Wednesday, March 03, 2021

Oh,The Things You'll Learn!

Statement from Dr. Seuss Enterprises

Today, on Dr. Seuss’s Birthday, Dr. Seuss Enterprises celebrates reading and also our mission of supporting all children and families with messages of hope, inspiration, inclusion, and friendship.

We are committed to action. To that end, Dr. Seuss Enterprises, working with a panel of experts, including educators, reviewed our catalog of titles and made the decision last year to cease publication and licensing of the following titles: And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, If I Ran the Zoo, McElligot’s Pool, On Beyond Zebra!, Scrambled Eggs Super!, and The Cat’s Quizzer. These books portray people in ways that are hurtful and wrong. 

Ceasing sales of these books is only part of our commitment and our broader plan to ensure Dr. Seuss Enterprises’s catalog represents and supports all communities and families.

I don't know; I just thought that was important to note.

I still don't care about this "issue," except now my Jr. Senator has weighed in on it because actually representing the interests and concerns of the people of Texas who are facing new strains of coronavirus (here in Houston, Ted!  Better run to Mexico again!), outrageous electricity bills, and still no water for many (mostly apartment tenants so screw them, right Ted?) is so boooring, or something.  Besides, it's not affecting his daughters, so what does he care?

Once again, all he really did was prove he should stay off Twitter. Sharp eyes will note, of the titles Dr. Seuss Enterprises has chosen not to republish or license, absolutely....NONE...are captured in his tweet.

According to the Raw Story article, a lot of people on Twitter were very upset with Cruz's blaming Biden for a "ban" on Seuss books.  I don't care that Cruz knows better (1st Amendment, anyone?), or that he's an "unChristian liar" (kind of a given, isn't it?)  I find it funny he missed the point entirely, because none of the books being pulled from continued publication are selling that well, anyway. (I still love "On Beyond Zebra!," but frankly I never tried to buy a copy of it as an adult, I just assumed it went out of print years ago because, AFAIK, it was never that popular.  I might buy one now that I know it'll be hard to find, but to be honest, who gives a shit about these books?  The diminishing audience of FoxNews?)  Which frankly, raises a question about whether this is a marketing move as much as anything else.

Eh, even I'm not that cynical.  But this decision isn't hitting Dr. Seuess Enterprises in the pocketbook and, if anything, is probably boosting interest in the rest of their product.  So maybe I am that cynical....
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1 comment:

  1. The Thought Criminal5:36 AM

    Seuss commented on the racism of his WWII vintage posters (the ones he made after the dear old commies were officially against Hitler again when he double crossed the double crossing gangster the commies preferred) and he more or less said that things like that should be left in the past. It honors Doctor Seuss more to scrap what should be left behind than to use him this way. I have a feeling that FOX or the Koch operation or its like have people researching promising bullshit "issues" like this to send up as flack and get their natural base, the really stupid, organized.

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