5 ms·
In this particular case, saying that the books were “cancelled” or banned is false. The publishing company was set up by his family and they are choosing to no
by tareqak 6y ago
In this particular case, saying that the books were “cancelled” or banned is false. The publishing company was set up by his family and they are choosing to no longer publish or sell more copies. For them to be forced to publish those books again would actually be against free speech.
https://apnews.com/article/dr-seuss-books-racist-images-d8ed18335c03319d72f443594c174513 https://apnews.com/article/dr-seuss-books-racist-images-d8ed...
> BOSTON (AP) — 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 other books affected are “McElligot’s Pool,” “On Beyond Zebra!,” “Scrambled Eggs Super!,” and “The Cat’s Quizzer.”
> 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.
(Emphasis mine)
- SilverRed 6y agoIts a little more than that. Amazon immediately pulled it and ebay stated they will start delisting auctions of the books. Sure, its not the government, but once big tech groups up to stomp something out it may as well be banned. I would be surprised if the hosting company pulls the plug on this site.
- arpa 6y agoDon't worry, we have the pirate bay for preserving culture, good or bad.
- jonas21 6y agoBased on the statement from Seuss Enterprises, I'd imagine that Amazon's action is in line with the wishes of the author's heirs.
- jasonpeacock 6y agoThe estate requested that sales be ceased, in addition to their decision to stop publishing. This was likely coordinated with requests to Amazon and other sellers/resellers to pull the books from their shelves/catalogs. Having Amazon independently decide to stop selling a book is one thing, but it is not this - this the author's estate requesting that sales be stopped.
- tareqak 6y agoI would like to see if Dr. Seuss Enterprises did direct Amazon and eBay to perform this action. If so, then it makes sense.
- thatguy0900 6y agohttps://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=Minstrel+man https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=Minstrel+man it doesn't seem like eBay cares enough about the subject to take its own initiative against it
- phendrenad2 6y agoSo can you sell the book used on eBay? If not, and the "blame" is on the Seuss estate, how is that not against the First Sale principle?
- tareqak 6y agoIs eBay required to have their platform be used to sell items they do not want to be associated with? Your comment make me think of something else though: I wonder if Dr. Seuss Enterprises would be willing to offer to buy back these banned books?
- phendrenad2 6y agoWell there are two different arguments here. One is that eBay is free to take down whatever they want. That's true. The other is that a publisher can request that something be taken down in the used market, which I think isn't true, ...maybe?
- QuadmasterXLII 6y agoIf I delete my own facebook post its not censorship for facebook to stop serving it.
- ZenPsycho 6y agoif only HN could muster this enthusiasm and anger about Big Tech ganging up to stomp out minority voices. The world might be a better place.
- weare138 6y agohttps://www.amazon.com/If-Ran-Zoo-Classic-Seuss/dp/0394800818/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=If+I+Ran+the+Zoo&qid=1615087421&sr=8-1 https://www.amazon.com/If-Ran-Zoo-Classic-Seuss/dp/039480081... https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2380057.m570.l1313&_nkw=If+I+Ran+the+Zoo&_sacat=0 https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2380057.m...
- readflaggedcomm 6y agoCeasing sales isn't cancelling in the same way deeming it offensive isn't accusation it offended.
- Spooky23 6y agoIt’s also weird because “And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street” wasn’t published for some time, and was resumed with the last 10-15 years. It’s an early book that honestly doesn’t deserve the attention of the later masterful works. I would think the right wing politicians would be more upset about “Horton Hears a Who”, “Yertle the Turtle” and the “Butter Battle Book”.
- ziml77 6y agoI was wondering if it was an early piece. It really isn't very good.
- linksnapzz 6y agoIt's a lovely little tale about where imagination can take you, and how difficult it is to express what you might have imagined...it's been one of my favorites since I was very small.
- prepend 6y agoDo you think self censoring is not censoring? What should we call it instead?