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Dr. Seuss books deemed offensive will be delisted from eBay

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Re: Dr. Seuss books deemed offensive will be delisted from eBay

#571

Post by mikaeluman »

yawaworht1978 wrote: post #569

It is so hard to decide whether racism or racist hints (in the UK it is more discreet, disguised as classist but all the same) should be banned because racism is not compatible with todays civilized society or if it should be allowed so the stupid racists can expose their bigoted selves. EBay has all the rights to do this, private platform and all that. Having Such books in the product portfolio is contaminating the…

The author is dead.

Perhaps you would like to ask authors of books from earlier centuries to modify them so as to not be offensive.

Are you serious?

Re: Dr. Seuss books deemed offensive will be delisted from eBay

#572

Post by probably_wrong »

DangitBobby wrote: post #553
o_v_o wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's 6 of Dr. Seuss's books, and ones that most people haven't heard of. If you actually look at the content of the books, they are clearly racist and demeaning to those they make caricatures of. And in any case, it was not a sudden "canceling" or anything approaching that. Seuss's estate, managed by his family, made the decision after much deliberation to cease the publication of only six books due to the content. Y…

I quickly read through Mulberry Street a few minutes ago, and there is a depiction of a Chinese man "eating with sticks." He is wearing sandals, a straw hat, a robe, and holding chop sticks. His facial features are not exaggerated or like a caricature in any way. To me, it's clearly a mistake.

According to this article [1] you may have read the updated version.

> Seuss actually grew to become more aware of his harmful images later in his life, and to regret them, eventually revising the Mulberry Street text and illustration. "I had a gentleman with a pigtail. I colored him yellow and called him a 'Chinaman,'" Seuss said. "That's the way things were 50 years ago. In later editions, I refer to him as a 'Chinese man.' I have taken the color out of the gentleman and removed the pigtail and now he looks like an Irishman."

[1] https://theweek.com/articles/969777/complicated-quagmire-dr-...

Re: Dr. Seuss books deemed offensive will be delisted from eBay

#573

Post by wirrbel »

major505 wrote: post #96

I don't know any culture that banned books independent of their content that people didn't regret in the future. A few months ago I was reading about schools banning the book "To Kill a Mockingbird" because it contains basically the "n" word. I'm not american, and and havent read that book. I watched the movie, through, and it seemed to me to be a very anti racism message. I think instead of banning, schools should w…

Germany here, we banned Mein Kampf from being sold (used copyright law to do that). I once stood in a book shop (teenager, time to look at books but not enough money to buy them) and some skindheads wanted to buy it, it wasn't available. They went away.

Providing context is good, but frankly also really difficult and why not just provide newer childrens books that are more inclusive.

Re: Dr. Seuss books deemed offensive will be delisted from eBay

#574

Post by JKCalhoun »

lgleason wrote: post #562

As dis-heartening as this story is, compared to a couple of years ago, it is encouraging to see lots of comments from people beginning to wake up to what is going on with this craziness and not being modded here. Free speech is about protecting the right of the un-popular and views that some may find utterly repugnant. Why? because, as we are seeing with all of the woke craziness, when you don't stand up for everyone…

I don't really see anything to get excited about. It's just a sign that the pendulum is about to swing back in the other direction.

Re: Dr. Seuss books deemed offensive will be delisted from eBay

#575

Post by m8s »

lgleason wrote: post #562

As dis-heartening as this story is, compared to a couple of years ago, it is encouraging to see lots of comments from people beginning to wake up to what is going on with this craziness and not being modded here. Free speech is about protecting the right of the un-popular and views that some may find utterly repugnant. Why? because, as we are seeing with all of the woke craziness, when you don't stand up for everyone…

Freedom speech as defined in the first amendment of the U.S. Constitution states that "Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

What we are seeing here is a consequence of our capitalist society. It is now more profitable for eBay and other companies to pull or ban things that may cause controversy. There's no censorship here. You can find these books at other retailers. In fact, you're likely to see some businesses thrive by specifically carrying the things that other retailers refuse to carry.

Re: Dr. Seuss books deemed offensive will be delisted from eBay

#576

Post by flarg »

mikaeluman wrote: post #570

It’s bad enough that the company self-cancels the books. But now we also can’t even have a secondary market for what already exists. People have severely underestimated the influence these woke people have. In my company, we receive forms from clients asking us to survey our employees for their sexual preferences and racial categories, essentially based on the same nomenclature used in nazi Germany. It is completely…

I sat in class while we learnt a carol which included the lines 'even if he's black sir'. It sucked. Not just offensive. To kill a mockingbird is a great book but not suitable for kids in it's current form but I don't think it should be rewritten. This isn't woke, it's decency and kindness.

Re: Dr. Seuss books deemed offensive will be delisted from eBay

#577

Post by quattrofan »

major505 wrote: post #96

I don't know any culture that banned books independent of their content that people didn't regret in the future. A few months ago I was reading about schools banning the book "To Kill a Mockingbird" because it contains basically the "n" word. I'm not american, and and havent read that book. I watched the movie, through, and it seemed to me to be a very anti racism message. I think instead of banning, schools should w…

100% this

Re: Dr. Seuss books deemed offensive will be delisted from eBay

#578

Post by mns »

flarg wrote: post #576
mikaeluman wrote: post #570

It’s bad enough that the company self-cancels the books. But now we also can’t even have a secondary market for what already exists. People have severely underestimated the influence these woke people have. In my company, we receive forms from clients asking us to survey our employees for their sexual preferences and racial categories, essentially based on the same nomenclature used in nazi Germany. It is completely…

I sat in class while we learnt a carol which included the lines 'even if he's black sir'. It sucked. Not just offensive. To kill a mockingbird is a great book but not suitable for kids in it's current form but I don't think it should be rewritten. This isn't woke, it's decency and kindness.

You can't just go out there and delete history, no matter how bad it was, because you know what happens when you do that? You will end up repeating the past mistakes. The book shows how society was back then, you can't just all of a sudden decide that it didn't exist and somehow put kids in a bubble and hide our past from them.

Re: Dr. Seuss books deemed offensive will be delisted from eBay

#580

Post by thaumasiotes »

major505 wrote: post #96

I don't know any culture that banned books independent of their content that people didn't regret in the future. A few months ago I was reading about schools banning the book "To Kill a Mockingbird" because it contains basically the "n" word. I'm not american, and and havent read that book. I watched the movie, through, and it seemed to me to be a very anti racism message. I think instead of banning, schools should w…

> I watched the movie, through, and it seemed to me to be a very anti racism message.

The book is required reading for most American students for basically that reason.

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