Indians are Now Turkeys

When I was a baby in Vietnam, my father would hold me and sing me a song he found in the English book. The song went like this:

One little, two little, three little Indians
Four little, five little, six little Indians
Seven little, eight little, nine little Indians
Ten little Indian boys!

A few decades later, now I lived in the U.S. My son came home from kindergarten and taught me a song he had learned in his class for the upcoming Thanksgiving. It went like this:

One little, two little, three little turkeys
Four little, five little, six little turkeys
Seven little, eight little, nine little turkeys
Ten little baby turkeys!

No, I am aware that singing about “little Indians” has become somehow offensive and therefore unacceptable. So now we sing about turkeys.

But what if the people from Turkey also get offended?

Comments

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