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Dr. Seuss controversy

Johnny Au

Johnny Au

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Six Dr. Seuss books have been removed from publication as they contained racist caricatures:

apnews.com

6 Dr. Seuss books won't be published for racist images

BOSTON (AP) — 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 Tuesday...
apnews.com apnews.com

After the removal from publication, many Dr. Seuss books became Amazon bestsellers (though not the removed books themselves):

www.ctvnews.ca

Dr. Seuss tops Amazon charts after 6 titles pulled over racist imagery

Dr. Seuss books are topping Amazon charts in the U.S. this week, with nine out of the top 10 books being by the author.
www.ctvnews.ca

I must give kudos to Dr. Seuss Enterprise for realizing how harmful racist caricatures be in Dr. Seuss' books and for removing them from publication. Note that the books aren't banned as some libraries keep the removed books for adult academic purposes.
 
Johnny Au said:
.... Note that the books aren't banned as some libraries keep the removed books for adult academic purposes.
Click to expand...

Other controversial books like "Mein Kampf" by Adolf Hitler, "Manifesto of the Communist Party" by Friedrich Engels and Karl Marx, and even books by Mao Zedong are in libraries. For research purposes.
 
Johnny Au said:
Six Dr. Seuss books have been removed from publication as they contained racist caricatures:

apnews.com

6 Dr. Seuss books won't be published for racist images

BOSTON (AP) — 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 Tuesday...
apnews.com apnews.com

After the removal from publication, many Dr. Seuss books became Amazon bestsellers (though not the removed books themselves):

www.ctvnews.ca

Dr. Seuss tops Amazon charts after 6 titles pulled over racist imagery

Dr. Seuss books are topping Amazon charts in the U.S. this week, with nine out of the top 10 books being by the author.
www.ctvnews.ca

I must give kudos to Dr. Seuss Enterprise for realizing how harmful racist caricatures be in Dr. Seuss' books and for removing them from publication. Note that the books aren't banned as some libraries keep the removed books for adult academic purposes.
Click to expand...

Where a book is clearly irredeemable due to the nature of its story; and/or repeated racist imagery, I take no issue whatever with it being removed from publication.

That's as it should be.

But I do wonder why some things are deemed racist; and why others can't simply have updated imagery with appropriate credit, if the story is otherwise publication-worthy.

I say this as someone who wasn't a particular fan of Seuss as a child; and haven't really changed my mind.

From one article, I saw this identified as a problem: (from https://globalnews.ca/news/5008003/dr-seuss-racist-books/)

1614959417277.png


Certainly the exaggeration of physical features, particularly if done to demean someone or a group is not acceptable.

Though why using chopsticks or eating rice is seen as a problem is beyond me.

I happen to do both on a regular basis.

I don't recall anything about this book, if I ever read it in the first place.

But I wonder if the imagery can't be amended, as appropriate.
 
We should also ban the sale of religious books while we are at it. The Bible, The Torah, The Quran, The Book of Mormon. All them full of offensive content and damaging to society.. ( rape, murder, homophobia, sexist, xenophobia) . All available in public libraries and for sale on Amazon.
 

Is the Bible Illegal in 52 Countries?​

From link.

bibles-map-1024x635.png


A list of 52 countries where the bible is illegal and/or severely persecuted:


  1. Afghanistan
  2. Iran
  3. Kazakhstan
  4. Kyrgyzstan
  5. Maldives
  6. Mauritania
  7. North Korea
  8. Saudi Arabia
  9. Somalia
  10. Tajikistan
  11. Turkmenistan
  12. Uzbekistan
  13. Yemen
  14. Algeria
  15. Bhutan
  16. Brunei
  17. China
  18. Cuba
  19. Djibouti
  20. Eritrea
  21. Kuwait
  22. Laos
  23. Libya
  24. Malaysia
  25. Morocco
  26. Oman
  27. Sudan
  28. Tunisia
  29. Bahrain
  30. Bangladesh
  31. Central African Republic
  32. Columbia
  33. Egypt
  34. Ethiopia
  35. India
  36. Iraq
  37. Jordan
  38. Kenya
  39. Lebanon
  40. Mali
  41. Myanmar (Burma)
  42. Nepal
  43. Niger
  44. Nigeria
  45. Pakistan
  46. Philippines (Mindanao)
  47. Sri Lanka
  48. Syria
  49. Tanzania
  50. Turkey
  51. United Arab Emirates
  52. Vietnam
Click to expand...
 
AlvinofDiaspar said:
I find the claim even that it is dangerous (because of what?) somewhat unbelievable.

AoD
Click to expand...

From link.

...
In March 2011, at least 50 churches were burned, and 3,000 Christians were displaced in a region less than 200 miles west of Addis Ababa. In the last few years, more Christians have been persecuted or killed. Many are being displaced from their homes and the land that has welcomed newcomers for centuries. More churches have been burned and properties of Orthodox Christians destroyed at an alarming rate in the last two years. Just in the first year and a half since Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed came into power, more than 30 churches have been attacked, more than half were burned to the ground, and 45 Christians, including clergy, were killed. On October 23, 2019, 86 people, most of them Orthodox, were killed following a political skirmish between the government and Jawar Mohammed, a self-acclaimed political activist. There seems to be coordination and financing behind these acts of terror. Thousands of Ethiopian Orthodox Christians live in fear today, more than at any other time.
...
Click to expand...
 
Remember the time when a patron of the Toronto Public Library system wanted to ban Dr. Seuss' Hop on Pop because it encouraged children to jump on their father's belly?

toronto.ctvnews.ca

Toronto Public Library asked to pull Dr. Seuss book 'Hop on Pop'

A popular tale by Dr. Seuss was one of seven books that patrons have asked Toronto Public Library to remove from its collection over the past year.
toronto.ctvnews.ca

The head librarian stated that the book actually discourages such behaviour:

2879610-320x212.jpg


Hop on Pop teaches young children critical thinking skills such as not judging a book by its cover.
 
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