Oh, the stupidity

This really is Political Correctness gone insane:

School board strikes book with slur from Black History Month reading list

ABSECON, N.J. (AP) _ Bowing to a parent's complaint, school officials have stricken a book from an elementary school's Black History Month reading list because it contains a racial slur.

"The teachers may see this as an example of something they can help fix, but we believe at fourth grade the children do not have the maturity to truly understand it," said parent Lisa Rex, whose complaint prompted the action.

Published in 1995, "The Well" by Mildred Taylor is about a black family in early 20th century Mississippi that has the town's only working well and shares its water with neighbors, including members of a white family who use the racial epithet.

Pretending that ugly racial slurs does not exists within the confines of a school does not do anything to combat racism in the wider world. Taking away the ability to demonstrate how ugly and damaging racism can be in the name of protecting the children is a sure-fire recipe for making sure that they would not be prepared when confronted with the real thing.