You're kidding! Dr Seuss' books are racist now?

[imastawka]

Boston: Six Dr Seuss books – including And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street and If I Ran the Zoo – will stop being published because of racist and insensitive imagery, the business that preserves and protects the author’s legacy said.

“These books portray people in ways that are hurtful and wrong,” Dr Seuss Enterprises said in a statement on Tuesday, local time, that coincided with the late author and illustrator’s birthday.

“Ceasing sales of these books is only part of our commitment and our broader plan to ensure Dr Seuss Enterprises’ catalogue represents and supports all communities and families,” it said.

The other books affected are McElligot’s Pool, On Beyond Zebra!, Scrambled Eggs Super!, and The Cat’s Quizzer.

The decision to cease publication and sales of the books was made last year after months of discussion, the company said.

“Dr Seuss Enterprises listened and took feedback from our audiences including teachers, academics and specialists in the field as part of our review process. We then worked with a panel of experts, including educators, to review our catalogue of titles,” it said.

Books by Dr Seuss – who was born Theodor Seuss Geisel in Springfield, Massachusetts, on March 2, 1904 – have been translated into dozens of languages as well as in braille and are sold in more than 100 countries. He died in 1991.

The world has truly gone mad.

More here -

Dr Seuss books with racist images to no longer be published (smh.com.au)

[domino-710]

If they have ever been in a school play - they'd love it.

[the_great_she_elephant]

That woud depend a lot on the roles assigned to them

[domino-710]

From memory - as long as one was chosen - it was so much fun to be included.

Some were animals - some were props - no-one felt ' role assigned '.

KIDS.

[ambercat16]

It's hard not to offend for some....... 

😄

[katistrophik]

Classic and in my opinion [and you know I am serious when I don't use IMO coz i am inherantly lazy]

VERY APT

[lalbo-81]

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@katistrophik wrote:

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@imastawka wrote:

Boston: Six Dr Seuss books – including And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street and If I Ran the Zoo – will stop being published because of racist and insensitive imagery, the business that preserves and protects the author’s legacy said.

“These books portray people in ways that are hurtful and wrong,” Dr Seuss Enterprises said in a statement on Tuesday, local time, that coincided with the late author and illustrator’s birthday.

“Ceasing sales of these books is only part of our commitment and our broader plan to ensure Dr Seuss Enterprises’ catalogue represents and supports all communities and families,” it said.

The other books affected are McElligot’s Pool, On Beyond Zebra!, Scrambled Eggs Super!, and The Cat’s Quizzer.

The decision to cease publication and sales of the books was made last year after months of discussion, the company said.

“Dr Seuss Enterprises listened and took feedback from our audiences including teachers, academics and specialists in the field as part of our review process. We then worked with a panel of experts, including educators, to review our catalogue of titles,” it said.

Books by Dr Seuss – who was born Theodor Seuss Geisel in Springfield, Massachusetts, on March 2, 1904 – have been translated into dozens of languages as well as in braille and are sold in more than 100 countries. He died in 1991.

The world has truly gone mad.

More here -

Dr Seuss books with racist images to no longer be published (smh.com.au)

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What I don't understand is why they sought to go public about it, just retract them from production - Right thing done, [in thier minds]  why blow thier own horn at how Politacally Correct they are?

I doubt any one would have noticed terribly much - it's 6 books FGS.

and yes, the world has gone freaking mad stawks

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Genius move by the marketing department, the rest of the catalogue is selling like hotcakes due to their popularity resurging.

[4channel]

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@the_great_she_elephant wrote:

 4 channel rote: the images or depictions of the Africans are somewhat demeaning and in addition to a lot of other negative things can add to what becomes some person's bigoted perceptions.

I don't think it's a matter of bigotted perceptions - I doubt if white kids reading it would assume Africans really look like that. The question that needs to be asked is, how would children of African descent feel about seeing themselves depicted in that way? 

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I have come across bigoted perceptions by people who are ignorant as well as uneducated. Their views on people from Africa and other countries were shaped by someone or something.

Well, asking " how would children of African descent feel about seeing themselves depicted in that way? "  could be answered by checking out the below site.

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The Coon Caricature

https://www.ferris.edu/jimcrow/coon/

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That may shed some light.

[springyzone]

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@imastawka wrote:

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They've been popular since the first book was published in 1937 and loved by generations of children since.

His books will still be read for many more generations IMO

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I know you are right, but apart from one or two of the books, I generally don't care for them. I can barely bring myself to read them to kids, they have such long, boring stretches in them. I know that's a personal opinion. I think they'll be around but maybe not in such numbers as previously.

I am finding all the hoo haa about the illustrations a bit comic to be honest because I think they are so generally over the top that no one could take it as how things or people really look. I think kids know that.

Has anyone read Agatha Christie books? Now, I think that on the whole, she was a brilliant author although definitely better in some areas than others. Her stories usually flow although the stories are most definitely little time capsules from a particular era. When I was about 16 and read several of them, I think that was what I loved about them. The little English villages and descriptions of maids and so on. You could immerse yourself in another world.

But if you read some of them (and I have), there are some passages that would blow any talk of racism in the Dr Seuss books to kingdom come. There's one section, I forget which story, that says something along the lines of 'Niggers don't mind getting killed, they are different that way, somehow." (shocking to me even decades ago)

There are spy stories (never Christie's forte in my opinion) where she goes on about Jews. They are quite often depicted as a bit sinister or else money hungry, never really as attractive characters.

Should the books be banned? I don't think so. They are a product of their time and anyone reading them in the 21st century will occasionally find sentences that jar, but I doubt anyone would take their values on board, the characters are so obviously from a  past era.

Are Agatha Christie books as popular as ever? I don't think so. They are still out there, almost a century after her first stories appeared but if you go into a modern library, they don't have pride of place, they are not the ones on 2 week loan, they are not the big sellers they were. You're likely to find a few on the 'mystery shelf' with a few other cheap books, rather than in the C author section.

Some of the story plots or clues are so dated a modern person wouldn't pick up on them. I predict there are less and less people now who will be buying and reading them. Same with Dr Seuss in a way although his are more modern.

[elvisphile]

Mein Kampf is allowed to be sold on eBay

But NOT Dr Seuss... "If I Bought a Zoo"

eBay needs to get their piorities into perspective!

[elvisphile]

Ebay has banned the sale of the books in question - that says it all