Dr Seuss: Members on the right are furious that their favorite child’s author has been ‘cancelled’

Right-wing commentators have found a new obsession in their war on so-called “cancel culture” – beloved children’s author Dr. Seuss.

Earlier this week, the society working to preserve the author’s legacy announced it would cease publication of six of his books due to racist and insensitive depictions of people of color.

The restricted list of books, which includes titles such as If I ran the zoo and On Beyond the Zebra!are not among Dr. Seuss’s best-known stories, and the titles have been criticized for racially insensitive images of blacks and Asians.

“These books portray people in a hurtful and false way,” Dr. Seuss Enterprises said.

“Stopping sales of these books is just part of our commitment and larger plan to ensure the Dr. Seuss Enterprises catalog represents and supports all communities and families.

Inevitably, this rather bland statement annoyed right-wing personalities and news channels, which tried to present it as yet another attack on freedom of expression.

Here’s a taste of what happened at Fox News yesterday:

And here’s Ben Shapiro comparing the decision to end publication of a handful of titles to “book burning”:

House Republican Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy also got in on the act, telling Congress that Democrats tried to “outlaw Dr. Seuss.”

Somehow Fox News also managed to get Obama into it…

And some commentators have used the story as another opportunity to criticize rap music…

Of course, Dr Seuss hasn’t been “cancelled” and you can still buy classic books such as The cat in the hat, How the Grinch Stole Christmas and Green eggs and ham.

In fact, you can still buy old copies of all six “banned” books – there simply won’t be any new copies in the future.

As Late Show host Stephen Colbert explained last night, the decision to cease publication of these books is not to ‘cancel’ a speech or certain ideas, but to try to put all readers at ease. .

“They [Dr Seuss Enterprises] recognize the impact these images could have on readers, especially children, and they are trying to fix it,” Colbert said.

“Because Dr. Seuss books should be fun for everyone: Blacks, whites, straights, gays, Sneetches (both starred and singles), Loraxes, Bar-ba-loots, all the Whos of Whoville and the strange angry creature named Foo Foo the Snoo.

The late-night entertainer even offered a selection of other children’s books for parents to purchase instead…

After: The Controversial Things About Dr. Seuss That Caught Me By Surprise