The color that I see at dusk in the Puget Sound is most definitely what Crayola used to call Prussian Blue. This color always fascinated me, with it's implication of a far off place called Prussia.
When I read through the Wikipedia entry on Crayola colors, I became increasingly uneasy as I realized that Crayola was probably an early purveyor of political correctness. I never ever want to insult anyone through stereotyping or incorrect attribution, but don't you think it's going a bit too far when you change the name of a CRAYON, for chrissakes, from "Prussian Blue" (created in 1949) to "Midnight Blue" in 1958? Lest we forget, this is the time of McCarthyism:
"McCarthyism is the practice of making accusations of disloyalty, subversion, or treason without proper regard for evidence. The term has its origins in the period in the United States known as the Second Red Scare, lasting roughly from the late 1940s to the late 1950s and characterized by heightened fears of communist influence on American institutions and espionage by Soviet agents."
So some puss at Crayola decided that they might get hauled up in front of the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) for using a commie name for a crayon and they changed it.
See also: "Flesh" (created 1949) renamed "Peach" in 1962 and "Indian Red" (created 1958) renamed "Chesnut" in 1999. The history of American's collective consciousness of different flavors and colors of people summarized in school supplies. Crayola is owned by Hallmark, a Kansas City company and has always had, for me, a sort of gee-whiz Mom and apple pie American mid-century gestalt association.
I'm annoyed by political correctness that is driven by the bottom line, rather than a true sense of justice and equality.
Just my Monday's $0.02's worth.
Posted via email from lysastrata's posterous
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