I think among white liberals, especially, there is such a culture of moral panic now that you need to dive headfirst into the allowed online position (always extreme, always deeply contemptuous of any disagreement) so as to constantly peacock that you're one of the good ones.
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For all I know the other books are deeply offensive but watching people broadcast loudly that they don't care that -- or weren't curious enough to find out that -- Mr. McElligot's Pool *doesn't appear to have any racist content* is very very weird!
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ANYWAY! Just imagine how the journalists and pundits tweeting what they're tweeting about this approach their paid work, especially when it touches on more complex and controversial and important issues. When people tell you who they are, believe them.
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We need to shut down The Discourse until we can figure out what the hell is going on https://theweek.com/articles/969971/why-dr-seuss-cancellation-chilling …pic.twitter.com/GgOcRqcs4W
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Replying to @jessesingal
If you spend any time looking at the cartoonists who influenced Seuss (and I've done so as has Nel) then you'll know how pervasive minstrel imagery was and how it shaped Seuss. You can argue he reworked it or gave it a benign spin, but you can't deny it isn't there.
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Replying to @HeerJeet
in the case of The Cat In The Hat, which no one seems to be wanting to pull anyway, isn't that going down a weird moral contagion road?
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Replying to @jessesingal
It might not be politically feasible but I think the most honest response, the one that grapples with the actual history, is to say it borrowed from the minstrel tradition but with benign intent & so should still be read by kids.
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Replying to @HeerJeet @jessesingal
Is there any art which is *not* implicated in some tradition or another that does not comport with the moral trends of the moment?
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Replying to @seagullsbutno @jessesingal
It's important to study history even if it leads you to conclusions you find uncomfortable.
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Replying to @HeerJeet @jessesingal
Do you apply similar discomfort to yourself? I'd imagine that it would be impossible for any sub-continental art tradition not to be deeply implicated by the ugly history of caste (which has killed quite a lot more people than anything to do with minstrels has)
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I rest my case.
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