Dr. Seuss being canceled...

 
Saying this without recognizing that he is being "cancelled" for making racist caricatures (including the n-word w/ the hard "R") in his older advertising material for Flit and not his books is misleading. In the past, he made much use of the "sambo" character a lot in those older works, and also in one children's book that he himself removed later in his life.

That is probably why some people are moving away from him, but IMO he definitively made progress in realizing his errors in using those racist stereotypes and moved away from them. He should be scrutinized but not outright "cancelled." I see no shame, however, in educators trying to find more diverse alternatives in what they read to their kids.

This article from his own website adresses this issue perfectly: https://www.drseussart.com/dr-seuss-use-of-racist-images
 
ayCC! said:
Saying this without recognizing that he is being "cancelled" for making racist caricatures (including the n-word w/ the hard "R") in his older advertising material for Flit and not his books is misleading. In the past, he made much use of the "sambo" character a lot in those older works, and also in one children's book that he himself removed later in his life.

That is probably why some people are moving away from him, but IMO he definitively made progress in realizing his errors in using those racist stereotypes and moved away from them. He should be scrutinized but not outright "cancelled." I see no shame, however, in educators trying to find more diverse alternatives in what they read to their kids.

This article from his own website adresses this issue perfectly: https://www.drseussart.com/dr-seuss-use-of-racist-images
Click to expand...
People who aren't interested in their kids learning to read can ignore the Good Doctor.
 
OldSoulon said:
People who aren't interested in their kids learning to read can ignore the Good Doctor.
Click to expand...
There are alternatives for kids to learn to read, just like there are alternatives for people to post whatever they want on social media. Quality may vary, however.

Will not argue that the guy did make the whole learning to read process very much easier, though.
 
Raider6309 said:
You think about Trump way too much
Click to expand...
So does your party who still sees him as the leader and the way forward after he got his beat and lost the majority in the senate and house on his watch . He was the keynote speaker yesterday, so millions of people are still 'Thinking " about him .
 
Harrycrane said:
So does your party who still sees him as the leader and the way forward after he got his beat and lost the majority in the senate and house on his watch . He was the keynote speaker yesterday, so millions of people are still 'Thinking " about him .
Click to expand...
Seems like the Republicans picked up House seats in 2020, and will likely take the majority in 2022.

Possibly the Senate, too, at that time.

Old Dumb Joe better start working more than 4 hours a day if he wants to implement his Anti-America agenda.
 
OhioBobcatFan06 said:
I feel like I remember hearing Dr Seuss was a big racist or Jew hater or something a long time ago?
Click to expand...

He used a lot of caricatures for Japanese people during WWII that many would frown upon today. Same with caricatures for Africans and Arabs in other cartoon strips he published.

His WWII propaganda cartoons were very pro-war/anti-isolationist, criticized anti-semitism and perceived haters of Jews, and were very anti-Japanese. I believe he published one cartoon strip during WWII were he depicted Japanese-Americans in California as being a "5th Column" that would undermine the war effort and take on the United States. He probably would have been very in favor of the government's policy of relocating people of Japanese ancestry off of the west coast and to internment camps.
 
I didn't watch. Trump is at his best at stump rallies. All friendly cult members and he can say whatever he wants and they applaud. Even all the BS lies.

On point who will teach kids about Capitalism through The Lorax? Lol.

Regardless, cancel culture needs canceled.
 
nwwarrior09 said:
He used a lot of caricatures for Japanese people during WWII that many would frown upon today. Same with caricatures for Africans and Arabs in other cartoon strips he published.

His WWII propaganda cartoons were very pro-war/anti-isolationist, criticized anti-semitism and perceived haters of Jews, and were very anti-Japanese. I believe he published one cartoon strip during WWII were he depicted Japanese-Americans in California as being a "5th Column" that would undermine the war effort and take on the United States. He probably would have been very in favor of the government's policy of relocating people of Japanese ancestry off of the west coast and to internment camps.
Click to expand...
I'd never heard about his work prior to the children's books. Kinda shocking, but unsurprising for the times. What's very interesting is that he wrote "Horton Hears A Who" as an apology to the Japanese people. After the war he recognized what he'd done and worked toward changing his attitude.

https://www.openculture.com/2014/08/dr-seuss-draws-racist-anti-japanese-cartoons-during-ww-ii.html
 
Harrycrane said:
So does your party who still sees him as the leader and the way forward after he got his beat and lost the majority in the senate and house on his watch . He was the keynote speaker yesterday, so millions of people are still 'Thinking " about him .
Click to expand...
love Trump, love what he did for ALL americans....... you gotta love the America FIRST theme....
 
OldSoulon said:
Seems like the Republicans picked up House seats in 2020, and will likely take the majority in 2022.

Possibly the Senate, too, at that time.

Old Dumb Joe better start working more than 4 hours a day if he wants to implement his Anti-America agenda.
Click to expand...
that boy ain't working 4 hours a day....
 
irish_buffalo said:
I didn't watch. Trump is at his best at stump rallies. All friendly cult members and he can say whatever he wants and they applaud. Even all the BS lies.

On point who will teach kids about Capitalism through The Lorax? Lol.

Regardless, cancel culture needs canceled.
Click to expand...
you mean the dumazz democrats who thought uncle joe was moderate....the boy is a puppet, and should be sitting on a park bench feeding pigeons......or walking around his back yard with just his under ware on.....
 
Zunardo said:
I'd never heard about his work prior to the children's books. Kinda shocking, but unsurprising for the times. What's very interesting is that he wrote "Horton Hears A Who" as an apology to the Japanese people. After the war he recognized what he'd done and worked toward changing his attitude.

https://www.openculture.com/2014/08/dr-seuss-draws-racist-anti-japanese-cartoons-during-ww-ii.html
Click to expand...

The link is a fantastic read. As noted in it, when looking at Seuss political cartoons from the time it's very interesting to note the difference in how he illustrates Germans and Japanese as enemies of the United States, and I'd argue, how he seems to use illustration to try to sway opinion and emotion much more strongly against Japan than against Germany.

Like many Americans during that time that weren't too far removed in the family tree from Germany, he seems to cast a much more favorable view on the possibility of redemption and good qualities in the German state and people. It was much more culturally and probably racially acceptable to the majority of Americans during that time period to wage total war on the Japanese than on the Germans.
 
Last edited:
nwwarrior09 said:
The link is a fantastic read. As noted in it, when looking at Seuss political cartoons from the time it's very interesting to note the difference in how he illustrates Germans and Japanese as enemies of the United States, and I'd argue, how he seems to use illustration to try to sway opinion and emotion much more strongly against Japan than against Germany.

Like many Americans during that time that weren't too far removed in the family tree from Germany, he seems to cast a much more favorable view on the possibility of redemption and good qualities in the German state and people. It was much more culturally and probably racially acceptable to the majority of Americans during that time period to wage total war on the Japanese than on the Germans.
Click to expand...
Probably had more to do with Pearl Harbor than some affinity for Germany.
 
nwwarrior09 said:
Like many Americans during that time that weren't too far removed in the family tree from Germany, he seems to cast a much more favorable view on the possibility of redemption and good qualities in the German state and people. It was much more culturally and probably racially acceptable to the majority of Americans during that time period to wage total war on the Japanese than on the Germans.
Click to expand...
It should also be noted that he was the target of a lot of anti-German sentiment as a teen during WWI. That could have played a factor as well.
 
Indiandad said:
Probably had more to do with Pearl Harbor than some affinity for Germany.
Click to expand...

I don't think it would have been feasible, by the shear numbers of German-heritage Americans at the time, to target them domestically or go after the motherland with firebombs and the atom bombs like Japan. By this point with the six million or so German immigrants over the previous 100 years "German-Americans" had to easily be the largest ethnic group in this country, although "Americanization" of most in the group was probably much greater than during WWI.

As done in many political cartoons from the time including those from Dr. Seuss, IMO it was much easier to portray and sell Japan and the Japanese as being "other" and repugnant or vile than the European axis alliance members, especially Germany, as there were very few Japanese and Asians in general in this country at the time. At the 1940 census roughly 90% of the country was white, and factoring in blacks accounted for close to 99.5% of the population.
 
www.foxnews.com

6 Dr. Seuss books to stop being published because of racist imagery

The sales of six Dr. Seuss books will cease over racist and insensitive imagery, according to the business that preserves and protects the author’s legacy.
www.foxnews.com www.foxnews.com

I contend that someone should desecrate his gravesite, bring the racist Dr. to the surface and require him (or whatever he identifies as in death) to atone for his past transgressions. SHAME! SHAME! SHAME!
 
thisisinsane said:
www.foxnews.com

6 Dr. Seuss books to stop being published because of racist imagery

The sales of six Dr. Seuss books will cease over racist and insensitive imagery, according to the business that preserves and protects the author’s legacy.
www.foxnews.com www.foxnews.com

I contend that someone should desecrate his gravesite, bring the racist Dr. to the surface and require him (or whatever he identifies as in death) to atone for his past transgressions. SHAME! SHAME! SHAME!
Click to expand...
All of those books contain the racist caricatures outlined earlier. These were from before Geisel realized the harm his propaganda caused, and his resulting move away from said caricatures. I believe he dedicated one of his books to a Japanese friend who helped him realize this.
 
ayCC! said:
All of those books contain the racist caricatures outlined earlier. These were from before Geisel realized the harm his propaganda caused, and his resulting move away from said caricatures. I believe he dedicated one of his books to a Japanese friend who helped him realize this.
Click to expand...
Chapelles show has numerous racist caricatures, just saying. Grandstanding from his foundation at its finest. Maybe keep the books so youth can be taught from them? Kind of like history ??‍♂️
 
nwwarrior09 said:
I don't think it would have been feasible, by the shear numbers of German-heritage Americans at the time, to target them domestically or go after the motherland with firebombs and the atom bombs like Japan.
Click to expand...
You know anything WW 2 ? Almost every major German city was " firebombed " to the ground by the Allies. Only reason Berlin was not nuked is because the US decided to let Russia take it plus the A - bomb was not quite completed when the Jerry's surrendered. Look at these pictures of Berlin : https://rarehistoricalphotos.com/berlin-end-war-1945/

Or how about these photos of Dresden : https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2015/02/remembering-dresden-70-years-after-the-firebombing/385445/

Yeah the US took it " easy " on Germany.
 
Last edited:
thisisinsane said:
Chapelles show has numerous racist caricatures, just saying. Grandstanding from his foundation at its finest. Maybe keep the books so youth can be taught from them? Kind of like history ??‍♂️
Click to expand...
The difference is chappelles show is primarily aimed at adults, and was still something that drew up controversy when it was initially released. I’d be all for the education of why these caricatures were wrong, but currently just printing these without any disclaimers isn’t doing any good. A reprint that educates the reader on the errs of the authors past is something that I’d be for.
 
Stirred not Shaken said:
You know anything WW 2 ? Almost every major German city was " firebombed " to the ground by the Allies.
Click to expand...
German cities may have been bombed into rubble, but not by firebombs. Japanese cities were firebombed because their housing was more flammable.

Yeah I know about Dresden. That's a different story.

Stirred not Shaken said:
Only reason Berlin was not nuked is because the US decided to let Russia take it plus the A - bomb was not quite completed when the Jerry's surrendered.

Yeah the US took it " easy " on Germany.
Click to expand...
You say the "only reason" and then give two reasons.

I don't know if we would have nuked the Germans or not. I do know the German government, military, and people were a lot closer to being unable or unwilling to fight in May 1945 than the Japanese government, military, or people were in August.

Before Okinawa, intelligence estimated the war in Japan would take another year and cost 1 million US casualties. (Based upon what we learned later, that is on the low side.) Who would want that?
 
ayCC! said:
All of those books contain the racist caricatures outlined earlier. These were from before Geisel realized the harm his propaganda caused, and his resulting move away from said caricatures. I believe he dedicated one of his books to a Japanese friend who helped him realize this.
Click to expand...
What harm?
 
ayCC! said:
The difference is chappelles show is primarily aimed at adults, and was still something that drew up controversy when it was initially released. I’d be all for the education of why these caricatures were wrong, but currently just printing these without any disclaimers isn’t doing any good. A reprint that educates the reader on the errs of the authors past is something that I’d be for.
Click to expand...
Where is your evidence for that? These Dr.Seuss books are causing 4-5 year olds inherent racism? We’d spend more time explaining a disclaimer. How soft are you? Geez... a disclaimer for Disney and Seuss?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top