Dr. Seuss books deemed offensive will be delisted from eBay

Post by kleer001 » Fri, Mar 05, 2021, 4:02 AM UTC

KirillPanov wrote: post #448

john_moscow wrote: post #297

I think, the social mechanics of this process is very simple. Ability to tell others what to do is called power. Some people are more power-hungry than others, so they seek ways to assert themselves over others. That's a perfectly normal human thing to do. What matters is the way you would achieve power in a society. Getting power through building up your name as a notable researcher or author is one thing. Playing f…

> a power-hungry person can have the pleasure of telling 1000 other people what to say, and financially obliterate those who don't comply > Some people are more power-hungry than others True. Also, some people are more violent than others, but we try to keep those away from the rest of the population and gradually titrate them out of the gene pool. I would love to live in a society that treated insatiable thirst for…

Post by ojnabieoot » Fri, Mar 05, 2021, 4:06 AM UTC

DC1350 wrote: post #418

ojnabieoot wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As I pointed out elsewhere, this is misleading and approaching a lie. eBay only allows critically-annotated copies of Mein Kampf which are designed for scholars. I am sure that a copy of “If I Ran The Zoo” with a sociologist critically annotating the abhorrent racism would be permitted on eBay. From one of the listed items: > This item has been listed previously. eBay removed it with this reminder of the guidelines:…

What about this one? https://www.ebay.ca/itm/Der-Giftpilz-by-Ernst-Hiemer-English... I can buy a children’s book written by literal Nazis that was created to teach kids why Jews are bad and how to recognize them. I can’t buy a Dr. Seuss book about the zoo because there’s a mildly offensive picture of a Chinese person. Really?

Post by [deleted] » Fri, Mar 05, 2021, 4:07 AM UTC

caeril wrote: post #134

unityByFreedom wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It is one thing for libraries and bookstores to decide not to offer for borrowing or sale things that they disagree with. Ebay is a private merchant. They can choose what to list too. Maybe this presents a copyright problem with clones, we don't know. I found the books by googling the title and PDF because I was curious about why they were removed. Curiosity satisifed and I still love Dr. Seuss.

The "private company" argument, while fully and technically correct, is such a ridiculous canard to trot out at a time when we slide rapidly into public-private authoritarianism. Someone (probably), in 1934 Hacker News: "BASF, Deutsche Bank, Hugo Boss, Bayer, BMW, and Siemens are private merchants. They can choose what to sell, and to whom. Maybe this presents a survival problem for the Jews, we don't know." I guess…

Post by [deleted] » Fri, Mar 05, 2021, 4:08 AM UTC

vorpalhex wrote: post #218

unityByFreedom wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It is one thing for libraries and bookstores to decide not to offer for borrowing or sale things that they disagree with. Ebay is a private merchant. They can choose what to list too. Maybe this presents a copyright problem with clones, we don't know. I found the books by googling the title and PDF because I was curious about why they were removed. Curiosity satisifed and I still love Dr. Seuss.

Comcast is a private company, they can choose what sites to allow. Maybe this is a problem with HN. Colorado Power is a private company, they can choose who to sell power to. Maybe this is a problem with that data center.

Post by irrational » Fri, Mar 05, 2021, 4:11 AM UTC