Six of Dr. Seuss's books Banned

By peachalulu · Mar 5, 2021 · 1.4K · 11
  1. Haven't really come across any writers talking about this and frankly I don't know what to say. I've seen cancel culture be brushed off on other writing sites, rudely dismissed as don't be a bigot and you don't have to worry, with little regard to the concept of who those gatekeepers of deciding what's bigotry will entail. Especially in a world that has weaponized politics.

    It was jaw-dropping to see so many writers advocate for pre-publication banning, or writer's being canceled for minor offenses as if their own manuscripts were so sanitized they need never worry, forgetting how many writers fought censorship to allow the erotica, graphic violence, or language - that often populates THEIR stories - to be published.

    Scarier then even the banning of Dr. Seuss's six books is the response of corporations (Ebay - so far) that are not allowing the reselling of old editions as if from now on the books don't exist. Considering these corporations helped to snuff out used book stores making it difficult to find exact books we now have warehouses where editions will rot rather than allow people to make up their own minds.

    What's next the endless digital tweaking of online editions?
    Xoic, Malisky, Storysmith and 3 others like this.

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  1. Friedrich Kugelschreiber
    Weird times we live in.
    Friedrich Kugelschreiber, Mar 5, 2021
      Steve Rivers likes this.
  2. Lemex
    They've not been banned, they've been withdrawn by their own publisher Dr Seuss Enterprises because they had depictions of non-whites that the company now considers insensitive.
    Lemex, Mar 5, 2021
  3. peachalulu
    Does it matter if the publisher itself bans the work or someone else. The results are the same, when the copies rot, if you can get your hands on one, it will be gone.

    Is this the legacy we're leaving authors, for estates to enjoy a comfortable living off our stories only to sell us up the river sacrificing a few of our works for whatever future insult we've committed. Thus condemning us, but not enough to stop all publication because these flawless people like the money.
    Not a future I'd want.
    If you publish an authors work you should stand by it. Or you have no business representing them.
    peachalulu, Mar 5, 2021
  4. Lemex
    I sympathise with what you're saying I guess, but I take issue with the use of the word 'banned' since it isn't correct. But fair enough.
    Lemex, Mar 5, 2021
  5. big soft moose
    Frankly I think its a storm in a teacup... publishers withdraw books from circulation all the time... thousands of books go out of print every year (generally because they aren't profitable, but sometimes for other reasons)... if it bothers you, self publish, if you chose to trad publish then its a fact that sooner or later your books will be out of print unless you become a runaway best seller, so this supposed awful future is actually already here and has been for a considerable time
    big soft moose, Mar 5, 2021
  6. big soft moose
    Also with my hat on , this is a contentious topic, the discussion here is okay, but we aren't going to allow it to degenerate into a debate about racism vs cancel culture.. anyone wanting to do that needs to take it to the debate room
    big soft moose, Mar 5, 2021
  7. Malisky
    I didn't know this until I read your blog. Although I'm not American and I have never read any of Dr. Seuss books (just googled it to get filled in), furthermore I acknowledge that this is no simple issue to address superficially - what should be done about it, or whether it's right or wrong and where should the lines be drawn, more importantly by whom - at least I have concluded through my own cultivation that I personally find this unacceptable and very suspicious. There should be freedom of speech, even when what is expressed is not to our liking and people should be able to choose what they read. Part of an interesting article I just read, which sums up my beliefs about it: "... imposing information restraints on a free people is far more dangerous than any ideas that may be expressed in that information". The biggest problem I perceive upon this is that people seem to be missing the point, or skip it altogether.
    Malisky, Mar 6, 2021
  8. peachalulu
    Malisky - I found it all very disenheartening. I collect old paperbacks and it's rare to find books that are reprinted for decades. Most fade after their initial runs. The ones that are reprinted are either by a beloved author or the book is beloved. Hard to watch someone throw away something that is rare.

    Liked your quote. Very good point.

    Dr. Seuss is quite fun! Green Eggs and Ham was always my favorite.
    peachalulu, Mar 6, 2021
      Malisky likes this.
  9. Wreybies
    But it’s not some Random House or Penguin or Daw or TOR or Ace Books. It’s the very foundation that owns the rights to the intellectual property - The Dr. Seuss Foundation - who is making this decision about their own intellectual property. The correct analogy is not that some heartless publisher cut you off later on down the road after they decided that you’re no longer a “good look” for them. The correct analogy is you pulling your book because you have evolved your sentiments and the material no longer represent you or what you wish to project.

    Should you or should you not have the opportunity to redress your past failings concerning your own property?

    And if the answer is no, you should not, then what does the obligation look like? What power do I - a fan of the old stuff - have to force you to continue to put out that book, and what other powers do I hold over you, invoked by the opening of this Pandora’s Box?
    Wreybies, Mar 8, 2021
  10. peachalulu
    Personally, if Dr. Seuss was alive and wanted to pull the books that would be his choice. Stephen King did this with his book Rage. That's not my issue. And I don't mind authors readdressing books – or offering unabridged editions. Totally their choice. And I can understand it from both sides - as a writer who would want to pull the book if I was troubled by it - or as a reader annoyed that I'd helped a writer become successful and could not find a new copy of their book when the old one wore out.

    My issue is less about the individual and more about companies, corporations and mobs. They're being held sway along with the authors to conform and the fact that the product/artwork/music/book came from another era doesn't matter. There is no empathy and a zero regard for context. Nobody really cares whether Dr. Seuss is a racist or not. They care about looking like they care. And they're doing more damage by caving than standing up and saying we'll publish the books until they're no longer selling.

    Because the caving, along with Ebay jumping in as if offering confirmation, to ban even the reselling of old copies is fostering an atmosphere of zero toleration. But of what? History? Individuality? Something that is or could be construed as offensive or racist or it is, what's the list?

    I know people think I'm over reacting but I'm going to be writing tough subjects. I want the same treatment as someone writing their XXX rated erotica which was fought by other writers standing up to censorship so that it could be printed. I want my publisher to have my back against the mob.
    peachalulu, Mar 9, 2021
  11. big soft moose
    Personally i'd say zero tolerance for unacceptable racism was a good thing... however that's not really whats happening here... you can still easily get copies of books like Mein Kampf, and the Turner Diaries.
    big soft moose, Mar 9, 2021
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