I’ve seen the headlines, now let me try to explain why I don’t think Dr. Seuss is caught up in “cancel culture”.
No one is cancelling Dr. Seuss.
Let me start by saying, I agree, “cancel culture” can be dangerous. Usually the phrase “cancel culture” is used to describe an event or a person that is boycotted or attacked (online).
In this case, a company decided to stop publishing a few books. Not all of the books, just a few lesser known books.
Dr. Seuss’ parent company and the publisher came out (very purposefully) on his birthday to announce they will no long publish some of his books because, in their words, “these books portray people in ways that are hurtful and wrong”.
No one asked them to make this decision. I didn’t see an onslaught of online bullying to get rid of the titles. No one is cancelling Dr. Seuss.
Please, read John Warner’s piece about this topic:
But the nostalgia of older people should not be a priority. Progress is a good thing, and surely we’ve progressed to the point where we do not need to perpetuate overtly racist illustrations just because they were drawn by Theodor Geisel.
Dr. Seuss Enterprises is making the right call, a call you have to believe Geisel himself would agree with. His last published book from 1990, “Oh, the Places You’ll Go,” has become a graduation staple for its encouraging message around changing yourself and exploring new things as a way to enjoy life’s challenges.
Growth is good. The people whose job it is to make the decision are doing the deciding.
Unless you enjoy outrage for the sake of being outraged, we can spare the angst on this one.
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