_"Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing's going to get better. It's not."_ *~ Theodore Geisel (Dr. Seuss)*

Some of these rhymes were a bit less than bearable, But I think this video is far, far from terrible

Dr Suess was a product of his time, and times change. People worried that their favorite Suess books would be discontinued, and that wasn’t the case. When I was a kid in the early 1970s my first grade class was absolutely wild about Dr. Suess. We didn’t think anything of the appearance of the Asian men in Mulberry Street, because everything was a symbol or cliche back then- Eskimos in ice houses, Little Black Sambo still being taught in school, and when my family moved to Oregon from the Midwest I half expected everyone to live in log cabins! And this was long after most of his books were written, and this kind of thing was still happening. I would imagine it still does, to an extent. I don’t see how those drawings of black people can be considered anything other than offensive! The Asians are certainly not modern Asians. Perhaps new illustrations could have been made, as a compromise, but I suspect those books weren’t selling well, anyway. Every Christmas I write a Suess like poem about the previous year. It’s more difficult than it seems!

*Strange because I remember the Dr. Seuss book that scrambled everyone's brandings and colors, and taught us NOT to be bigots or racist.*

I am of the school of thought that we should remember the darkest parts of our history as to not repeat them rather than erasing them. When something is erased you might stumble upon it and not know it's wrong thus making the mistake all over again.

the icing on the cake is that the authors family were the people who no longer wanted to publish the works. regardless of the fact that Dr Seuss drew racist cartoons, (which is awful) they have every right to stop publishing his works if they want to

You kinda failed to mention how Dr. Seuss changed his views later in life and condemned the racism in his earlier works.

let's juat sweep everything under the carpet and not have a real talk on how and why these images where made, because that works so well

I am not white and I hate to make a quasi political statement in an otherwise very informative video, but I must say racism is not exclusive to whites, not one bit. Everyone in the world has an stereotypical view of French, Americans, British, Russians . Everyone is somewhat dehumanized by stereotypes. White supremacy is the most famous form of racism, but everyone of every race should learn to take people by their personality and not their color.

I’m so saddddd, I hate what’s been drawn in if I ran the zoo but it was my favourite book in my childhood

pretty corny to try to copy his style and criticize him at the same time. Not only do these rhymes not hold a candle to Dr. Seuss but several simply don't rhyme.

You are literally so cool, the effort put into the script is unbelievable

I wonder if he changed his opinion with time because books like sneetches,he also confirmed to change his opinion on japanese people

Didn't expect that format, but not bad execution! As a european, I am not that familiar with this Seuss-guy, but I think it's important to not stop at the "product of their time"-level of the analysis. For most of our existence, racism tended to serve an evolutionary purpose, as making a clear distinction between two groups of people (i.e Hunter-gatherer-tribes) could serve as a useful foundation for staying together and avoiding infighting. So yes, everyone is racist, regardless of ethnicity or political opinion. There are, for example, studies that show how our brains react notably different to faces of people belonging to our own race, compared to faces of people from another race. The current dominant culture kinda moderates this, and luckily we are progressing, albeit somewhat unsteadily, towards a society in which the norm is to suppress this biological inclination rather than use its power for temporary gain.

The dude did not grow up in the age of internet and connectivity. Yeah today doing the things he did may be questionable but he had limited access to information so to blame him for his stereotypes and prejudices is a bit unfair. Leave the past in the past. He knew no better at that time.

You know if I had a nickel everytime someone made a video essay about Dr.Seuss while mimicking his rhymes I would have two nickels. Which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice.

What an amazing video! I loved the script and the format as well! The perspective and care with that matter is something appreciable too (as a black person, I really felt that). The best to you and the channel!

Censorship is crap. If you don’t see it it’s like it never happened. The better move would be to continue to publish them and include a statement on what it is and what it means and why it’s hurtful. History repeats…

Love you, man! Absolutely great work. This video should go viral.

Well done. And I knew nothing of Seuss' cartoons but have loved his books my whole life. Very enlightening.

Although we might assume that Seuss didn’t know it, the depictions shown in this short really shows it.

As a person of color, I appreciate that you are taking a more nuanced look at Dr. Seuss work. But your message also comes across as anti-white, as if people of color can't also be racist. White supremacy is subset to racism, not the other way around. Still, thank you for understanding that Dr. Seuss was not a hateful person, at least not for the most important works he did.

Well the story of the green pants has a very important message about racism and the fear of things different from us. So I say no. People need to look closer and not be so eager to be offended.

Please, make a video about Sorayama

All works, no matter how vile, should always be legally purchasable. Anytime a publisher limits access to something humanity loses.

I agree, because these are books meant for children. They are not yet able to see certain ideas as part of a different time. The idea of teaching such stuff to kids, who would then see it as acceptable, is weird. In general I am against censoring art though, even with the best of motives, no matter how offensive, especially if the ideas are part of a beloved classic. So the reason they won't be reprinted is not 'they are racist' because so many great works are racist, sexist, able-ist and today we know that is wrong, but the reason should be 'they are racist and explicitly aimed at children too young to understand why things can exist in art and still be wrong'. When I was little my dad read me the north myths and the Greek myths and most of what goes down there is unfathomable by today's standards, but it's possible to teach this to kids as a part of how past people saw the world. But that was past the age where kids would be read Dr.Seuss. There are orientalist artworks that portrait shocking stereotypes, there are classics including ideas that insult any modern sensibility...and I believe the world would be poorer without them. But in regards of Seuss...yeah, you can't put that stuff in front of a three year old and hope they will understand it's ok not to treat these groups differently.

also i just want to tell you i’m so happy to see ya talking about being anti-racist and how realizing the prejudice’s that you have is a pretty hard thing to swallow. it’s one of the most talked about things within the activist community, (from what i’ve seen w close friends) and i’m happy to hear it here

This is reduculus

These books should be preserved as history. Censorship takes away our freedom to read unpopular books and make up our own minds. If we censor the mistakes of Seuss, Twain, Baum, Chandler Harris, Bannerman, etc., we are erasing history. The works of Hitler, Stalin, and Mussolini should be preserved in libraries to teach people of the mindsets of tyrants. Erasing all this creates a revisionist history where noone ever made a mistake or was racist. Recording artists preserve minstrel show songs from the pre Civil War era, to educate about racism. The Catcher in the Rye, The Chronicles of Narnia, Harry Potter, and others, have been censored or canceled by right wingers. When a left winger does it, it is just as bad. Are we next going to cancel The Merchant of Venice for its antisemitism and The Taming of the Shrew for its misogyny? Political correctness is run amok.

Racism happens to all rases . I am not sorry for my honesty in saying that ... I am sorry to have to say it all .

This video is awesome. Thank you very much for your effort.

I think you would be interested about Monteiro Lobato racism too.

Ayyy a Vaush clip! Didn't expect to see him here

Bert and Ernesty- break it down brother, let's get down to brass tacks, burn some rubber. What's goin on? Let's do some diggin. We got some racist claims and a guy speaking in the alleged racists' manner. "Not as a racist?" "No, not as a racist Bert. But about a racist or at least about an alleged racist, conveyed through his meter." "Did he pay for that meter? Of course not, but he couldn't resist using it. Everyone loves a Dr Seuss rhyme. But it's not so melodious if it's a racist chime.

The sneetched was about no one is better then anyone else doesn't matter if you have a star on your belly or not so if that's wrong now I'm worry about everything you said in this video

i thought it was a troll until the end

Didn’t Dr Seuss cheat on his wife?

I appreciate the Sneetches for teaching me that racism is dumb.

Thank you for the interesting video

1:54 ehh it’s about the same as if it was switched with krauts (Germans) must be killed to end the war but others were spot on or gray area

bro this is like a dr suess book

This was an unbelievable video!

How is the Chinese depiction even racist? I live down the street from Chinatown, you know what Chinese people do? Eat with chopsticks and wear those pointy rice hats.

did u mean for this to rhyme or did you just do that by accident

Back in those days it was not racism, it was normal

I was rather interested in this channel, but it seems to be just a lot commie sympathizing with art thrown in as a cover. Disappointing but not shocking.

Racism is 100% ok if it's positive for both parties.

Oh for Pete’s sake. 🙄🤮

Is this a joke or is this serious?

Disliked, we don't combat racism by erasing past examples of it. Also your rhyming is far from perfect.

As a conservative and POC this video was insightful. I dont like cancel culture but those images were kinda f’ed up. At the same time people should cancel ideas with their money and boycott. The collective should not be able to deem what is inappropriate.

Banning books is okay if I agree with it lmao. Exact same reasoning as the nazis'.

I think you've missed the point of caricature.

As a 53yr old white woman, this topic has been enlightening and depressing. I had a younger family member confront me about a set of "mammy" salt and pepper shakers. I said they were my mom's and just evoked a memory of my mom cooking at the stove. When she suggested they were racist, I was offended. However, I looked into the matter, and have since decided to remove them. It is a million tiny things that make the difference. I swear I didn't know, and never meant to hurt anyone. I can only apologize and promise to try harder

I love this !!!

Try and get a hasan clip in their next time ;)

This really blew my mind. I never thought myself as racist because I never called anyone of any difference to myself (skin color, culture, religion, etc) any mean slurs. However, growing up in a mostly republican family, I was pretty blinded by just how subtle white supremacy could be. I was apparently racist without knowing because I’d go along with what was depicted as “normal”. Like “most gang members are black”, “most people in prison are black because they commit more crimes.” I never hated or disrespected anyone, but thinking that way was very backwards on my part. Thankfully I learned on my own how many republicans try to blind us or twist words around in order to keep themselves on top and others segregated. I’m so glad I was able to climb out of that hole and see the truth and ever since, I’m dedicated to being an ally for PoC and want to help dismantle white supremacy. This isn’t “all white people are evil and need to be made into second class citizens”. It’s about making sure EVERYONE -no matter class, skin color, religion, sexuality, gender, place of origin, etc.- gets true equality, rights and freedoms. We are all human. Humans deserve their rights.

The script 👌

lol

Are images or other means of expression that were normal or common in the past when a past generation was learning what was "good" or "normal" racist of themselves, or are they insensitive, or simply a product of people who "don't keep up with the times" but mean no harm? Doubtless, they contribute TO racism, but is what was once common, even among people of goodwill, racist, or simply insensitive towards people THEY DON'T COMINGLE WITH because of broader systems of enforced racism or, once again, simply ignorance of something which may be offensive to people who they don't know? I have no answer, but I do know this, once someone ACCUSES someone of something ugly you risk alienating an otherwise ignorant but decent person who may very well mean no harm, and in so doing risk influencing someone to withdraw in shame to where they can be easily influenced by bad actors and if not become racist themselves, then at least risk influencing them in such a way that they retreat further into a group who accepts them for a malevolent or manipulate reason, or to create in them a fear of learning in order to avoid being humiliated again, often by people younger than them who they feel owe them some measure of respect. We need to be careful applying labels that may, in their zeal for justice, paint with too broad a brush. Much has been made lately of the "tyranny" of "political correctness". Racism, bigotry and blind hate of all kinds have been directly responsible for the two most destructive wars in human history and with the rise of fascism within the US and the West in general. I fear that, in our zeal for justice, we may help create that which we seek to end by conflating "not keeping up with the times" or simple ignorance, which can easily be dispelled through a little sympathetic, respectful, gentle education, with bigotry. We need to be careful when applying labels or in being too quick to judge without understanding the systems, pressures and fears our older generations may have grown up under. In other words, to pre-judge someone for what to them may amount to nothing more than an error in semantics borne of simple ignorance. Isn't pre-judging the definition of prejudice? Use care, people of all kinds are more fragile than any of us will ever admit. I am not trying to excuse certain behaviors, nor am I suggesting special treatment for people who use offensive expressions, I AM saying that fascism is on the rise again and that it is one of the most destructive sociopolitical philosophies that there are and that some people sure do seem easily offended when it is suggested that a term they have parroted without thinking for their whole lives is offensive and that it would appear that some of them feel so negatively towards correction that they become easy prey for fascists to use simply by accepting them uncritically. Acceptance is powerful and is subject to misuse, and fascism is too dangerous to us all to not take seriously, no matter how silly or buffoonish it appears to more worldly thinkers.

I've never laughed so hard I'm in tears

I finished the whole video without realizing he was rhyming lol. He should be a rapper.

Nah this isn't

You started off good but then your rhymes fell apart. It wasn't as good as it was from the start! Though it wasn't perfect atleast you did try. Your video on Dr Seuss wasn't one word of a lie!

Well done!

this is the first video who is educated and disagrees with dr seuss choices in his books. people are especially outraged about how the asains are being racially stereotyped. they think that its not racist. well to all of you, let me explain. the face that he racially separated asains, and racially stereotyped them making it seem as though they use chopsticks and wear a certain hat is very racist. 😐

Definitely better ways to use our time than this...mm

That's good! But consider this. There are basically two policy solutions that will lower crime - increasing police presence( raising the cost of crime) and putting the people likely to commit crimes behind bars( preventing crime). Police are paid for by local governments, prisons are paid for by state governments. Therefore, prisons are subsidy paid by state governments to local governments. This is systemic racism not old cartoons.

I fail to see racism to exist! You can't put two different ideas in the same room! Now those that sound racist to you? This like putting a tiger and a lion in the same cage and expecting them to be friends! This what this whole thing really is so you end up attacking that idea because it those not fits with your or your agenda.

Whites built this culture that coloured people from all over the world are desperate to immigrate to, taking on board many hardships to get to places like the USA and Europe. So if white society were so bad, why'd they want to be in white countries so desperately?! Because we have the least racism, the least poverty, the least corruption and the least injustices! We whites, particularly in Europe, live in countries that have been inhabited by us whites for many thousands of years. We have built those countries up to whatever they are now. It is not racist to have a predominantly white society and white culture in lands that have until very recently been basically exclusively white. No sane person would scold Africans for having a predominantly black culture, or Asians for having a predominantly Asian culture. Being anti-white is just as racist as being anti-black, or anti any other skin colour or civilisation.

While I totally agree that dehumanizing art is inappropriate for children to be exposed to, your western silver spoon nihilistic daddy issues got in the way. Any assertion that playing up cultural norms is racist, is an utterly obtuse point of view. The vast majority of people in Japan still use chopsticks & it's quite common for a culture to have a fashion trend get out of hand. Likewise, Song of the South's depiction to the style of talk & dress of that eras share cropper black man was also acute. One may view old timey "hilly billy" culture as distasteful too, but that's your own bias & lacking context is an inane way of viewing history. Stop tripping over yourselves to play the rightious saviour. It's not only unflatteringly egotistical, but an inept farce causing far more resentment than the colorblind method the culture has been steadily evolving on since the 1800s. In other words, your moral convictions (young man) are not an evolutionary leap forward. You had only to take the last few easy steps. Instead you're praising the dogmatic dumpster fire of Woodrow Wilson's "progressive science" eugenics... You need to find the vanishing point & step back a few feet kid.

Get a job!!!!!!!!🙏🏽