What was the point of including this in a story about the oldest living woman in the world:
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – A Dutch woman who swears by a daily helping of herring for a healthy life celebrated her 115th birthday on Wednesday as the oldest living person on record.
Hendrikje van Andel-Schipper, a former needlework teacher, was born in 1890, the year Sioux Indians were massacred by the U.S. military at the Battle of Wounded Knee.
As Ace notes:
For unknown reasons, the unbiased reporter fails to mention she celebrated her 40th wedding anniversary the same year the Tuskegee Experiment was begun, and finally achieved her lifelong dream of para-sailing the year Richard Nixon began his illegal bombing campaign of Cambodia.
Seems to me that there might be more relevant things to point to, since the woman is Dutch and the tagline was Amsterdam. Like, say:
Hendrikje van Andel-Schipper, a former needlework teacher, was born in 1890, the year Queen Wilhelmina began her reign of almost 60 years. Of course, that would be missing the requisite dig at the US.
Kimmitt
I understand what you’re saying, but it really does underline the alienness of the world she grew up in.
MI
I kind of agree with Kimmitt.
MI
btw, I don’t know if I’ve posted here enough for anyone to actually notice I was gone, but when the comments changed, I was no longer able to post. I think my screen size setting thingy might be too small? But I couldn’t get to the “post” option. I figured out though if I copy and paste the comments url into the address bar, it opens up full screen.
umm, ok, that’s all!
Mason
I disagree, Kimmitt. How relevant is Wounded Knee to people today? Only history buffs will fully grasp the “alienness” of the time.
If they were going for that angle, it would have been better to mention she was born ~15 years after the telephone was invented, or about the same time the first gasoline car was invented.
MI
Alright, now I like Mason’s point.
Jon H
“I disagree, Kimmitt. How relevant is Wounded Knee to people today? Only history buffs will fully grasp the “alienness” of the time.”
Battles against indians is plenty “alien”, and actually gets the point across better than references to artifacts.
I’d also point out that it’s hard to know the nationality of the writer. It’s a wire report off of Reuters, so it might not have come from a European. Heck, it might have been written by a Native American.
Jimmy Jazz
Maybe they moved Ward Churchill to the Dutch obits beat until the heat died down. =)
Richard Bottoms
I always rooted for the indians in cowboy movies once I got old enough to know who had done what to whom. And just once I’d like to see Rhett and Miss Scarlet strung up in Gone with the Wind.
It’s the country’s past.
Deal with it.
SomeCallMeTim
It’s possible that the wire service drops country or region specific dating information into the story before it is sent out. Moreover, you need something shocking or infamous, as those are the dates that people remember. Are you really telling me that you’ve never seen September, 1939 dated with something like “as Hitler invaded Poland”? Even thought the bit might have nothing to do with Germany? Is that because we all are anti-German?
KC
Jeez, do you really think this guy had some point. My feeling is he just popped that out of his ass because some western rerun was on television the night before.
Kimmitt
I like KC’s explanation. Or that he hit Wikipedia for the events of 1890 and grabbed the first one that looked like folks knew about it.