Children's Poet Robert Louis Stevenson a Racist?

[HiDesertHal]

In his book "A Child's Garden of Verses", published in 1885, English poet Stevenson has a poem about children in Foreign Lands entitled "Foreign Children".

The first verse goes:

"Little Indian, Sioux or Crow,
Little frosty Eskimo,
Little Turk or Japanee,
O don't you wish that you were me?"

That is blatant ridicule of other races beside English!

I like his other poems, though..especially "My Bed Is A Boat"!

HiDesertHal

 

[RubyK]

In 1885 it was probably acceptable to be a racist. Don't know much about RLS, but he may never have met an Indian, Eskimo, Turk or Japanese. So how could he know anything about them?

 

[Laurie]

Of course he was a racist by today's standards, just like Killing, Rider Haggard and Fleming in his treatment of Quarrel. Even the gentle Georgette Heyer writes about Sambo, the blackamoor page, but they were people of their time.

Very few people of my generation never referred to "queers" or "poofters", or in the US "faggots" in the playgrounds of the 40s and 50s.

We are all people of our times.

 

[Warrigal]

I agree with Laurie and call people's attention to Daniel Dafoe's Robinson Crusoe. His belief in the superiority of the British people hits you between the eyes from the first chapter. I have to confess I put the book down in disgust and don't know whether his attitude changed as the plot developed.

 

[Camper6]

.......duplicate

 

[Camper6]

If it wasn't for people like the British and their superiority, Canada would be ruled by France.

You see in those days, conquerors were heroes. Warriors were heroes. Now they are looked down on.

But the very land you are sitting on and own was made possible by those type of people.

Racist? Definitely.