The average American has a seventh grade reading level (with 54% of the population with less than a sixth grade reading level), and you expect them to be educated enough to 1. know what it is and 2. look for a Wikipedia article on it?

Jesus, half this fucking country doesn't even live in reality anymore. Somehow, they're supposed to just know that it's on Wikipedia.

[–] socsa@lemmy.ml 2 points 1 year ago (2 children)

So you want like some mandatory Ludovico Technique for this piece of information, or what? There's literally a library of Congress article. It has been part of AP US history for as long as I can remember. I'm not even sure what point you are trying to make. That there are tons of wilfully ignorant people in the US (true)? Or that this piece of history has been censored (objectively false)?

[–] dingus@lemmy.ml 23 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Erasure is different than censorship, and I think you're intelligent enough to know that. I took that AP history class, and it was super biased against the workers, so that's kind of a joke to reference.

Also, if we're talking about a country with a seventh grade average reading level, we're mostly talking about people who have never taken an AP fucking US history class.

Choosing the September date is part and parcel to why more people don't know about it, because it's not generally part of the public consciousness or conversation. That's called erasure, not censorship.

[–] Zuberi@lemmy.dbzer0.com 11 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

If it was an AP class, that shits not getting to the ears of who really needs it most.

I would argue that it's completely erased in most States

[–] dingus@lemmy.ml 11 points 1 year ago

I mean we're talking about a country that is literally in the process of redefining the history of slavery and running with "but the slaves learned valuable skills!" Yeah, I'm trying to meet these people at their level, but it's clear that in huge swaths of the country, it isn't talked about, period.

[–] robotrash@lemmy.robotra.sh 14 points 1 year ago

More that the US has successfully managed to censor entire swaths of history by limiting education (especially in red states) and ensuring that critical thought is not taught or enforced in any meaningful capacity. This is all totally intentional and verifiable. The information is there, but people are literally not ever taught (in academia) to think critically and seek answers to things they are unsure of. It's mostly just memorization until you get the churned to the next year of memorization and if you do dare question any of it you get shit on by peers and teachers alike for being a know it all. It's rare that you find people willing to foster curiosity in children which ultimately blooms into people eating up whatever they're told as truth.