SBF please tell us your experiences that brought you back here, when you have time or the inclination. Many here have missed you.
(Sorry to hijack Stop the tears.)
Helen Keller is not a hero
by StopTheTears 52 Replies latest jw friends
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nonjwspouse
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truthseeker100
Slim Boy is that you? welcome -
fulltimestudent
'as an avowed communist she had such left-leaning opinions that the FBI under J. Edgar Hoover kept a file on her.'
Haha! Hoover kept dirt files on everyone, Including John Kennedy. He knew pretty well how many women this American hero was rooting. So what?
'Helen Keller wrote glowingly of the emergence of communism during the Russian Revolution of 1917.'
Lots of intellectuals and thinkers in the western world wrote glowingly of the Russian Bolshevik revolution, or more precisely the initial accomplishments.
Because I study (and write things) about life in China today, I'm sometimes accused of being a 'commie' (grin). I'm not - I don't think that 'communism' works, it founders on individual selfsishness, an unfortunate human trait.
ps: China moved from being 'communist' after the death of Mao Zedong.
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Giordano
Just to set the record straight: http://www.nytimes.com/specials/magazine4/articles/keller1.html
"Although she did not refer to it conspicuously Miss Keller was religious, but not a church-goer. While quite young she was converted to the mystic New Church doctrines of Emanuel Swedenborg. The object of his doctrine was to make Christianity a living reality on earth through divine love, a theology that fitted Miss Keller's sense of social mission.
For her work in behalf of the blind and the deaf, in which she was actively engaged up to 1962, Miss Keller was honored by universities and institutions throughout the world -- the universities of Harvard, Glasgow, Berlin and Delhi, among them. She was received in the White House by every President from Grover Cleveland to John F. Kennedy.
In 1964 she was one of 30 Americans on whom President Johnson conferred the nation's highest civilian recognition, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. "
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SecretSlaveClass
How does being a communist make you wicked? That makes no sense. Did she ever hurt anyone? Did she ever break any laws? The McCarthy era was was run by anti-communists who were themselves sadistic and self-righteous fear mongers. I'm no communist but if it's what someone wants to adopt as their ideology/main philosophy, that is their right. And if she chose to worship Satan that's also her religious right. You're willing to ignore all her positive contributions and put her leanings front-and-center. That's pretty sad. -
nonjwspouse
FTS I read up on China as well. The Mao ideas and implementation, not unlike the third Reich, enlisted the backing of the peasants, the underlings of society, only to then create the horrific environment of tortuous death and destruction.
The, (what is coined in our US society right now as the 99%), are the very people that initially supported these leaders.
A scary realization when reading up on the history. Napoleon was one as well.
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LisaRose
Helen Keller was a socialist, not a communist. She was passionate about workers rights because she was shocked to learn many people became blind due to industrial and work conditions and lack of safety and regulations at the time. She was not alone in her views, many people were interested in workers rights at the time. On paper, socialism seemed like a good thing, history had yet to prove that it didn't work and would result in people losing their individual rights. It's ridiculous to judge people of a hundred years ago by our standards today and what we know now. J. Edgar Hoover was a paranoid nut case, having him keep a file on you meant nothing.
The Satan worshiping angle is pure nonsense, not only untrue, but silly. Please do more research before posting fake internet stories.
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Wasanelder Once
Hey bonehead, Helen Keller did NOT develop finger spelling for the deaf. It was around a LONG time before she was born. In fact that is what Annie Sullivan used to teach her how to communicate, she had to feel the letters.
Having deaf family I find this sort of ignorance to be a blight on so many fine people. Notice the facts about finger spelling:
"By 1720, the British manual alphabet had found more or less its present form.[30] Descendants of this alphabet have been used by deaf communities (or at least in classrooms) in former British colonies India, Australia, New Zealand, Uganda and South Africa, as well as the republics and provinces of the former Yugoslavia, Grand Cayman Island in the Caribbean, Indonesia, Norway, Germany and the USA."
Helen Keller leaned towards socialism because of her desire for fair play for blind people and people with disabilities in general. We know how well capitalism takes care of them. Its only the socialist aspects of societies, even "capitalistic" ones, who take care of the disabled. Give a great lady a break. Satanist? My ass.
Pay attention to the hands:
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umbertoecho
My mother said:
"Communism! At least they tried it. Christianity? Never!"
I don't know where she came up with statements like that, I know she was a well read person, if somewhat remote. Still, it was a thought. It stopped me from considering only one sort of angle........
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SecretSlaveClass
Wow ignorance is out on full display this afternoon. Thanks LisaRose ans Wasanelder for showing what the difference is between being informed and teaching us something and ignorance that makes us wonder what the hell someone is on about.
