For decades now, March 2nd has been a day filled with green eggs and ham, whimsical creatures, and the reading of countless children favorites as it is the birthday of the iconic author and illustrator known as Dr. Seuss.
However, this year, on what would have been his 115th birthday, it was announced that a total of six of his beloved children’s stories would be canceled and no longer published or circulated, beginning immediately.
Not exactly the birthday present he was looking for, huh?
So who is canceling these books?
Well, Dr. Seuss Enterprises, of course. That’s right, his own company.
According to the company and a report from The Associated Press, “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’ catalog represents and supports all communities and families.
Now, with Dr. Seuss, born Theodor Seuss Geisel, long passed from this world, the business was founded by his family to carry on his legacy and love of bringing joy to children. And to this day, because of the foundation and the author’s popularity, Dr. Seuss holds the title of the second-highest paid dead celebrity.
According to the AP, his estate earned more than $33 million last year alone.
No doubt, this likely also has much to do with the fact that, while still living, Seuss was a known liberal Democrat and one that strongly supported former President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal. This alone, you’d think, would give him and his works enough clout to stay on the top.
But that may soon not be the case for much longer, what with six books suddenly being nixed from their catalog.
Now, don’t worry too much yet. Your favorites like the 1960’s “Green Eggs and Ham,” “The Cat in the Hat,” and “The Lorax” are safe.
The books being dropped are “And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street,” “McElligot’s Pool,” “On Beyond Zebra!” “If I Ran the Zoo,” “The Cat’s Quizzer,” and “Scrambled Eggs Super!”
Per the AP, “And to Think I Saw It on Mulberry Street” shows images of an Asian person dressed in a “conical hat, holding chopsticks, and eating from a bowl.”
And apparently, that’s “hurtful and wrong.”
So too are depictions of “two bare-footed African men wearing what appear to be grass skirts with their hair tied above their heads” found in “If I Ran the Zoo,” the AP reports.
I know, it’s a little ridiculous, to say the least.
But according to the estate, it had “listened and took feedback from our audiences including teachers, academics and specialists in the field as part of our review process. We then worked with a panel of experts, including educators, to review our catalog of titles.
And of course, if the “experts” of the liberal elite says it’s so, it must be…
At this rate, it won’t be long before the whole Dr. Seuss line is deemed as inappropriate.
I mean, “The Cat in the Hat” has already received heavy criticism in years past.
“The Lorax,” while appearing to portray a rather androgynous main character and a tale that lends itself rather well to the environmental crises the political left claims is going on, the title character does sport a mustache. And so, it is likely assumed to be a male.
And “Green Eggs and Ham…” I can only imagine what will happen when those at Dr. Seuss Enterprises realize that ham isn’t eaten and, in fact, seen as “unclean” by billions of Muslims and Jews worldwide.
Already several schools have banned Seuss’s entire catalog.
Take the Loudoun County school district in Virginia, for example.
On Saturday, in response to rumors of Seuss’ cancellation, the district made an announcement saying that “Research in recent years has revealed strong racial undertones in many books written/illustrated by Dr. Seuss.”
President Joe Biden has also condemned the books by doing no more than not including them in his Read Across America Day proclamation given on the same day as the Seuss estate’s announcement.