Today, on what would have been Theodor Geisel's (Dr. Seuss) 117th birthday, the company that protects the author's legacy Dr. Seuss Enterprises has decided to stop publication of six of his books because of images that have been deemed racially insensitive.
I wanted to take a look at a couple of the images in question to see if there was any basis for these books to be banned.
Here is a quote from an Associated Press article on the subject:
Six Dr. Seuss books — including “And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street” and “If I Ran the Zoo” — will stop being published because of racist and insensitive imagery, the business that preserves and protects the author’s legacy said Tuesday.“These books portray people in ways that are hurtful and wrong,” Dr. Seuss Enterprises told The Associated Press in a statement that coincided with the late author and illustrator’s birthday.
“Ceasing sales of these books is only part of our commitment and our broader plan to ensure Dr. Seuss Enterprises’ catalog represents and supports all communities and families,” it said.
The decision to cease publication and sales of the books was made last year after months of discussion, the company, which was founded by Seuss’ family, told AP.
“Dr. Seuss Enterprises listened and took feedback from our audiences including teachers, academics and specialists in the field as part of our review process. We then worked with a panel of experts, including educators, to review our catalog of titles,” it said.
In “And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street,” an Asian person is portrayed wearing a conical hat, holding chopsticks, and eating from a bowl. “If I Ran the Zoo” includes a drawing of two bare-footed African men wearing what appear to be grass skirts with their hair tied above their heads.
Okay, let's take a look at that first image about Asians.
Now according to "teachers, academics and specialists" this image is racist. I don't know who any of these ignorant people are, but they must live in a cave without any books or an internet connection because if they did they would know two things:
1. Asians wear conical hats
The Asian conical hat, commonly known as an Asian rice hat, coolie hat (in the UK), oriental hat or farmer's hat, is a simple style of conical hat originating in East, South and Southeast Asia; and notable in modern-day nations and regions of Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, parts of Outer Manchuria, Taiwan, Nepal, Tibet, Thailand, and Vietnam. - Wikipedia
2. Asians eat food in bowls with chopsticks
First used by the Chinese, chopsticks later spread to other East Asian cultural sphere countries including Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. As ethnic Chinese emigrated, the use of chopsticks as eating utensils for certain ethnic food took hold in South and Southeast Asian countries such as Cambodia, Laos, Nepal, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, and Thailand. In Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Nepal, chopsticks are generally used only to consume noodles. Similarly, chopsticks have become more accepted in connection with Asian food in Hawaii, the West Coast of North America, and cities with Overseas Asian communities all around the globe. - Wikipedia
I don't see anything racist there.
Now the second image:
Okay at first look this seems very racist. It shows two African tribespeople in grass skirts with a large whimsical bird on a pole. As with the first image knowledge is power.
Well, as a matter of fact, several tribes in Africa actually wore, and still wear, grass skirts for ceremonies, dances and in the past as every day attire.
They also don't wear shoes.
Even as a small child I knew this was a depiction of African tribespeople, not my African American classmates and neighbors.
It is easy to see how an uneducated person could see this illustrations as racist when in actuality they are culturally accurate.
If you look for racism in every single thing you will undoubtedly find it.
Undoubtedly Dr. Seuss Enterprises pulled these books under perceived pressure that someone my see this images and make a fuss on social media causing a bad PR situation for the company.
Check Out:
Comments
Post a Comment