03/04/2021

I saw in the news that six Dr. Seuss' books were being pulled off the market because they're deemed racist.

I don't have an opinion about that, I haven't seen one since I was a kid. I don't remember there being any problem, although I used to have a copy of "Little Black Sambo" back then, too, and I don't remember any problem with that one either. 

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The Story of Little Black Sambo
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Story_of_Little_Black_Sambo
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The Five Chinese Brothers
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Five_Chinese_Brothers
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Times were different back then :-)

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6 Dr. Seuss books won’t be published for racist images
https://apnews.com/article/dr-seuss-books-racist-images-d8ed18335c03319d72f443594c174513
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Anyway it reminded me of Dr. Seuss.

When I was in first grade I remember reading one of his books about the letters AFTER 'Z' in the alphabet.

I think it must have been this one:

On Beyond Zebra! (September 12, 1955)
"If you think the alphabet stops with Z, you are wrong. So wrong. Leave it to Conrad Cornelius o'Donald o'Dell (with a little help from Dr. Seuss) to create an entirely new alphabet beginning with Z! This rhyming picture book introduces twenty new letters and the creatures that one can spell with them. Discover (and spell) such wonderfully Seussian creations as the Yuzz-a-ma-Tuzz and the High Gargel-orum. Readers young and old will be giggling from beginning to end . . . or should we say, from Yuzz to Hi!"

Anyway, even as a kid I thought "this is REALLY weird! What is this about? There are no letters AFTER the alphabet. What is he trying to say? And why is he saying it?". 

And I thought the pictures were pretty strange, too. 

Anyway, I remember my teacher telling us that Dr. Seuss was a renown child psychologist and that the books were scientifically designed to assist children in learning to read.

Well, okay then, I guess - if you say so.

Anyway, fast forward to 1991 when Dr. Seuss died.
I read a bio about him and was shocked to find out - he wasn't a real doctor at all - of ANYTHING! Just a cartoonist with a bunch of very strange, weird books! Green Eggs and Ham? Really?

I was as disappointed as if you had told me there's no Santa Claus, - wait there is right? - I can't take two shocks in one day :-)

My Teacher LIED TO ME! What is real? 

Who can I ever trust again? :-)

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Dr. Seuss
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr._Seuss
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Stay Jazzed!
--Tom Swezey
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