They will no longer print six titles that they say have racist images. Like most people Dr. Seuss was a complex man whose views changed over time. After seeing the antisemitism of WWII, he made more of his books about tolerance of all races. I suppose the board should be allowed to control what the public sees about Dr. Seuss but I think it will only show one side of the man.
Thomas Sowell: There are no solutions, just trade-offs.
FredHayek wrote: They will no longer print six titles that they say have racist images. Like most people Dr. Seuss was a complex man whose views changed over time. After seeing the antisemitism of WWII, he made more of his books about tolerance of all races. I suppose the board should be allowed to control what the public sees about Dr. Seuss but I think it will only show one side of the man.
I'm not sure what you mean by "only show one side of the man." Those six books that he wrote had racist imagery in them. Do you mean that those books should continue to be published so that we can all see that Seuss had racist tendencies?
I am actually quite troubled by this decision by the Dr. Seuss organization, because the minute you start banning books for questionable content is the minute you start down a slippery slope of judgement rather than education and enlightenment. Historic people and works are being judged narrowly through a contemporary lens, and that isn't always fair or right if the bigger picture isn't taken into account.
Would this article perhaps change minds about this decision?
Ted Geisel was absolutely a man of his time. He frequently reproduced cultural and racial stereotypes in his work without questioning their validity, their effect on others, or the harmful mentality that produced them–the Chinese man (or Chinaman in the original text) is just one example.
None of these facts are pleasant or easy to discuss. It’s hard to accept that a person whose books you grew up cherishing was a human person with ugly, unquestioned prejudices.
But the story doesn’t stop here. Because Geisel was also a human being in the very best sense–he was able to grow, and to change. As Willems, Yee, and Curato wrote in their letter, “The career of Ted Geisel, writing as Dr. Seuss, is a story of growth, from accepting the baser racial stereotypes of the times in his early career, to challenging those divisive impulses with work that delighted his readers and changed the time.”
But, maybe more importantly, Dr. Seuss’ own story teaches us a powerful lesson: people can change, and they can change for the better. Children, just like grown-ups, are faced everyday with people who are scared, who are angry, and who are resistant to change. We cannot protect them from that. But we can show them what positive growth and change looks like by talking to them about Dr. Seuss, and how he grew as a person, an author, and a spokesperson for humanity. This lesson is as important today–perhaps even more important–as it has ever been.
Portraying Seuss’ illustration of “the Chinaman” without talking about how it changed, and how he changed, really isn’t fair, either to Dr. Seuss or his readers. Portraying him as “tired” does enormous dis-service to the energy with which he combatted stereotypes and xenophobia in his later career.
As an additional piece, I found this reference on a reply to a Libertarian friend of mine's question on Facebook about this issue. Had I eliminated any friends whose beliefs didn't match mine over the past divisive 4 years, and placed myself in a ideological silo, I might never have seen this librarian's article that sheds light on the bigger picture. Listening to others with differing viewpoints is worthwhile.
"Now, more than ever, the illusions of division threaten our very existence. We all know the truth: more connects us than separates us. But in times of crisis the wise build bridges, while the foolish build barriers. We must find a way to look after one another as if we were one single tribe.” -King T'Challa, Black Panther
The truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it. ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is. ~Winston Churchill
I agree with that. There were many past writings that, looking though today’s periscope, are full on racist. That’s because much of the country in that time was full on racist. It is our history. We can’t change it by hiding it but if we hide it, we are more likely to repeat it.
What is racist? One of the images labelled as racist in Mulberry was Asians eating rice with sticks. Guess what, Asians today, still eat rice with chopsticks. So do people all over the world. Some people will decide something is racist while most won't see it. And now E-Bay had jumped aboard and is refusing to re-sell the six books.
Thomas Sowell: There are no solutions, just trade-offs.
If you know and understand history, this is a really easy argument to win.
Think of a time in history where any kind of books were banned or any kind of speech was censored, then ask yourself if those people doing the banning and or censoring were the good guys.
The left is angry because they are now being judged by the content of their character and not by the color of their skin.
