There is a big difference between not promoting something on the one hand, and making it completely inaccessible on the other hand. Older writings, art etc. are a window on past attitudes and ways of thinking... not just of one author or artist, but as an aspect of wider society at that time. Saying that they should be made completely unavailable (and that idea does seem to be out there) feels a little like saying we shouldn’t study history.
That said, I would probably not read some of the books on my shelf from my own childhood to children without explaining the context (and not until an age at which they can understand it at their level). Kids can be taught to think about the implications of what they read, see, hear, watch etc. from an early age, rather than simply absorbing new information uncritically. But that requires the presence of a closely attentive adult, which is not always available in public settings.
Maybe those offensive library books should go into a historical children’s books section - out of the hands of children, but still accessible to adults.
The comparison between the availability of Mein Kampf and the 6 Dr. Zeus books misses an important distinction: Mein Kamf isn't in the Children's section of the bookstore/library. Right or wrong, as a society we don't expose children to overtly racist, violent, and sexually degrading content, especially presented in the form of a positive tale with fun whimsical illustrations. We can debate the extent to which this censorship from the real world is appropriate and at which ages (for example the vilification of mere nudity in children's content is not as prominent in Europe) but surely most societies agree that you probably shouldn't play Texas Chainsaw Massacre to 5 year old.
Mein Kamf is still available at libraries and book stores because it is an important book for historical purposes. But we also don't add it to elementary school reading lists because young minds are very malleable and are not mature enough to handle the intricacies of the content. And I don't think there is any danger that these six books will disappear from public libraries forever, they just won't be in the children's section anymore.
1941 rings a bell. It may have been among the first movies that I saw when I left home in my twenties (since my family had no movies before that). John Candy? Or am I out in left field with that one?
Ishizuka and Stephens 2019 Seuss paper is so over the top as to be unreadable unless one has the patience to navigate the infinitely myriad intersectional combinations of racism and every other -ism possible that Horton Hears a Who, et al presents. They preface thier concern with the observation that 3-year olds are terrible racists and stuff like Seuss will only put them over the top. Imagine thier horror when they read the University of Toronto study that indicates 3-6 month olds display racial bias. What follows is a comedy of de-construction that makes one wish that Seuss were around to parody it.
It is the standard crit theory ontology in which anything that deviates in reality from the imagined Lollypop Land of perfect justice, equity and diversity is the result of of a relation of -isms and thus generates a boo-boo that society must address and we must all kiss.
The sooner we exile these people and thier ridiculous, infantilizing religion into the nether region of bad ideas the better.
You are putting your finger on what bugs me most about the ways in which issue is being taken with these books. A commonsense solution is to simply not make them available to children reading without adults who can moderate, support and educate them about what is in these books. But the rest of the energy expended on them feels excessive at a time at which there are many more pressing issues relating to racism, discrimination, people suffering for their ethnicity, sexuality, neurology, etc. It is a lot harder to make a real difference in the world than it is to hunt down racist children’s books.
It is that, and a witchhunt. Going over the top in pursuing an old children's book provides feel-good satisfaction without the hard work. Actual social change takes hard work, first to find out the real-life facts, then to face the unpleasant truths associated with that (such as that we are probably buying products made with Uighur labour, to name one) and then to make necessary changes.
There is a big difference between not promoting something on the one hand, and making it completely inaccessible on the other hand. Older writings, art etc. are a window on past attitudes and ways of thinking... not just of one author or artist, but as an aspect of wider society at that time. Saying that they should be made completely unavailable (and that idea does seem to be out there) feels a little like saying we shouldn’t study history.
That said, I would probably not read some of the books on my shelf from my own childhood to children without explaining the context (and not until an age at which they can understand it at their level). Kids can be taught to think about the implications of what they read, see, hear, watch etc. from an early age, rather than simply absorbing new information uncritically. But that requires the presence of a closely attentive adult, which is not always available in public settings.
Maybe those offensive library books should go into a historical children’s books section - out of the hands of children, but still accessible to adults.
The comparison between the availability of Mein Kampf and the 6 Dr. Zeus books misses an important distinction: Mein Kamf isn't in the Children's section of the bookstore/library. Right or wrong, as a society we don't expose children to overtly racist, violent, and sexually degrading content, especially presented in the form of a positive tale with fun whimsical illustrations. We can debate the extent to which this censorship from the real world is appropriate and at which ages (for example the vilification of mere nudity in children's content is not as prominent in Europe) but surely most societies agree that you probably shouldn't play Texas Chainsaw Massacre to 5 year old.
Mein Kamf is still available at libraries and book stores because it is an important book for historical purposes. But we also don't add it to elementary school reading lists because young minds are very malleable and are not mature enough to handle the intricacies of the content. And I don't think there is any danger that these six books will disappear from public libraries forever, they just won't be in the children's section anymore.
1941 rings a bell. It may have been among the first movies that I saw when I left home in my twenties (since my family had no movies before that). John Candy? Or am I out in left field with that one?
Ishizuka and Stephens 2019 Seuss paper is so over the top as to be unreadable unless one has the patience to navigate the infinitely myriad intersectional combinations of racism and every other -ism possible that Horton Hears a Who, et al presents. They preface thier concern with the observation that 3-year olds are terrible racists and stuff like Seuss will only put them over the top. Imagine thier horror when they read the University of Toronto study that indicates 3-6 month olds display racial bias. What follows is a comedy of de-construction that makes one wish that Seuss were around to parody it.
It is the standard crit theory ontology in which anything that deviates in reality from the imagined Lollypop Land of perfect justice, equity and diversity is the result of of a relation of -isms and thus generates a boo-boo that society must address and we must all kiss.
The sooner we exile these people and thier ridiculous, infantilizing religion into the nether region of bad ideas the better.
You are putting your finger on what bugs me most about the ways in which issue is being taken with these books. A commonsense solution is to simply not make them available to children reading without adults who can moderate, support and educate them about what is in these books. But the rest of the energy expended on them feels excessive at a time at which there are many more pressing issues relating to racism, discrimination, people suffering for their ethnicity, sexuality, neurology, etc. It is a lot harder to make a real difference in the world than it is to hunt down racist children’s books.
It is that, and a witchhunt. Going over the top in pursuing an old children's book provides feel-good satisfaction without the hard work. Actual social change takes hard work, first to find out the real-life facts, then to face the unpleasant truths associated with that (such as that we are probably buying products made with Uighur labour, to name one) and then to make necessary changes.