I find this picture strange: Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Hellen Keller (left), and Ann Sullivan; Cape Cod, 1888 This may be the earliest photo taken of the famous pair, and apparently it's causing some excitement of late since it was only recently discovered. Or maybe not. It appears to have surfaced once before, in 1987. But scholars are excited nonetheless. Melissa Trujillo reports for the Associated Press: There's a reason the picture strikes me so, and perhaps it seems strange. But for all we hear about Helen Keller, I don't recall ever having seen a picture of her before. I mean, you'd think I would have seen at least one, right? But ... no ... I really don't remember ever seeing her picture. _____________________ Notes: Trujillo, Melissa. "1888 Photo Depicts Helen Keller, Teacher". Associated Press. March 5, 2008. http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jx5UkYp5N1mBlA4hm74zF_MZc9RwD8V7LQFO0 See Also: Frizzelle, Christopher. "This Is a Photo from 1888". Slog. March 5, 2008. http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/03/this_is_a_photo_from_1888
(Insert title here) An American legend. Struck deaf and blind by an illness at 18 months, she was apparently became the raw image of human fury when her parents finally found Anne Sullivan, who would break the barriers and teach the girl how to communicate. Ms. Keller became a scholar and eloquent writer advocating human compassion. This, of course, led her to be an ardent Socialist, which most Americans try very hard to ignore. But it's all a touching story that has spawned its own genre of crude jokes, some of which can be found via the link to Mr. Frizelle's entry at Slog. National Public Radio carries in its archives a remarkable essay written by Ms. Keller and read primarily by Polly Thompson, but in finding that link I have had another first. I actually heard Ms. Keller's voice for the first time in my life, too. Anyway: And, what do you know? Another picture of Ms. Keller, but this time in her later years. And no, it doesn't look familiar. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Helen Keller, ca. 1951
Helen Keller, by today's indulgent standards for a pseudo "well being" and a craze for "mental health", should have freaked long before that photo was taken: she was deaf and mute, trapped in a world of silent darkness and solitude. Ann Sullivan unbolted that forbidden door for Keller by communicating with her through touch, aka sign language. Homo sapiens can be truly extraordinary outside the superficial shell of modern man.
Wow. Good type of legend to have, much better than "the most obnoxious american tourist award". So despite having ample evidence for socialism, people still ignored her ?.
If I recall, she was somewhat controversial in her time. She even sympathized with the Wobblies. The myth of Helen Keller, though, ignores those aspects entirely. You can grow up in the public school system in this country and hear about her all the time—I never had to do the play, though—and never hear about her leftist politics.
Just how do they know for certain that is really a photo of her since none others have ever been found? :shrug:
But leftist politics after the turn of the 20th century had a different spirit to it, no? Controversial but not mired in popular capitalist morality.
Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! The virtue of unspoiled intellect has a certain draw to it. No wonder the gods smile sometimes.
(Insert title here) A little more starry-eyed and hopeful, but what do you mean, exactly? When I think of how leftist politics are mired in popular capitalist morality, two notions strike me: first, that Bill Clinton and the Democrats conceded the fight against Reaganomics in the early 1990s, and secondly that there isn't much left of genuine leftist political influence today. Thinking back to the turn of the 20th century, being a leftist could get you killed. But none of this is necessarily relevant to what you're asking.
