Dr. Seuss Enterprises recently announced that six of the famous children’s books will no longer be published, due to the racist and insensitive imagery shown in them. The six books are And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, If I Ran the Zoo, McElligot's Pool, On Beyond Zebra!, Scrambled Eggs Super!, and The Cat's Quizzer. Examples of offensive stereotypes in these books include drawing black boxers as gorillas, leaning into harmful Jewish stereotypes, and portraying an Asian person wearing a conical hat, holding chopsticks, and eating from a bowl. Although the discontinuation of these books had good intent, many are still upset by the news of the famed author’s books. The Foundation Against Intolerance and Racism recently developed a website called “Banned, Seuss 2020” and they say “Erasing books is insanity. Stand up for our common humanity.”
Since the discontinuation of these six books, sales in Dr. Seuss literature have skyrocketed. His books became rare collectibles almost instantly, and Dr. Seuss books currently make up about half of Amazon's top 20 bestseller books. However, there remains a small dilemma for libraries all over the world. On one hand, banning the books would allow for there to be less insensitive material, but on the other hand, telling a child they cannot read the book is a form of censorship and intrusion on their intellectual freedom. The conflict is between values of free expression and acknowledging that some content may be hurtful. Even though this may seem like a difficult situation, it is unlikely that the libraries will pull a book even when some find it racist or otherwise offensive; it will probably merely be placed in a more inconspicuous location. Although it is a controversial topic, authors who tailor their books towards children should still be very aware of the influence their imagery can have on a kid. Rebekah Fitzsimmons, an assistant teaching professor at Carnegie Mellon University, tweeted “The books we share with our children matter. Books shape their worldview and tell them how to relate to the people, places, and ideas around them. As grown-ups, we have to examine the worldview we are creating for our children, including carefully re-examining our favorites.” Although it is sad to see six classics be discontinued, it is ultimately for the best. This way, fewer children will be exposed to the offensive stereotypes portrayed in the books, hopefully allowing them to generate their own feelings without subconsciously feeling prejudice toward any certain group. Reported by Fiona Wu Comments are closed.
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