Denotation vs. Connotation
To the editor:
As we celebrated Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday this week, I was reminded that we are approaching Black History Month. I imagine that the Black Student Union at Nauset High might be nervous about how to recognize the event after the backlash to its “All Lives Matter” banner last year. It’s time to make adjustments for this year.
The Black students and their advisers wanted to send a message inclusive of the whole school community. As denotation, the phrase is innocuous. It would be hard to find anybody who disagrees with it. As connotation, however, it’s problematic.
“All Lives Matter” was a deliberate response to the emergence of “Black Lives Matter” after George Floyd’s murder and was weaponized to minimize the outrage of the Black community. It was the antithesis of the spirit of Black History Month, which recognizes the unique problems facing Black people in America, including excessive force by many police departments.
The students’ wish to embrace the whole community in their dedicated month is laudable. Is there a way to say that everybody, regardless of race, is a valuable member of society without using a phrase that has such negative implications? I can think of several.
The students were cast into the spotlight to defend their choice of phrasing. But it was the adults in the community who failed to grasp this opportunity for teaching. That resulted in sore feelings that were never resolved, just buried for 10 months.
I would hate for Nauset’s Black students to feel that they have to turn the volume down on their month of celebration for fear of reigniting controversy. A little more guidance in their choice of words would allow them to proclaim the joys and the fears unique to their community without offending others and, when appropriate, including others.
Mark Brennan
Wellfleet and Brooklyn, N.Y.
Wellfleet’s Banksy
To the editor:
Re “Banksy’s Back” [photo by Nancy Bloom, Jan. 11, page A13]:
Wellfleet’s very own Banksy?
Brightness during the storms! Bravo for the public art on the billboards along Ocean View Drive in Wellfleet. Looking forward to the next creative commentary.
Yet another reason to go out to the beach.
David Ricketts
Wellfleet
‘Interesting Outré Stuff’
To the editor:
Living in South Yarmouth and knowing not a soul out your way, I now subscribe to your fine newspaper.
Why? Because it’s an indie, and it is packed with events and art and interesting outré stuff like cow faces and oyster eyes.
As a former contributor to the Cape Cod Times and The Register, I so miss columns and letters and observations. (Wow, a red hawk on a Dennis marsh.)
We in mid-Cape towns and villages often visit your towns for their scenery, eateries, and literary events. A ride out to Herring Cove in January is a respite for those of us who seek winter wilderness.
Barbara Leedom
South Yarmouth
