Drier: Has political correctness gone too far?
Mary Drier, For the Tribune
March 12, 2021
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Mary Drier
There has been a flurry of news articles about companies changing their logos on products or the products themselves because they were perceived as being insensitive to some cultures.
I was rather surprised when there wasn’t the usual fanfare about reading in celebration of Dr. Seuss and his birthday. Theodor Seuss Geisel (aka Dr. Seuss) was born March 2, 1904. There was usually a big deal made about reading on March 2.
Then, I saw a news broadcast that some of his books were going to stop being printed because it was felt the illustrations were racist.
The two sides of Dr. Seuss
John J. Dunphy
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Unless you’re a convict who is currently in solitary confinement, you surely know that Dr. Seuss Enterprises, which oversees the estate of the late Theodor Geisel, a/k/a, Dr. Seuss, will discontinue publication of six of his works. “These books portray people in ways that are hurtful and wrong,” Dr. Seuss Enterprises said in a statement. This decision was reached after consultation with a panel of experts, including educators, who reviewed Seuss’ books. Random House Children’s Books, which publishes Seuss’ books, announced in a public statement that it respected the decision.
Colin McEnroe: Green eggs and ham all over face of those who misread Dr. Seuss decision
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Books by Theodor Seuss Geisel, aka Dr. Seuss, including “On Beyond Zebra!” and “And to Think That I Saw it on Mulberry Street,” will no longer be printed due to accusations of racist and insensitive imagery. The other titles are “If I Ran the Zoo,” “McElligot’s Pool,” “Scrambled Eggs Super!” and “The Cat’s Quizzer.”Scott Olson / Getty Images
Everybody calm down.
Dr. Seuss is not being canceled, and his books are not being banned. If I had a little more energy, I’d put that in anapestic tetrameter.
Image: AP (AP)
The right has attached itself to the latest casualty of the cancel culture wars: Late children’s book author Dr. Seuss.
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On Tuesday, Dr. Seuss Enterprises, the organization which owns the rights to the books and characters of Theodor Seuss Geisel better known as Dr. Seuss announced that it would no longer distribute or license a handful of Seuss books that include outdated racist caricatures and contradict their “mission” of “hope, inspiration, inclusion, and friendship.”
“[Dr. Seuss Enterprises], working with a panel of experts, including educators, reviewed our catalog of titles and made the decision last year to cease publication and licensing of the following titles: