Okay. I simply disagree that "got" gets more emphasis that "taught" in the song. As you noted, "taught" also comes on a downbeat every time, and additionally, the notes for "taught" are held a little longer than the notes for "got" every time. But if the students heard the emphasis on "got," for whatever reason, then that's what they heard.
Also, if you looked at the entire scene leading up to the song, and what happens in that scene between Cable, Emile, and Nellie, then I'm very surprised that the students could have interpreted the song as pro-racist. By the way, I said I was guessing that maybe you examined the song out of context (at least initially), and a guess is not the same thing as an assumption. I try to avoid assuming, because as Felix Unger taught us, "When you ASSUME, you make an ASS out of U and ME!" :-) |