J.D. Salinger’s “Catcher in the Rye,” banned by schools and libraries across the country, primarily for being “anti-white.” Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World,” banned in classrooms and even throughout all of Ireland because it made “promiscuous sex look like fun,” according to the American Library Association. John Steinbeck’s “The Grapes of Wrath” literally burned by an Illinois public library.
Whether you agree with these actions or not, they all are examples of censorship. Where an authoritative body — sometimes even the government itself — deemed these books to not be worthy of public consumption, or even debate. They are part of a long list of published works that have received such treatment (or even worse) over the course of human history.
But one author not on that list, at least because of recent events? Dr. Seuss.
Seuss, of course, was not an actual doctor. He was an author and illustrator born Theodor Seuss Geisel in 1904. He grew up during World War I, and by World War II, was crafting political cartoons attacking racism and anti-Semitism. He created images against Nazi Germany and fascist Italy. He knocked so-called “heroes” of the day, like Charles Lindbergh, who believed the United States had no moral obligation to stop the evil that was spreading throughout Europe at the time.
It was in the wake of all that Geisel transformed himself into Dr. Seuss, creating a fantastical world that pretty much all of us grew up in. “The Cat in the Hat,” “One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish” and “Green Eggs and Ham” are three of my personal favorites. But the reality Geisel lived in was far from perfect — not that the reality all of us live in now is that much better. People said things, did things, promoted things, many times not realizing the pain they caused.
Geisel was no different. I don’t believe he intended any harm to anyone, but there are some works that, in a more enlightened society, can cause harm.
When I was a kid, we had a game that I’m sure was popular far beyond the Elk County community I grew up in, where a group of us would get together and throw around a ball. However, the person who possessed the ball would be gang tackled by everyone else. So the object was to keep the ball moving, and ensure the angry mob didn’t get you.
It was an innocent game with a not-so-innocent name: “Smear the Queer.” Sure, the words may have been meaningless to us at the time, but it’s not like they go away. They stick with us, and as we grow older, they do become meaningful — to the point where some could even believe the mere existence of that phrase means it’s OK to assault someone they believe is LGBTQ. And if I found out that someone in my family was playing the game with that moniker today, I would indeed be angry, because the name is not appropriate.
The reason why we can’t include Dr. Seuss with Salinger, Huxley and Steinbeck is because unlike those authors (and so many more through history), no government agency — not even an angry mob — demanded its removal. Instead, it was Geisel’s estate — which owns the rights to the books — deciding that there were three they would no longer print.
The books aren’t banned. Libraries still carry them. Books that were already printed are still in bookstores, maybe even on Amazon. And no one is coming into your home to remove them from your bookshelf. No one is canceling Dr. Seuss, either — the news these books would no longer be printed created a run on Dr. Seuss titles, meaning the very people who made the decision to remove these books are now experiencing a significant financial windfall thanks to that decision.
Were there some aspects of these now-dormant books that some might consider racist? I don’t know. I’m a white guy, and I can’t tell others such aspects may have targeted — intentional or not — aren’t racist. No more than some heterosexual person can come to me and tell me that “Smear the Queer” isn’t insensitive to those in the LGBTQ community.
There is indeed censorship that we must fight. But this isn’t it. You can’t self-inflict censorship — it’s something someone does to someone else, usually a government entity or the power of the mob.
There are 42 other books that bear the name Dr. Seuss, including some true classics. And you can still find all 45 if you want without breaking much of a sweat.
Enjoy Dr. Seuss, and celebrate the journey of imagination. Just leave the dog whistles at home.
(Michael Hinman is a Johnsonburg native, is the editor of The Riverdale Press, a community newspaper in New York City. His views are his own.)
