Oh no they didn't!

(Photos from Steamy East)

You might have heard of an Ohio highschool production of Agatha Christie's "Ten Little Indians" getting canceled after Gary Hines, president of the local NAACP branch complained that it was racist. It was originally published in 1939 under the title "Ten Little N_" but re-titled by Dame Christie for American readers as "And then there were none". Broadway actually gave it its other politically incorrect name, "Ten Little Indians" in 1944. The novel is a product of its time, in the way Huckleberry Finn/Mark Twain was also accused of racism. The N word is the British army slang for any non-white person. Other groups claim that "And then there were none" is xenophobic and espouses genocide. It is not about Native Americans or African-Americans. The plot involves ten people invited to, then trapped in an island, each guilty of a crime but never punished. They are killed one by one. Mr. Hines claimed that its original cover illustration features a black person and a noose. The picture is actually that of a golliwog, or a black doll. (OK this might not have been a good idea.) There is a noose because of a suicide and the island was originally named N_ Island (changed to Indian Island). I remember reading the book and watching a film version and not once did I think it was racist. It is a well-crafted English murder mystery, and is Dame Christie's, and the world's, bestselling mystery novel. Last I heard, the school decided that the show must go on next month with some changes. Kudos to the school officials who didn't cave to this NAACP official. This would have been political correctness gone wild, or worse, censorship. Mr. Hines runs a diversity training company and previously accused the school district of racism in 2002. His recommendation? Have the employees undergo a cultural diversity and sensitivity training such as what his company offers. People see what they wanna see.