March 6, 2021
They caved! The March 2, 2021 edition of the New York Post carried an article about the demonization of six books written by Dr. Seuss. It reported, “The family of author Theodor Seuss Geisel told the Associated Press on Tuesday that the decision to pull the books from publication followed a lengthy review of feedback from “teachers, academics and specialists.” The reasons for condemning the books were orientalism, anti-Blackness, and white supremacy. I’m sure the family of Dr. Seuss making the decision to bow before the critics loved that delightful author—not to mention the money his books and marketing paraphernalia made. Why would they turn their backs on him? Let’s look at what the complaints express.
First, orientalism. The online Merriam-Webster dictionary gives as the first definition of orientalism, “scholarship, learning, or study in Asian subjects or languages: Knowledge of Islam and Muslims crystallised [sic] into what became known, by the late 18th century, as Orientalism—the study of the history, languages and cultures of the East.” Is this something to be despised, and to turn our children’s heads away when passing a book display? Probably not. So let’s check Merriam-Webster again. Farther down the list is, “something (such as a style or manner) associated with or characteristic of Asia or Asians.”1 Perhaps this is more what the hyperventilating teachers, academics and specialists meant. In that case, do they believe Dr. Seuss put a certain characteristic in when he drew the eye, or put a turban on a head, to purposefully denigrate the characters he was drawing? If not, (and I hope they wouldn’t accord that intention to him), then what? It is a fact that different races have distinct and dissimilar characteristics. One is the shape of the eye. One shape is not preferred over the other by most people; it is a characteristic that does not define the person. Wearing turbans? While that is not common in the United States, although it is done by some, e.g. Ilhan Omar, it is preferred in other countries. The lack of commonness does not make it bad, or a subject of derision. Unless a person is consciously seeking to make a problem where none exists.
So, on to anti-Blackness. The Post quotes the study: “Only two of the forty-five characters are identified in the text as ‘African’ and both align with the theme of anti-Blackness. . . . Most startling is the complete invisibility and absence of women and girls of color across Seuss’ entire children’s book collection.” They actually counted the number of characters in Dr. Seuss’s books (2,240) and determined only 2 percent are “characters of color.” Perhaps, over the seventy-year timespan of the writing of these books, some people of color would tactfully have asked Dr. Seuss if he would mind including more characters of “their” color. My guess is he would have happily complied. So if no one in seven decades was concerned about it, why the big hoopla now? My guess is that if he had included more Black characters, this group would have found something wrong with the way he depicted them, or the setting in which he placed them. Just sayin’.
Now we get to the white supremacy claim. The New York Post doesn’t go into a lot of detail, but simply says, “The study insisted that ‘white supremacy is seen throughout’ the Dr. Seuss books, with white characters dominating the pages.” According to the U.S. Government census data, whites accounted for 88.6 percent of the population in 1960 and non-whites 11.4 percent. I don’t know when Dr. Seuss wrote each of the books, but taking that one census into account it seems natural that the preponderance of characters in his books would be white.
Please parents, teach your children to try not to offend anyone, but also not to feel guilty if someone takes offense when no offense was intended. To remove these books, or any books, or studies, or any of our history because someone at some time might be offended is a poor decision. If some prefer to not partake of something because they find it offensive, that is their right as Americans. How would we be able to study the mind and the rise of Adolph Hitler if we could not read Mein Kampf?
1“Orientalism.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, Accessed 6 Mar.2021