Dear Miriam,
The initiaive definitely sounds noble and likewise the gestures being made by
Survival, John Simpson or George Monbiot. However, am not sure how pressing the
situation is for the need to change/ban phraseologies.

The issue, if I sense right, is perhaps not about usage of words- 'stone age',
'primitives', but the 'connotation' that these words have come to acquire over
the process of civilization and change in generations.

One wearing a suit, feels comfortable in taking liberties to call the barely
suited one inferior, poor, uncivilzed et al when he meets someone who is
scantily dressed due to economic compulsions and lack of 'choice'.

But what do we call the ones who prefer so out of 'choice' and own 'will'.
Let's ponder over the 'free from linen' campaigns/movements which has taken many
of our well-suited friends shredding themselves of the bondages of linen and
walking free in nude beaches and nude cruises in efforts to promote free living.

Somewhere, it is apparently obvious that civilization is walking back towards
ancestral living in search of peace and serenity, not just of survival, but of
soul, too. But these modern men are not termed 'stone age' or 'primitive'. Isn't
the image of them also determined by 'choice' and 'will' of the individual?

In retrospect, it might be worth considering to promote the word 'stone age'
and 'primitive'. If there can be smart, sleek marketing of the terms making the
world accept it as something really cool and hip (as the world likes to accept),
might be we can give those alike President of Botswana, a very tough fight, by
changing the whole 'connotation' of the words that he chooses to discriminate
and humiliate our noble fellowmen.

Think again if emminent jounalists would be the best comrades in this
initiative or a combination of great literary authorities and maverick brand
managers will be? And then you can always count on our jouno friends to make it
the voices of the masses.

You change people's thinking and you've changed the world. Connotations are
best fought with connotations. ...

With best wishes
Sharbendu

sanjay mukherjee <sanjay_santana@...> wrote:

dear Miriam,

to me it doesnt really matter much these are just the
concepts (words)made by us the word stone age ..or
whatever is not really the meaning ..but what is more
importand is the understanding of people that is
target group...like you and me...
understanding that "the superior" is actually "The
inferior" and the inferior is superior...thats TAO
any way

dont mind but ...waste your time for a greater
impact...of influencing the policies


wishes and regards


sanjay


--- Miriam Ross <mr@...> wrote:

> Dear friends,
>
> I'm writing to ask for your help and advice.
> Survival has launched a
> campaign, targeted mainly but not exclusively at the
> UK so far, to
> get the media to stop using terms like 'stone age'
> and 'primitive' to
> describe tribal peoples. Please have a look at the
> campaign webpage
> http://www.survival-international.org/stampitout.php
> for details of
> our postcard campaign. There is also a page where
> people can post
> comments:
>
http://www.survival-international.org/stampitoutuserforum.php
>
> I want to ask for your help in getting this message
> across to the Indian media.
>
> Terms like 'stone age' and 'primitive' are widely
> understood by
> ordinary people to mean 'inferior' and 'backward',
> though they may
> mean different things to academics. We believe such
> language causes
> great harm to tribal peoples by reinforcing the idea
> that they are
> 'stuck in the past' and must be forcibly 'developed'
> for their own
> good. For example, this is what the President of
> Botswana says about
> the Kalahari Bushmen, whom his government has forced
> to leave their
> ancestral land against their will:
>
> 'How can you have a Stone Age creature continue to
> exist in the age
> of computers? If the Bushmen want to survive, they
> must change or
> otherwise, like the dodo, they will perish.'
>
> Survival is particularly struck by the prevalence of
> such terms - and
> others, like 'savages' - whenever the international
> media reports on
> the tribes of the Andaman Islands, most recently on
> the killing of
> two men by the Sentinelese, but also following the
> December 2004
> tsunami.
>
> The campaign has the support of BBC World Affairs
> Editor John
> Simpson, and journalists John Pilger, the BBC's
> Caroline Hawley,
> George Monbiot, Sandy Gall and Christopher Booker.
> These journalists
> wrote a letter which was published in the Financial
> Times a couple of
> weeks ago. The issue has also been discussed in the
> Independent and
> the Guardian newspapers in the UK.
>
> I would be very grateful for any suggestions of
> high-profile Indian
> journalists who could be approached to add their
> names to the
> campaign. I would also like to hear any other
> suggestions as to how
> this issue might be raised in the Indian media, or
> any comments on
> the campaign. Please also let me know if you would
> like to receive
> some of the campaign postcards.
>
> Thanks and best wishes,
> Miriam
> --
>
> We help tribal peoples defend their lives, protect
> their lands and
> determine their own futures.
>
> Survival International
> 6 Charterhouse Buildings
> London EC1M 7ET
> UK
>
> Tel: (+44) (0)20 7687 8700
> Fax: (+44) (0)20 7687 8701
> www.survival-international.org
>


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