You guys have a pretty firm collective stance on the issues raised in last
week’s article on Mammy Two-Shoes of Tom & Jerry fame. Find out what
your fellow readers had to say:

Bring back Mammy Two-Shoes. She was a wonderful character. She enriched the
Tom and Jerry cartoons…and it’s a historic fact that she was in
these cartoons…you cannot deny it…which is instructive to those unaware of
the use of black caricatures throughout American culture at that time. Mammy
Two-Shoes is a particularly harmless caricature, as opposed to some of the more
truly offensive, belittling kinds that were quite widespread in the early 40’s
(in postcards, novels, gag books, etc. …there you have a legitimate case…)
It. seems like quite a stretch to paint Mammy Two-Shoes with the same condemning
brush… Perhaps because we are leaning so far over backward to avoid offending
ethnic minorities, we lose something we are overlooking: Mammy Two-Shoes is a
beloved character that exists today… She exists! in the persona of any number
of cararacters in situation comedies on TV, in movies, in life… I’ve seen
them, talked to them, visited with them in their homes… Tell me: what is the
difference? We are much the poorer for denying their existence. Does anybody
worry about cartoons, TV programs, or movies that portray stereotypes of white
people? Of belittling or offensive white people? I shudder to think what the
world would become without the likes of Mammy Two-Shoes. One dull, homogenized,
politically correct existence…heaven help us all.

This is a discussion that seemingly never ends. Do we deleted potentially
negative images from classic cartoons, or do we decide that such a deletion is
an act of historical cowardice and leave them intact? Is either the fear of
censure or of causing offense enough reason to re-write history?

I consider myself fortunate to actually have seen a few of those 19
appearances by “Mammy Two-Shoes” in those early Tom and Jerry cartoons
(on TV no less!) so I at least am not giving an opinion in a vacuum. Viewing
those cartoons did not particularly offend me. And while I didn’t feel
particularly honored either, I had access to enough positive role models, both
in literature and in real life, to deal with it.

And perhaps that is the solution we need. While it is important to
demonstrate sensitivity to those who might be offended, everyone should also
acknowledge that it is 2005, not the 1940s, back when negative
racial stereotypes prevailed. Nowadays, with very little effort, positive images
of every race, ethnicity and nationality can be easily found in cartoons, in
literature and on the Internet.

I assume anyone who is purchasing this DVD collection of original cartoons
is doing so because they represent a pleasant part of their childhood memories.
Or they are buying the collection to preserve an important moment in animation
history. Then you have guys like me, who are doing both. And somehow, if as a
result, a discussion takes place about the racial stereotypes of the 1940s along
the way, so be it. I can take it.

So leave “Mammy Two-Shoes” where she belongs — with Tom and Jerry. Don’t
hide from history — explore it.

Comic Book Historian

My Aunt had a Negro maid in the late 1930s and early ’40s that we loved
very much. She was a part of the family and received a lot of hugs and kisses
because of her goodness. She sounded like Mammy Two Shoes and though not quite
as fat was overweight.

Blacks had their own theatres in their areas of town and many of the movies
made to show (only) to blacks included caricatures of what we called “no-good
blacks.” Black audiances loved these characters. So if the Blacks liked and
wanted characters like this [including] upstanding, educated Blacks then should
we rewrite history just to make a few people who do not know history feel
better?

Man Tan Moreland a black comic made a number of all black comedys that were
never meant to be played in theatres that were mainly or completely white.
Critics should view some of these Black movies to see for themselves what the
Black population wanted and was willing to pay their hard earned money to see.

Mammy should have been left in there! It was the original artist
interpretation of the idea, The artists, writers and audience found it funny,
and the show was a hit for decades to come. Political correctness has become too
much of a burden on society. History is history. You can’t change the past or
forget it just because you didn’t like parts of it. It’s what makes us who we
are.

In my opinion political correctness is a trend that is making both media
and society bland! After all, I like butter and sour cream on my potatoes and my
brother in-law likes his with salsa and cheese. While mine obviously tastes
better, shouldn’t he be able to have his the way he likes it? In conclusion, if
you don’t like it don’t buy it, sell it, or watch it. But PLEASE allow me the
opportunity to choose for myself instead of deleting my options because you
don’t like it.

P.S. If this type of opinion offends you just disregard and pretend you
didn’t read it.

Please and Thank You,

Loafman