Dr. Seuss is in a noose!

6 Dr. Seuss books will no longer be published due to racist imagery

This is very similar to the whole debate about Mark Twain's literary works.

Dr. Seuss was not a racist, but he was unfortunately a product of his time. In fact, if he were still alive today, I'm pretty sure he'd be siding with BLM and railing against the Trumpsters.

This article gives a good overview of Dr. Seuss' political leanings. The cartoon below has a racist undertone in the use of "Siamese twin" but paradoxically the message is clearly anti-racist. Hence, my comment about Dr. Seuss being a product of his time.

Removing his books from publication is wrong and a very bad precedent. Instead, the publisher should use it as an opportunity to educate children.

Another great cartoon that illustrates Seuss' concern over racism and fascism.

And today is his Birthday, not happy after all.

I’m told cancel culture doesn’t exist so I’m surprised this is happening.

Bruh, no one forced them to do it, the company did it on their own. People still love Seuss, he's not going anywhere.

Personally, it's been a while so I can't figure what in "Mulberry Street" could possibly be problematic but if his estate is fine with the decision, that's good enough for me. Won't be too hard to find a copy somewhere.

This is an actual photo of Federal Farmer's mom reading to him the other night.

There's, like, shahs or shiekhs or something riding elephants and we all know it's racist to think that ever happened

This.

The decision was entirely made by Dr. Seuss Enterprises.

I do think the company is taking the wrong approach by ceasing publication (they could put disclaimers or, as I said, use it as an opportunity to further educate children) but at least they're paying attention.

Or, this could be a brilliant marketing plot on the part of the company to sell some lesser-known Dr. Seuss titles.

I checked a bunch of online bookstores and they're completely sold out of those titles already.

At that young of an age, kids aren't gonna truly grasp all those nuances. I'm fine with having those conversations with an older child, but for the demographic Seuss is aiming at, "be kind" is a sufficient message but there's many other books in his library that get the point across.

Still, The Boy stamping his feet and screeching about being #cancelled is overblown. He's a product of his time, but none of the bookstores were blocking these titles from being sold.

Can you please point out exactly who cancelled this?

They did.

That was my thought. A younger child could get the wrong idea and be hurt by the imagery because they do not get they should not internalize it. So I am all for not showing it to younger kids.

It should be out there for people of a certain age to understand the problems of our past so we do not get bullshit like the confederate flag was just about states rights, and the US is a shining country of freedom for all. Stuff like this shows environment matters to things like social morality and ethics. We need to look beyond what is taught to us by society. In the case of Dr. Seuss some of his messages are about inclusiveness, environment, and subjects we grapple with today. At a certain age it becomes important to note that even a good person of the time can be subject to social norms that damage other people. That is something that older children and many adults need to recognize so we cannot just put that in a vault because we do not want to look at it.

I think Tererun and many other people too are over thinking it. For the most part younger kids aren't going to internalize jack shit. They don't ruminate over the deeper meanings of cute, fantastical Dr. Seuss books. Any kids old enough to do such ponderings when reading (or having books read to them) have moved beyond Dr. Seuss to other reading material.

This decision was made by the company whose mission is the preservation and furtherance of his legacy. Given what we know about Geisel's politics, it seems likely that if he were alive today, he would probably agree.

I guess I must have totally misunderstood the whole point of The Sneetches.

My personal experience says you are dead wrong. One thing I knew before I knew much else was that I was a girl even though my body was different. There was no one who taught me that, and mostly I applied gender constructs that came from seeing the world around me. I liked dresses and skirts over pants. Dresses and skirts for girls ovcer boys is not something encoded in our DNA. It is a social norm taught to us.

On top of that I knew that what I was doing was wrong by societal norms and needed to be hidden. No one told me that. No one even knew I was that way. So the thoughts that what I was doing was wrong, dirty, perverted, and sick came from things around me, and were present in my psychology before I was in kindergarden. I believe my parents when they say they did not teach me that directly, but it came from somewhere other than me. Perhaps it came from things like stories that made it clear that boys behave this way and girls that way, and everything else was wrong. At the very least it came from somewhere, and had a negative effect I internalized that made me think I was wrong and naughty for being me in a way that did not damage anyone else.

So yes, you are full of shit and have no idea. It can and does effect us at a young age. Kids pick up on things, and sometimes they pick up on the wrong things when presented with ideas that blacks are slaves and inferior to whites. The idea twins might be freak shows is internalized and has to be overcome if we present that idea to children when they are constructing social values that reflect on who they are.

Take a fucking psych course before you start pontificating on your assumptions that are a result of your ignorance and lack of experience.

Does anyone actually read the verbal diarrhea that comes out of Tererun?

One thing I learned at a young age is that people are shit. The years since have only reinforced that lesson.

Yeah, I read pretty fast. Once Tererererererun learned how to paragraph properly it became much easier.

I will go onto another story here. There was a girl I knew back in nursery school. At a very young age she was burned across her face. It left huge scars that could not be fixed. Most of the other kids did not play with her. People reacted badly to her, and over the years she had to fight against the perceptions of society who reacted with shock and disgust at her looks. Her parents took her out of public school in elementary school. She was a friend of mine who I remembered just went away. I met her again in my twenties at moonlight bowling when I went regularly. She was there with her father and me and my friend would bowl with them weekly.

She was somewhat social but she lived with her father and really never dated. She had to go through years of self esteem improvement and overcoming society's view of her burns. It effected her development as a person in ways I cannot even fathom. Even though she gained confidence to be herself she still shied away from people because they brought her so much pain. She had to get over things that other people put in her head about being disgusting and wrong because of something she could not prevent. She remembered me because I was one of the few kids who talked to her and played with her. I remembered her becvause she was one of the few kids who did not bully me or make fun of me back then.

These things stick.

Oh, did I bother the twatty WAB? Are you mad because my words confuse your tiny mind? Tough titty.

They may not always verbalize the bad stuff, but to not comment on it is to normalize it. When all the characters in your media look a certain way and hardly anything you see on TV reflects your culture, it does bring some sense of otherness.

I've mentioned wanted to dress up as a mermaid in first grade and distressing how the only costume available simulated white skin and feeling so distressed about this. Was it the sense I didn't belong or my OCD? Honestly, it really doesn't matter because kids deserve to see themselves and their cultures reflected with respect so they can avoid the House Negro mentality I used to have.

When I was in Pensacola in my Navy days I became friends with a couple where the wife (I no longer remember their names) had one of those "port wine stain" birthmarks across about a third of her face. Strangely, it made her look more attractive.

I read it, but I disagree with her final thought that I am full of shit. Obviously her experiences are her experiences, not arguing that point. But I do have two kids and two grandkids and they sure as fuck don't analyze or get wrapped around the axle over the wide variety of kid books they read or have read to them. They might ask a question or two now and again but that's about it. My kids turned out well balanced and functional and the grandkids seem to be on the same path, so I guess we did something in the reading material selection and education in general.

Correct me if I'm wrong but aren't Dr. Seuss characters all goofy and weird and multi-colored and bizarre and other-worldly in general? I don't think any child can see that and "see themselves" or their culture in any way, shape or form. Damn, just get your kids interested in reading and that will be a springboard to them forming their own opinions and asking their own questions, and figuring out their place in the world - along with being entertained of course. It's not rocket science, folks.

Mods can we get like a button at the top of Tererun and oldfella's posts so that when we click on it, it skips us to the end of their post?

Much appreciated, thanks in advance.

Today I realize how the ideas I picked up effected me as a child. It took a long time for me to get out of the mindset that dressing in women's clothing was dirty and disgusting. That idea came from society and their views on crossdressing in general. I recognize at a deeper level that view is a part of how women are viewed as dirty, even though we also see them as cleaner than men. It is that they are sexually dirty and not physically dirty. It is this very strange contradiction that exists in large parts of society and drives certain fetishes and sexual perversions. When I say perversions I am referring to those that cause damage and not just a kink.

Some of it may be an unavoidable misinterpretation of the reality of our genitals. We might not be able to avoid fully misinterpreting our genitals as dirty or clean because holes in our body are often considered dirty and needing of being cleaned from the get go. We can combat it and overcome those misinterpretations through education. That education is best done at as young an age as possible so as to avoid any associations that are not proper. If I had been taught from a younger age that those perceptions of trans women being dirty and perverted were wrong, and I was encouraged to wear dresses and women's clothing I would have not had as much problem overcoming that psychological association. That is why allowing children to express themselves from the youngest age without judgment or punishment becomes important. Even in the cases where a child may not continue with wanting to be the opposite gender, they will learn that being the opposite gender is not negative.

When men are afraid that allowing boys to experiment with girlish things will kill off a desire to be men they are actually completely wrong. It will actually strengthen a person's identity and eliminate curiosity. You will now be a man because you are a man, and not because everyone tells you that you are a man. This may even help people who feel a need to compensate for self perceived deficiencies in both genders. You tried being a girl or boy when you were a small kid, and it just was not for you. Now you are your gender not because you have a big dick or titties, but rather because that is just who you are. That builds confidence.

Mods, can we get a button that makes chad gargle my balls because i am tired of having to teabag him myself. It is hurting my knees to squat like that.

Much appreciated, thanks in advance.

Sneetches get steeches?

I was speaking in general, not Seuss specifically.

But the lack of diversity in kids media plays a huge part in people like Federal Freshman shitting bricks a PoC is put in a "white" role and only see their inclusion in a narrative as woke points and not...yanno...the fact that we can and do just exist.