Should We Cancel Jingle Bells?
Some people should. Other people may reach a different conclusion.
Well, this week, Choir Directors came out with pitch forks to discuss whether or not we should toss Jingle Bells into the dustbin of history along with Minstrel Songs like “Someone’s in the Kitchen With Dinah,” and “Camptown Races” and “Dixie.” The conversations on Facebook in I’m A Choir Director got predictably gross, as well as some conversation on one of my posts. I had read through the original post which was anonymous:
What has everyone decided to collectively do in regards to performing Jingle Bells? A few years ago it was shared that it has history as a minstrel song and has roots in anti-blackness. Are we having conversations with students, and still performing? Or have we decided to cut it for now?
I commented the following:
I think we’ve decided that those types of questions don’t have just one answer. We’ve decided that well studied, well meaning groups of colleagues acting in good faith may each reach different conclusions.
But other comments were less magnanimous. Including, the one we now have come to predict like a sunrise. “It’s not surprising that all of these White Men” are defending this racist song, etc. Seemingly lost in the conversation was whether or not Jingle Bells was ACTUALLY created for a Minstrel Show or created with racially charged themes. The discussion came out of this article which doesn't actually say this...the author tries to explain the misunderstanding and misuse of her scholarship here.
In fact, the very academic, Dr. Hamill, whose work was the source of the controversy said, "I, in no way, recommended that it stopped being sung by children. My article tried to tell the story of the first performance of the song, I do not connect this to the popular Christmas tradition of singing the song now. The very fact of (“Jingle Bells’”) popularity has to do (with) the very catchy melody of the song, and not to be only understood in terms of its origins in the minstrel tradition… I would say it should very much be sung and enjoyed, and perhaps discussed." This should, in the rational mind, at least inspire a pause to discuss or consider some gray area.
So, I read through the comments and posted this on Choralosophy FB:
Take aways from reading through a comment thread about whether or not we should "cancel" Jingle Bells from polite choral society:
1. Some find it appropriate to ascribe "guilt" to a song based on how performers chose to use it in the past (guilt by association approach), while others seem to think it is more logical to interrogate the content of the repertoire itself, and/or the intent of the composer or song writer in creating the song. I can wrap my head around arguments for both of these approaches by the way.
2. Some seem to find it appropriate to make disparaging comments about colleagues based on their sex and skin color. (I thought we were against that on principle.)
3. There are a decent number of colleagues who believe that you can tell who a "person of privilege" is by looking at them, or worse, only looking at their FB profile pic. (as opposed to the more complex understanding that "privilege" is contextual within society, and fluid within a person's own life span. And that this reductive way of looking at privilege stems from a conflation between measurements of this contextual set of advantages and disadvantages in society ON AVERAGE, and what might be experienced by any given individual. Edit: to add context related to comments below. This concept of societal privileges on average is exactly what we learn from Critical Theories like CRT. They do not typically even claim to be able to make judgements about individuals based on this. It is a big picture analysis and critique. It is this misuse of CRT that is being raged against by right wing activists at school boards.)
4. That you can problematize literally anything if that's the lens you chose.
My take: I don't like singing Jingle Bells with choirs. I think it's boring. But, I definitely won't be judging my colleagues or questioning their motives if they program it. Or not.
I stand by all of this, but the comments under this thread got nasty as well. Including, but not limited to accusations of racism (with no evidence) and countless references to skin colors and other things people can’t change about themselves, as an indicator of a “right to have an opinion.”
Frankly, you guys, I’m just tired of this stuff. There is actual racial disparity we could be working to solve. There is actual harm from unequal access to quality music education out there. Actual systemic injustice that causes some kids to learn to read music and not others by zip code. If hearing Jingle Bells causes harm, I would like for someone to make that case with some evidence. Until then, can we work together to make the choir world a bit better, kinder and more inclusive of different approaches and philosophies? We can do better.
I am not offering a right answer here. I don’t know if you should program it or not. But, educate yourself about the history, and make an informed call.
I want to know what you think!