🐱 Dr. Seuss is racist now

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CatParty
www.dailymail.co.uk

Dr. Seuss faces cancel: Schools says books have 'racial undertones'

Loudon County schools will shift the 'emphasis' of the annual Read Across America day on March 2 away from Seuss and toward books more 'inclusive and diverse.'
www.dailymail.co.uk www.dailymail.co.uk


  • Loudoun schools spokesman Wayde B. Byard confirmed to The Washington Post that they have 'shifted the emphasis' of March 2 Read Across America day
  • That means the day will not celebrate the much loved Seuss stories 'exclusively'
  • 'Research in recent years has revealed strong racial undertones,' Byard said
  • That came following a 2019 report called 'The Cat is Out of the Bag: Orientalism, Anti-Blackness, and White Supremacy in Dr. Seuss's Children's Books'
  • Read Across America Day had traditionally focused on Seuss books
  • But since 2017 the focus has shifted to 'Celebrating a Nation of Diverse Readers'
  • Learning for Justice is behind the calls to cancel Dr Seuss, Fox News reports
A Virginia school system has dropped Dr. Seuss from an annual event to encourage reading as district leaders accused the beloved author's books having 'strong racial undertones.'

The Loudon County schools will shift the 'emphasis' of the annual Read Across America day on March 2 away from Seuss and toward books more 'inclusive and diverse and reflective of our student community,' a spokesman said.

Seuss, whose real name is Theodor Geisel, had been the face of the annual Read Across America day for more than 20 years. A report has accused his children's stories of featuring 'orientalism, anti-blackness and white supremacy'.

Loudoun schools spokesman Wayde B. Byard, said recent research had revealed 'strong racial undertones in many books written/illustrated by Dr. Seuss,' The Washington Post reported.

'Given this research, and LCPS' focus on equity and culturally responsive instruction, LCPS has provided guidance to schools in the past couple of years to not connect Read Across America Day with Dr. Seuss' birthday exclusively,' Byard said.

DailyMail.com has asked Loudon schools for comment.

Byard insisted that the books had not been banned outright - and that students could still access Seuss in the district's libraries and classrooms, but that the March 2 event would not 'simply celebrate Dr. Seuss.'

His comments come following a 2019 report called 'The Cat is Out of the Bag: Orientalism, Anti-Blackness, and White Supremacy in Dr. Seuss's Children's Books'.


That report states: 'White supremacy is seen through the centering of Whiteness and White characters, who comprise 98% (2,195 characters) of all characters.

'Notably, every character of color is male. Males of color are only presented in subservient, exotified, or dehumanized roles. This also remains true in their relation to White characters.

'Most startling is the complete invisibility and absence of women and girls of color across Seuss' entire children’s book collection.

'In addition, some of Dr. Seuss' most iconic books feature animal or non-human characters that transmit Orientalist, anti-Black, and White supremacist messaging through allegories and symbolism.'


Read Across America Day had traditionally featured on Seuss books including classics like The Cat In The Hat and The Grinch.

But since 2017 the National Education Association has shifted its focus nationally to 'Celebrating a Nation of Diverse Readers'.

Learning for Justice is behind the recent calls to cancel Dr Seuss, Fox News reports.

Author Geisel has already come under fire for using 'stereotypical Orientalist tropes', according to a report by researchers Katie Ishizuka and Ramón Stephens.

That found 'of the 2,240 (identified) human characters, there are forty-five characters of color representing 2% of the total number of human characters'.

A total of 43 of 'exhibited behaviors and appearances that align with harmful and stereotypical Orientalist tropes', they said.

Meanwhile, other cultural icons are targeted for 'modern' refreshes: On Friday it was reported that Mr. Potato Head had gone gender neutral as toy maker Hasbro announced it is changing the branding of the 70-year-old figure because it needs to break free from gender norms.

The change - which will drop the 'Mr.' from Mr. Potato Head brand - sparked debate on social media, with many saying toy company Hasbro has bent to 'woke' culture by changing a cultural icon that's been on toy shelves since 1952.

But Rhode Island-based Hasbro, which revealed the change in a presentation to investors Thursday, said the gender-neutral name comes as societal roles are changing - with more single-parent households and same-sex parents coming into the picture.

As for Seuss, it's not the first time the late Geisel has found himself in the cultural crosshairs.

In 2019 DailyMail.com reported how Geisel portrayed black people as if they were slaves being sold off at a white-owned department store.

He used the word 'n*****' to refer to African Americans and described women as 'insignificant and helpless', book Becoming Dr. Seuss: Theodor Geisel and the Making of an American Imagination claimed.

Decades later when Geisel was called out on these cartoons he said it was 'just the way things were 50 years ago' and claimed that feminists wanted to 'clean up everything'.

In 2017 Cambridgeport Elementary School librarian Liz Phipps Soeiro rejected a gift of several Dr Seuss books from Melania Trump, saying their whimsical illustrations were 'steeped in racist propaganda, caricatures, and harmful stereotypes'.

The White House had announced that one school in each state would receive a selection of Seuss' books chosen by Melania, including 'Green Eggs and Ham' and 'The Cat in the Hat'.


But Soeiro turned down the collection of almost a dozen books, saying in the open letter her school was award-winning and well-funded.

She continued: 'You may not be aware of this, but Dr Seuss is a bit of a cliché, a tired and worn ambassador for children's literature.'

She added: 'Another fact that many people are unaware of is that Dr Seuss's illustrations are steeped in racist propaganda, caricatures, and harmful stereotypes.

'Open one of his books (If I Ran a Zoo or And to Think That I Saw it On Mulberry Street, for example), and you'll see the racist mockery in his art.'

Neither of those books were included in Melania's selection.
 
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Super-Chevy454 said:
How long before bootleg Dr. Seuss book will arrive on the black market?

When I read that exterpt of that article.

But will they sold that in Japan, China and the Middle East? I have some big doubts.

Btw, Styx bitchuted about Dr. Seuss.
But Rhode Island-based Hasbro, which revealed the change in a presentation to investors Thursday, said the gender-neutral name comes as societal roles are changing - with more single-parent households and same-sex parents coming into the picture.
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That's a stupid explanation. If you have 2 moms, you buy 2 Mrs. Potato Heads. There is literally no reason to change the name to Potato Head and then still sell them based on a particular sex. You could sell just the potato body and then start selling the accessory packs separately and that would make sense, I guess -- but they way they did it was supremely retarded. But, it got people talking about Mr. Potato Head and I'm guessing that was the primary purpose all along. It is an old ass toy that very few kids actually want. It is mostly old folks who buy it for their kids / grand kids purely because of nostalgia.

Also, I will never be mad at the racist Japanese caricatures of Dr. Seuss. My grandfather was a Pearl Harbor survivor and if people can't understand the sentiment back then of hating the Japs for bombing the US, then fuck 'em. My sorority little sister was Japanese American and her grandparents were interned in camps in the US. And we were best friends because that shit was in the past. That's how this is supposed to work. You move on and let things go. If you don't -- you end up like Jews hunting down senile 95 year olds to put on trial for the crime of being a janitor in a concentration camp and/or crapping your pants because people used to be openly racist 100 years ago. We can't literally change the past just by pretending it never happened. It is supposed to serve as a warning not to do it again. Wipe out all knowledge of our mistakes of the past and you will simply repeat them that much easier.
 
Mealy Mouth Spittle said:
That's a stupid explanation. If you have 2 moms, you buy 2 Mrs. Potato Heads. There is literally no reason to change the name to Potato Head and then still sell them based on a particular sex. You could sell just the potato body and then start selling the accessory packs separately and that would make sense, I guess -- but they way they did it was supremely retarded. But, it got people talking about Mr. Potato Head and I'm guessing that was the primary purpose all along. It is an old ass toy that very few kids actually want. It is mostly old folks who buy it for their kids / grand kids purely because of nostalgia.

Also, I will never be mad at the racist Japanese caricatures of Dr. Seuss. My grandfather was a Pearl Harbor survivor and if people can't understand the sentiment back then of hating the Japs for bombing the US, then fuck 'em. My sorority little sister was Japanese American and her grandparents were interned in camps in the US. And we were best friends because that shit was in the past. That's how this is supposed to work. You move on and let things go. If you don't -- you end up like Jews hunting down senile 95 year olds to put on trial for the crime of being a janitor in a concentration camp and/or crapping your pants because people used to be openly racist 100 years ago. We can't literally change the past just by pretending it never happened. It is supposed to serve as a warning not to do it again. Wipe out all knowledge of our mistakes of the past and you will simply repeat them that much easier.
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What’s really baffling about this is how Seuss’ past in propaganda wasn’t a well kept secret; thanks to the internet, it was well known he drew anti Japanese war cartoons. But people were able to understand that it was a different time back then and that Seuss was ashamed of what he did and turned over a new leaf. Then suddenly in current year it was decided “Fuck all of that; Seuss is racist, cancel him!” just like that. It’s like if someone forgave you for breaking a vase as a kid only to take it back when you’re grown up.

Makes me wonder if they’ll start going after any Golden Age comic and cartoon character for their “war contribution”.
 
Private Pyle said:
What’s really baffling about this is how Seuss’ past in propaganda wasn’t a well kept secret; thanks to the internet, it was well known he drew anti Japanese war cartoons. But people were able to understand that it was a different time back then and that Seuss was ashamed of what he did and turned over a new leaf. Then suddenly in current year it was decided “Fuck all of that; Seuss is racist, cancel him!” just like that. It’s like if someone forgave you for breaking a vase as a kid only to take it back when you’re grown up.

Makes me wonder if they’ll start going after any Golden Age comic and cartoon character for their “war contribution”.
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Bye bye Friz Freleng and Chuck Jones and Mel Blanc too. They worked with Seuss. Also Frank Capra for Why We Fight. No more It's a Wonderful Life. Of course these fucks hate that too because it has the dreaded Christianity in it.
 
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Have you noticed that they almost always go after long dead authors with influence and legacies that surpass any of their own? The dead cant defend their honor and these pieces of shit know it.

Oh but of course, these people will still leech off their popularity to create cheap shit with characters they didnt create.

These are pure marxists tactics, only someone blind cant see what is going on.

First Lovecraft and now Dr Seuss, when its enough fucking enough people?!
 
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The handsome tard said:
Have you noticed that they almost always go after long dead authors with influence and legacies that surpass any of their own? The dead cant defend their honor and these pieces of shit know it.

Oh but of course, these people will still leech off their popularity to create cheap shit with characters they didnt create.

These are pure marxists tactics, only someone blind cant see what is going on.

First Lovecraft and now Dr Seuss, when its enough fucking enough people?!
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They are literally destroying society itself. It's time to start doing things to these people that even just saying Minecraft can't shield. They are absolute garbage.
 
I found a copy of On Beyond Zebra. I shall return momentarily - learning a racism.
Or maybe I should list it for $700 like these others on Amazon and ABE.

let’s start a rumor that alt-white nazis are funding their takeover campaigns selling dr Seuss books on the deep webs.
 
Man, a lot of kids already hate reading. Now they want to take their fun, colorful storybooks away and give them shit like I am jazz and other books that try and make you feel guilty for existing because diversity or something *sigh*
 
This hits close to home as Dr. Seuss was by far my favorite books as a kid, the idea of a kid not growing up reading Dr. Seuss is a terrible thought.
 
Terrifik said:
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False.
Nor were they cancelled by a Virginia school system for "Read Across America". (Unless, of course, you consider ALL authors cancelled: they're no longer focusing on any particular book or writer)

Okay, let's gather things into perspective here.

First off, the ones "cancelling" these six books are the Dr Suess company themselves. The very people who hold that right. So it seems more like when Frito-Lay decides to stop making a particular flavor of Doritos. You may not agree with them, but it's not censorship.* It's capitalism. Books go in and out of print all the time, for all kinds of reasons. And at any rate, they'll still be available at many libraries and used bookstores.

Second, they're not cancelling ALL Dr. Suess books, just six of them, and they aren't very popular ones either. In fact, most of them haven't really sold all that well in decades. Librarians have stated they don't really circulate all that much, if ever. It's not like Cat in the Hat, or Green Eggs and Ham. I'll bet that a good many people out there screaming about this have never even read the books, have never read any Suess books, and have never had any desire to do so. (Hell, how many call him a commie?) We can still read the vast majority of his works.

Third, Biden, Harris, the rest of the Democratic party had jackall to do with this.

Fourth: Does that mean people have to like or agree with this? No, of course not. People can be downright pissed. However, if you're going to be pissed, at least get the facts right? I'm so tired of the whole "cancel culture". To me, "cancelling" means punishing someone for something stupid they did when they were back in high school. Not attempting to make changes, or look at the past and trying to reevaluate things. Isn't that how people grow? Yeah, sometimes we end tossing things or people out, but for the most part, but there has to be a middle ground somewhere. Not for just anything, but you shouldn't just hang on to EVERYTHING. You know?


Fifth: you know, it just occurred to me that part of this could be a ploy to raise sales. Cuz couldn't they just have let them go quietly? Books go in and out of print all the time, for all sorts of reasons. This way, they'll get a HUGE surge of people buying them up in a hurry. Hmmmm.....



I personally wonder if some of them (like Mulberry Street) could simply be re-illustrated, like other authors or books have done. "Little Black Sambo" originally had pictures of an Indian family -- but when it was first published in the US, a lot of Southern publishing companies would use drawings of racist charicatures from Africa, and that's why it got such a bad rep. Later on they stopped doing that, but it still has that stigma. I think if you changed the name (maybe "Little Sambo" or "Sambo and the Tigers") along with the illustrations, it might finally lose that. Cuz it's such a cool story -- I had it when I was a kid with the new, not so ugly pictures.
Maybe you could do that with some of these books.
Or perhaps an introduction explaining what the deal is? I like that better -- if anything, wouldn't it be a great way to teach kids about racism? That hey, this is how things used to be, and while it's an entertaining story, it's really not a good thing now?


BTW, what the fuck is up with The Muppets? THAT'S where I really want to know what's going on. Most of them aren't even fucking human! Is it the stories they used to put out, or do they have a new show coming up or what? Any links or anything?






*Or hey, what about that dude who was allowed to refuse to make custom cakes for events he didn't approve of? People on the left whined about "cancelling", and yeah, he was a dick, but he would still sell them a cake, just "I don't make certain events".
 
Mrs Paul said:
I'll bet that a good many people out there screaming about this have never even read the books, have never read any Suess books, and have never had any desire to do so.
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I mean in this very thread you have people who confirmed to be fans of these books. So the “no one has ever heard of them” card doesn’t really work.
Mrs Paul said:
Yeah, sometimes we end tossing things or people out, but for the most part, but there has to be a middle ground somewhere. Not for just anything, but you shouldn't just hang on to EVERYTHING. You know?
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I’m not even sure what the hell you’re trying to say here. Cancel culture is good sometimes?

Mrs Paul said:
Fifth: you know, it just occurred to me that part of this could be a ploy to raise sales. Cuz couldn't they just have let them go quietly? Books go in and out of print all the time, for all sorts of reasons. This way, they'll get a HUGE surge of people buying them up in a hurry. Hmmmm.....
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That theory falls flat on its face when the surges in sales are benefitting second hand scalpers, not the Seuss corporation. Add to the fact that they desperately want these listings scrubbed for “hate speech” (which does verge on censorship) and it’s clear this isn’t some brilliant marketing ploy.
Mrs Paul said:
I personally wonder if some of them (like Mulberry Street) could simply be re-illustrated, like other authors or books have done.
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The book was already altered by Dr. Seuss himself in 1978 to be more racially sensitive; now people decided this still isn’t good enough and want it completely erased. Such an extreme reaction is one thing this whole scenario is being mocked here.

For the record, I already pointed out the books were out of print a few pages back and came to the conclusion that it’s something far more cynical, which makes this whole charade souring.
 
I didn't mean in this thread -- I mean people in general. A lot of people who are out there crying about Dr Seuss being cancelled, well, see for yourself:


Hmmmmm.....🤨



And no, I'm not saying "cancel culture is good". I'm saying that sometimes what people call "cancel culture" isn't always it. Do you really think that it's "cancel culture" when someone gets fired for oh, spewing various racial slurs at his boss, and calling his wife a whore on his twitter? Where several of their customers also happen to see? That's what I mean.
Or when someone says, "hey, I don't want to shop at this store anymore because the last time I was there, they were rude and referred to my daughter as a little brat". Don't they have that right?
Neither of those should be considered "cancel culture". THAT is what I mean. But some people are starting to call any attempt to do away with someone (fire someone, boycott a store) "cancel culture", no matter what the reason is.

And I just believe that a company should be able to stop making a product that they personally own the rights to, for their own personal reasons, and I don't believe that it's cancel culture if they make this decision on their own. Is that clear? Doesn't mean anyone has to agree with them. Doesn't mean anyone has to like it. But that's not the same as "censorship" or "banning" or "cancel culture". Nobody is banning them but themselves.

Anymore than when my favorite TV show gets cancelled, or a snack I like is no longer being sold.


And I'm also simply offering suggestions as to what can be done, if people don't want the books taken out of print, that's all.
 
Mrs Paul said:
I didn't mean in this thread -- I mean people in general. A lot of people who are out there crying about Dr Seuss being cancelled, well, see for yourself:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=wYLmgQy6zq8
Hmmmmm.....🤨



And no, I'm not saying "cancel culture is good". I'm saying that sometimes what people call "cancel culture" isn't always it. Do you really think that it's "cancel culture" when someone gets fired for oh, spewing various racial slurs at his boss, and calling his wife a whore on his twitter? Where several of their customers also happen to see? That's what I mean.
Or when someone says, "hey, I don't want to shop at this store anymore because the last time I was there, they were rude and referred to my daughter as a little brat". Don't they have that right?
Neither of those should be considered "cancel culture". THAT is what I mean. But some people are starting to call any attempt to do away with someone (fire someone, boycott a store) "cancel culture", no matter what the reason is.

And I just believe that a company should be able to stop making a product that they personally own the rights to, for their own personal reasons, and I don't believe that it's cancel culture if they make this decision on their own. Is that clear? Doesn't mean anyone has to agree with them. Doesn't mean anyone has to like it. But that's not the same as "censorship" or "banning" or "cancel culture". Nobody is banning them but themselves.

Anymore than when my favorite TV show gets cancelled, or a snack I like is no longer being sold.


And I'm also simply offering suggestions as to what can be done, if people don't want the books taken out of print, that's all.
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This is one of the more clear cut cases of cancel culture, we also get to watch it as it is happening.
 
Mrs Paul said:
I didn't mean in this thread -- I mean people in general. A lot of people who are out there crying about Dr Seuss being cancelled, well, see for yourself:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=wYLmgQy6zq8
Hmmmmm.....🤨



And no, I'm not saying "cancel culture is good". I'm saying that sometimes what people call "cancel culture" isn't always it. Do you really think that it's "cancel culture" when someone gets fired for oh, spewing various racial slurs at his boss, and calling his wife a whore on his twitter? Where several of their customers also happen to see? That's what I mean.
Or when someone says, "hey, I don't want to shop at this store anymore because the last time I was there, they were rude and referred to my daughter as a little brat". Don't they have that right?
Neither of those should be considered "cancel culture". THAT is what I mean. But some people are starting to call any attempt to do away with someone (fire someone, boycott a store) "cancel culture", no matter what the reason is.

And I just believe that a company should be able to stop making a product that they personally own the rights to, for their own personal reasons, and I don't believe that it's cancel culture if they make this decision on their own. Is that clear? Doesn't mean anyone has to agree with them. Doesn't mean anyone has to like it. But that's not the same as "censorship" or "banning" or "cancel culture". Nobody is banning them but themselves.

Anymore than when my favorite TV show gets cancelled, or a snack I like is no longer being sold.


And I'm also simply offering suggestions as to what can be done, if people don't want the books taken out of print, that's all.
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Shocker, a clip from several years ago has different context from a situation today. Plus it’s the mainstream news media, they switch whatever opinion will get them better views.

Second, not a single one of those situations is applicable here; as people pointed out, there is a clear cut case of cancelled when eBay wants it gone for inane reasons. If they had just let the books slide with no fuss, these threads wouldn’t exist; but no, they had to pull the racism card. And just because they can do this to a deadman’s legacy just because they own it doesn’t mean they should; I love capitalism as much as the next guy but I always believe big businesses shouldn’t do as they please.

Thirdly, they already took your suggestion into account and it’s still going out of print. That’s the thing; no compromise, just get rid of it all. That’s a big talking point.

(Also why am I not surprised to see @CheezyMach here?)
 
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