rich said:
Erudite Points about Druid Sacrifice:

[/I]
3. People had such short life spans in those days it probably didn't make much difference to them.[/I]

roflao

Here's a good idea you've given me, why not every year we sacrifice the most rubbish politician. Everyone gets to vote on it.
Ok that's silly, but every 3 years?
Stephen Byars?
Tempting?
Click to expand...



I would have a daily sacrifice if it was thatcher ,resurrected daily for the event
 
Re: Druids

Rich said:
People had such short life spans in those days it probably didn't make much difference to them.
Click to expand...

Unless YOU were the poor sod getting the chop!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:(
 
AdamRang said:
Yes but Einstien doesn't want us to worship him wheras Jesus does.
Click to expand...

No, he wants us to worship his dad!!

Carole
 
Re: Druids

Originally posted by Rich
The Romans were into much more elaborate badness and I bet you think they're just wonderful
Click to expand...


"Whatever evils either reason or declamation have imputed to extensive empire, the power of Rome was attended with some beneficial consequences to mankind; and the same freedom of intercourse which extended the vices, diffused likewise the improvements of social life." Gibbons.
 
Re: Re: Druids

p.younger said:
"Whatever evils either reason or declamation have imputed to extensive empire, the power of Rome was attended with some beneficial consequences to mankind; and the same freedom of intercourse which extended the vices, diffused likewise the improvements of social life." Gibbons.
Click to expand...

Is that Gibbons the historian, or a euphemistic comment?
 
Re: Re: Re: Druids

Stu Neville said:
Is that Gibbons the historian, or a euphemistic comment?
Click to expand...

A bit of both I guess, but I wonder, if the Roman empire had survived, would the World be more or less barbaric and where would we be technologicaly?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top