Dr Suess’s Dilemma

On Theodor Seuss Geisle’s, also known as Dr. Seuss, 117th birthday anniversary, many Dr. Seuss books have begun to be taken down. Dr. Seuss books are being complained about and taken down for having racist imagery. Various books such as The Cat’s Quizzer, Scrambled Eggs Super!, On Beyond Zebra!, and the iconic If I Ran The Zoo are currently under scrutiny. Is this generation too soft or are the books racist to a certain degree? 

The books have been read by children for years, and most of the children turned out fine. I have never met someone who blames their racist tendencies on children’s books. Many parents are slightly upset by pulling down books that they grew up with. Other parents agree that the books should stop being published and taken out of stores. The books obviously need to have the illustrations redrawn to make people stop complaining. 

Can we really get mad at the people who drew these images way back when, when things were different? Times have changed and things that seem innocent, are no longer deemed innocent. I don’t see why the books are being unpublished when all they really need to do is update the illustrations. 

Even though the books are being removed from the shelves of stores, the popularity and sales of the books have skyrocketed. Collectors and Dr. Suess lovers both are buying the books as a keepsake. They might be worth a lot of money in the future.