Literature need not be politically correct

Because it is allegedly racist, the comic book Tintin in the Congo may only be borrowed from the Brooklyn Public Library in New York by adults, while a new politically correct version of the book is due to come out shortly in the US. Mia Doornaert comments in the daily De Standaard that the Belgian comic was written around 80 years ago, and views the widespread racisim of the time as a historical relict: "If literature has to be politically correct then we can close down every single library. Almost everyone in past days was racist and/or sexist and/or imperialist, from Socrates to the leader of the French Popular Front Léon Blum, who believed in our need to civilise 'les races inférieures' (like Tintin), to Brazilian President [Luiz Inácio] Lula [da Silva], who this year blamed the financial crisis on 'people with blond hair and blue eyes' (Arians?). There is one way to introduce children and young people to real literature. That is to teach them to read critically and to help them interpret what they read."

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