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To: Syncro

At least modern history! :-) Check out the whole panel of murals in the school here:

https://www.artandarchitecture-sf.com/life-of-washington-by-victor-arnautoff.html

The murals are a 1930’s interpretation of American history by a Russian immigrant (who later returned to the USSR after his wife died). You see slaves depicted as very much under oppression; frontier men walk over the corpse of an Indian; Washington is shown tending his plantation with lots of “workers,” including slaves. Weapons dominate many of the panels, which while realistic, might be viewed by modern teens who live within a violent city culture as depressing.

I’m a high school history teacher - been a freeper for many years - and would probably agree with the school staff that the mural should be replaced or at least covered in part. It’s not really supportive of a good historical understanding of the United States.


39 posted on 07/05/2019 2:56:22 PM PDT by Madam Theophilus (iI)
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To: Madam Theophilus

Good points

The painter did want to show the USA in a bad light imo

It is historic and as I said earlier it should be removed with the wall behind it and put in a museum


42 posted on 07/05/2019 3:06:34 PM PDT by Syncro (Facts is Facts)
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To: Madam Theophilus; All
Interesting comment. Now, aside from the ridiculous $600k cost... I wonder how many FReepers actually realize these mural paintings were made by a man "considered a left wing liberal and communist and many of his works feature themes about class division, labor, and undeserved power"

So, we have a bunch of leftists apparently unwittingly working to censor paintings representing the very viewpoints they support!!

Now, that said, with the exception of the depiction of the deceased Native American (one-sided: There was savagery on both sides, and, I know of no documentation that Washington supported out and out murder of ANYBODY, among other issues), the rest of the mural seems fairly realistic to me, and kids need to understand that Washington's era, while certainly not ALL violent, was much more violent than today.

I would suggest that the mural be left in place, with each panel accompanied by, say, a 500 word comment by a noted liberal scholar, AND a 500 word "reply" (since the mural get to have the advantage of the initial visual impact) by a noted conservative scholar, with further reference to 2 web links, one suggested by the lib, and one suggested by the conservative. Or something like that.

86 posted on 07/07/2019 3:08:08 AM PDT by Paul R. (The Lib / Socialist goal: Total control of nothing left worth controlling.)
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