Is "The Three Little Pigs" racist?

[aimeeandbeatles]

I don't recall how I came across this (it's on a weird right-wing site) but I found it a little bit funny:
http://www.publicschoolspending.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Rethinking-the-Three-Little-Pigs.pdf

Basically, what it's claiming is the "Three Little Pigs" is racist because the "lazy pigs" built stick houses and the non-lazy pig built a brick house:

After thinking about it, I realized that one of the most fundamental messages of "The Three Little Pigs" is that it belittles straw and stick homes and the "lazy types" who build them. On the other hand, the story extols the virtues of brick homes, suggesting they are built by serious, hardworking people and are strong enough to withstand adversity.
Is there any coincidence that brick homes tend to be built by people in Western countries, often by those with more money? That straw homes are more common in non-European cultures, particularly Africa and Asia?

Anyways I'm sort of left-learning, I guess, and I think it's kind of silly.

What are your thoughts?

(BTW: You can find the weird right-wing site's perspective if you want but Im not going to link to it.)

 

[NovaKart]

It is pretty crazy. We could twist a lot of things into a racist statement.

 

[Ajidica]

brick homes tend to be built by people in Western countries

I dunno. The Middle Eastern countries pioneered brick work.

 

[Verarde]

Not at all, that's just looking for a good argument.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

I have to admit the first time I read it I thought it was a parody. But then I realized it wasn't because they don't put parodies into serious books.

 

[dIZZyBlIZZy]

What does race have to do with it, if there is a social issue, it's economic, not racial. But primarily it's meant to be a lesson on sloth, and doing barely enough to get by.

 

[MobBoss]

Lazy people exist in all races, so I cant see how it can be rasist.

 

[Formaldehyde]

Actually, they are claiming it is another example of the "leftist agenda" to destroy America:

"Indoctrination Fridays: Three Little Pigs Slaughtered by Leftists"

Leftist educators will take just about anything and turn it on its head to fit their agenda. Even children’s fairytales don’t escape the slaughterhouse.

Ellen Wolpert, a longtime “early childhood educator” in Massachusetts, penned an article entitled, “Rethinking ‘The Three Little Pigs.’”

The house left standing is made of brick, leaving readers to conclude that careful planning and hard work (as represented by the brick house) leads to success. The pigs’ definition of success, of course, is to avoid being eaten by the wolf.

That’s how normal, well-adjusted people interpret the story. But Leftists, by and large, are dour, unhappy people who see oppression and bigotry around every corner. So it’s no surprise that Wolpert sees a dark and malicious subtext to the simple fairy tale.

But why stop there? Perhaps Wolpert could revise the story so in the end, the pigs welcome the wolf, commune with him, and help to understand why he would want to eat them. Perhaps they could dialogue with the wolf about tolerance and multiculturalism, and if they’re really successful, they’ll turn him into a vegan.

I’m sure the Left would like to see rework most of our cultural heritage to promote its agenda. But if they move too fast and reach too far, the people will push back. As with all other leftist agenda, one small step at a time.

Ironically, while researching this story I stumbled onto this old article where a bigot was claiming that this version of the Three Little Pigs was racist. Why? The pig who built the brick house in this particular story was black:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/.a/6a00d8341c630a53ef011570b6348c970b-pi

"The book follows the same old brainwashing routine. It shows a white pig and a mulatto pig who are destroyed and the black pig survives."

He said originally all the pigs were white but that about seven years ago the book began appearing with two of the pigs in color.

The racist version:


Link to video.

I'm hungry. I want bacon.

I told you. This is made of American materials. Not Mexican materials!

 

[CELTICEMPIRE]

You know, I highly doubt that the person who first came up with this story was thinking "Let's attack non-western architectural styles."

 

[Ajidica]

But Leftists, by and large, are dour, unhappy people

Any tips for being dour and unhappy? I'm far too happy to be a leftist.

 

[Tycho]

You know, I highly doubt that the person who first came up with this story was thinking "Let's attack non-western architectural styles."

Hard to drive that through some people's skulls sometimes.

I wonder what these people's conversations with others are like.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

Actually, they are claiming it is another example of the "leftist agenda" to destroy American:

"Indoctrination Fridays: Three Little Pigs Slaughtered by Leftists"

I didn't want the focus to be on the weird right-wing site's article which is why I didn't link it. I thought what they said was Conservipedia-worthy (as in, hilarious).

 

[Joecoolyo]

I find it rasist that they believe that all non-western people live in straw huts.

 

[Formaldehyde]

The Syrians and Iraqis are so backwards they invented bricks.

 

[JollyRoger]

Three Little Pigs is actually a pro-commie tract with the collective shelter being superior to the single and duo shelters in confronting the challenges of the world.

 

[asbestos]

Is the wolf also a Jewish banker who likes to foreclose on non-kosher things?

 

[Lone Wolf]

Three Little Pigs is a good tale. It teaches children that to defeat the Wolf (aka evil We$tern regimes), straw (aka liberastic, tolerastic ideologies) and sticks (Marxism) are not enough. We need bricks - a true Russian ideology, that seeks justice for all Russian people and unity in fighting the We$t.

 

[Dreadnought]

One must think that these pro-minority groups must hire someone 24 hours a day to comb through things like this. It's like the story a few years ago that Chess is racist because white goes before black; it's just a silly connection to make.

 

[7ronin]

Insane political correctness runs rampant again. Sometimes a story is just a story. The pigs are the same "race" of pigs and they live in the vicinity of each other not in different porcine countries. All three pigs seem to be of the same socio-economic background. They might even be siblings. The only difference between them is that two are lazy and one isn't. The two lazy pigs could just as easily have built brick houses had they wanted to. They made a concious choice unrestrained by outside circumstances or situations beyone their control. We even have a lesson of compassion here: the hard working pig takes in the two lazy pigs when their homes are destroyed by the wolf.

Next they will be telling us that Aesop is an imperialist stooge and writer of propaganda targeted at the third world. Even though the Grasshopper was lazy, he had an inherent natural right to do his own thing and be lazy. The Ant had a duty to work harder and to provide for the Grasshopper during the winter. PC tells us that the lazy Grasshopper is just as good and just as valuable a member of society as the hard working Ant. Everybody gets a gold star.

 

[asbestos]

One must think that these pro-minority groups must hire someone 24 hours a day to comb through things like this. It's like the story a few years ago that Chess is racist because white goes before black; it's just a silly connection to make.

Chess is pro-aristocratic in that the King is the most valuable piece. It's sexist in that the King is more valuable than the Queen, even though she clearly does all the work.