Cancelling Dr. Seuss

[ciao_yall]

Joeckel was given a letter from the university, which he shared with CNN, informing him a decision about his employment would be made by March 15.

Some share with CNN, some share with FoxNews.  Once you have that info, you can predict the story.  Rinse, repeat.

Waiting for a parent to complain in Biology that their student is being "indoctrinated" to believe in evolution.

I thought Academic Freedom was tied to the First Amendment right to free speech, which leads to freedom of inquiry and the right to speak the truth.

Silly me.

[dismalist]

...

Waiting for a parent to complain in Biology that their student is being "indoctrinated" to believe in evolution.

I thought Academic Freedom was tied to the First Amendment right to free speech, which leads to freedom of inquiry and the right to speak the truth.

Silly me.

Academic Freedom and the Right to Free Speech are two separate kettles of fish. The Supreme Court has never directly and specifically addressed Academic Freedom. [If it did, it would only apply to public institutions through the First Amendment, which is binding on States.]

Here is a longish assembly of facts on the two subjects by the Organization of American Historians. [I don't know who they are, but I can't imagine they're a bunch of right wingers. :-)]

https://www.oah.org/about/governance/policies/academic-freedom-guidelines-and-best-practices/

The section on the Courts says, inter alia

In Garcetti v. Ceballos, [2006] the Supreme Court allowed a Los Angeles district attorney's office to discipline a deputy district attorney for having criticized his supervisors' actions; the Court ruled that when public employees speak "pursuant to their official duties, the employees are not speaking as citizens for First Amendment purposes, and the Constitution does not insulate their communications from employer discipline." Although the majority expressly left open whether its ruling should apply to "speech related to scholarship and teaching" in public colleges and universities, subsequent decisions in the lower federal courts concerning faculty speech have disregarded this reservation and now threaten to diminish severely the constitutional protection of the academic freedom of professors whose engagement in governance, as well as their teaching and research, is considered part of their "official duties." ... In Hong v. Grant (2007), a district judge, citing Garcetti ... ruled that the University of California "is entitled to unfettered discretion when it restricts statements an employee makes on the job and according to his professional responsibilities." Such responsibilities included participation in institutional governance.

Thus, I have no clue how a SCOTUS case would turn out.

[Wahoo Redux]

NBC News: Critics blast 'absurd' rewrites to Roald Dahl's children's books

Lower Deck

Half-century-old characters are no longer "fat" or "idiots" after a slew of changes by the publisher to make Dahl's works more in tune with modern times.

Some words related to weight, gender and race were omitted or replaced.

The "enormously fat" 9-year-old boy in "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" became "enormous," and the "Cloud-Men" from "James and the Giant Peach" became "Cloud-People."

Miss Trunchbull, the principal in "Matilda," no longer has a "horsey" face, and "eight nutty little idiots" are now just "eight nutty little boys."

[Langue_doc]

From The Washington Post

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2023/02/19/roald-dahl-books-revisions-salman-rushdie/

Salman Rushdie calls revisions to Roald Dahl books 'absurd censorship'

LONDON — A decision to change hundreds of words in Roald Dahl's children's books has drawn condemnation from author Salman Rushdie, who called it "absurd censorship."

His is the latest prominent voice in the heated debate sparked after a report Friday in Britain's Telegraph detailed a litany of changes by Dahl's publisher and the Roald Dahl Story Co., which manages the works' copyright and trademarks, that were designed to make the famous books more inclusive and accessible for today's readers.

"Roald Dahl was no angel but this is absurd censorship," Rushdie, a Booker Prize-winning author, wrote on Twitter, calling out the children's imprint of the British publisher Penguin Books. "Puffin Books and the Dahl estate should be ashamed."

Rushdie is one of the most famous authors in the world. His novel "The Satanic Verses" prompted Iran's Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1989 to issue a religious decree calling for Muslims anywhere in the world to assassinate Rushdie and anyone else involved in the publication of the book.

In August, Rushdie was stabbed multiple times by an assailant at an event in Chautauqua, N.Y. He survived, and his latest novel was published this month.

The changes in Dahl's children's books were done in partnership with Inclusive Minds, a collective for people who are passionate about inclusion, diversity and accessibility in children's literature, according to the Roald Dahl Story Co.

Among the changes, according to the Telegraph: The character of Augustus Gloop from "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" is no longer described as "fat." Now he is referred to as "enormous." What was described as a "weird African language" in the book "The Twits" is no longer weird. In "The BFG," a reference to the character of the "Bloodbottler" having skin that was "reddish-brown" has been removed.

Some characters are now gender-neutral. The singing and dancing Oompa Loompas from "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" were once described as "small men"; now they are "small people." In "James and the Giant Peach," the Cloud-Men — mysterious figures who live in the sky — are now known as Cloud-People.

In some cases, new lines were added. In "The Witches," a paragraph that explains that the witches are bald underneath their wigs has a new sentence: "There are plenty of other reasons why women might wear wigs and there is certainly nothing wrong with that."

The Roald Dahl Story Co. said in an emailed statement Sunday that the review of Dahl's writing began in 2020 — before the works were acquired by streaming giant Netflix — and that tweaks were "small and carefully considered."

The company said that it wanted "to ensure that Roald Dahl's wonderful stories and characters continue to be enjoyed by all children today" and that the review was standard process. "When publishing new print runs of books written years ago, it's not unusual to review the language used alongside updating other details including a book's cover and page layout," the statement said.

Suzanne Nossel, chief executive of PEN America, said the organization, a nonprofit that works to defend and celebrate free expression through the advancement of literature and human rights, was "alarmed at news" of the changes to Dahl's works, calling the move "a purported effort to scrub the books of that which might offend someone." On Twitter, Nossel wrote that "literature is meant to be surprising and provocative" and that efforts to erase words that might cause offense only "dilute the power of storytelling."

"If we start down the path of trying to correct for perceived slights instead of allowing readers to receive and react to books as written, we risk distorting the work of great authors and clouding the essential lens that literature offers on society," she said.

Nossel suggested that instead of revising literature and "playing around" with text, publishers and editors could perhaps offer "introductory context that prepares people for what they are about to read, and helps them understand the setting in which it was written."

Others on social media warned of a dangerous precedent. "You edit a couple of books with outdated attitudes, now there's only 400 years of literature left to go," one user tweeted. "Where do you draw the line here?"

Critics say that Dahl's books are bigoted, racist, sexist and larded with gratuitous violence. And some writers say the reaction to the latest changes is overblown.

"It's good to evolve with the times," tweeted Ashley Esqueda, a writer and pop culture expert, adding: "Very tired of people demanding we remain locked into their childhoods."

One social media user said they were "quite happy to have more inclusive versions to read to my little one. I've been horrified at the content of some of the things I read as a child, having revisited them as an adult."

Although Dahl's writing is globally famous — with at least 300 million books sold in 58 languages, according to the British journal Bookseller — Dahl himself is a polarizing figure who left a complicated legacy. In 1990, months before his death, he called himself antisemitic after years of hostile public comments about Jewish people in interviews.

In 2020, Dahl's family issued an apology for the writer's antisemitic, "prejudiced remarks," calling some of his language "incomprehensible." Relatives said Dahl's offensive comments stood in "marked contrast to the man we knew."

Ron Charles in Washington contributed to this report.

[Langue_doc]

Apologies for the double post, but just saw this in the NYT:
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/20/books/roald-dahl-books-changes.html

Roald Dahl's Books Are Rewritten to Cut Potentially Offensive Language

New editions of the best-selling author's children's classics, including "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," have been altered to eliminate words deemed inappropriate. A backlash ensued.

[marshwiggle]

Apologies for the double post, but just saw this in the NYT:
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/20/books/roald-dahl-books-changes.html

Roald Dahl's Books Are Rewritten to Cut Potentially Offensive Language

New editions of the best-selling author's children's classics, including "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," have been altered to eliminate words deemed inappropriate. A backlash ensued.

Soon there'll be some enterprising business on the internet selling "original" books; i.e. old versions of books that haven't been edited. It'll have great appeal to people who see themselves as intellectual rebels.

[dismalist]

Apologies for the double post, but just saw this in the NYT:
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/20/books/roald-dahl-books-changes.html

Roald Dahl's Books Are Rewritten to Cut Potentially Offensive Language

New editions of the best-selling author's children's classics, including "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," have been altered to eliminate words deemed inappropriate. A backlash ensued.

Soon there'll be some enterprising business on the internet selling "original" books; i.e. old versions of books that haven't been edited. It'll have great appeal to people who see themselves as intellectual rebels.

One can still get the original Charlie and the Chocolate Factory on Amazon, used, unused, whatever. I was tempted to buy a dozen copies as a speculative investment, reselling it to intellectual rebels at a higher price later! :-)

Keeping one for myself, of course.

[Wahoo Redux]

NBC News: The first Latina queen at a historically Black university drew online backlash. But she didn't back down.

Lower Deck:

After a TikTok video featuring Miss Coppin State Keylin Perez went viral, dozens of posts questioned representation, race and legacy. But at the school, the reality is different.

When Keylin Perez became the first Latina to be crowned Miss Coppin State University in Baltimore, she was thrilled. She had been named the university's Miss Sophomore and Miss Junior previously and was eager to continue representing the school with pride as the 91st Miss Coppin State University queen.

But after a TikTok video she posted went viral, she received backlash, including harassment, from online critics who said the role should be given to a Black woman, since Coppin State University is a historically Black university, known as an HBCU.

<snip>

Kelaina Slaughter, 20, a junior majoring in English at the University of Louisville in Kentucky, first learned about the controversy surrounding Perez from a different TikTok video.

Slaughter explained why she thinks a role like Miss Coppin State University should go to a Black person.

She said roles like the Royal Court positions at HBCUs are crucial in representing students who have been historically underserved at predominantly white institutions.

"The reason why these people are so important for them to be Black is so that they can have Black voices in spaces where they were historically not allowed. They're trying to show that we are educated, that we can hold these positions, that we can have the same thing as white people — anybody else," Slaughter said.

[marshwiggle]

NBC News: The first Latina queen at a historically Black university drew online backlash. But she didn't back down.

Lower Deck:

After a TikTok video featuring Miss Coppin State Keylin Perez went viral, dozens of posts questioned representation, race and legacy. But at the school, the reality is different.

When Keylin Perez became the first Latina to be crowned Miss Coppin State University in Baltimore, she was thrilled. She had been named the university's Miss Sophomore and Miss Junior previously and was eager to continue representing the school with pride as the 91st Miss Coppin State University queen.

But after a TikTok video she posted went viral, she received backlash, including harassment, from online critics who said the role should be given to a Black woman, since Coppin State University is a historically Black university, known as an HBCU.

<snip>

Kelaina Slaughter, 20, a junior majoring in English at the University of Louisville in Kentucky, first learned about the controversy surrounding Perez from a different TikTok video.

Slaughter explained why she thinks a role like Miss Coppin State University should go to a Black person.

She said roles like the Royal Court positions at HBCUs are crucial in representing students who have been historically underserved at predominantly white institutions.

"The reason why these people are so important for them to be Black is so that they can have Black voices in spaces where they were historically not allowed. They're trying to show that we are educated, that we can hold these positions, that we can have the same thing as white people — anybody else," Slaughter said.

A truly bizarre element of the story:

"I never considered stepping down," Perez told NBC News. She applied for the high-profile role knowing she might face some backlash, but ran unopposed and was officially crowned in October. "I stayed firm in my decision of continuing to serve my institution that has poured so much into me the past four years," she said.

So people are outraged that she achieved something that no-one else wanted enough to attempt.

[Wahoo Redux]

NBC News: The first Latina queen at a historically Black university drew online backlash. But she didn't back down.

Lower Deck:

After a TikTok video featuring Miss Coppin State Keylin Perez went viral, dozens of posts questioned representation, race and legacy. But at the school, the reality is different.

When Keylin Perez became the first Latina to be crowned Miss Coppin State University in Baltimore, she was thrilled. She had been named the university's Miss Sophomore and Miss Junior previously and was eager to continue representing the school with pride as the 91st Miss Coppin State University queen.

But after a TikTok video she posted went viral, she received backlash, including harassment, from online critics who said the role should be given to a Black woman, since Coppin State University is a historically Black university, known as an HBCU.

<snip>

Kelaina Slaughter, 20, a junior majoring in English at the University of Louisville in Kentucky, first learned about the controversy surrounding Perez from a different TikTok video.

Slaughter explained why she thinks a role like Miss Coppin State University should go to a Black person.

She said roles like the Royal Court positions at HBCUs are crucial in representing students who have been historically underserved at predominantly white institutions.

"The reason why these people are so important for them to be Black is so that they can have Black voices in spaces where they were historically not allowed. They're trying to show that we are educated, that we can hold these positions, that we can have the same thing as white people — anybody else," Slaughter said.

Ha!  I missed that.

[dismalist]

...

A truly bizarre element of the story:

"I never considered stepping down," Perez told NBC News. She applied for the high-profile role knowing she might face some backlash, but ran unopposed and was officially crowned in October. "I stayed firm in my decision of continuing to serve my institution that has poured so much into me the past four years," she said.

So people are outraged that she achieved something that no-one else wanted enough to attempt.

This is sheer envy.

You have one cow. I have no cow. Lord, please take away his cow. Without the risk, in this case, of my not winning a cow! Risk bad, your cow bad.

It's probably part of evolutionary biology: If you have more than me, it must be due to your theft and my risk aversion, probably efficient forty thousand years ago in our bands of 40.

[Wahoo Redux]

Having listened to this clown, I don't have much sympathy----his commentary is simply stupid.  And I support private corporations refusing speech they don't want to be associated with.

Still, once again:

NBC News: Media publishers drop Dilbert comic strip after creator's Black 'hate group' remark

[jimbogumbo]

Having listened to this clown, I don't have much sympathy----his commentary is simply stupid.  And I support private corporations refusing speech they don't want to be associated with.

Still, once again:

NBC News: Media publishers drop Dilbert comic strip after creator's Black 'hate group' remark

Here are the actual comments. Orders of magnitude different than the imo bizarre edits to Roald Dahl or dropping some Seuss books: https://twitter.com/LyfeIzWeerd/status/1628661410678079491?cxt=HHwWhoDUrZG7lZotAAAA

[Langue_doc]

This is probably behind a paywall, so here's the article:

https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ny-daily-news-dropping-dilbert-comic-scott-adams-20230225-ovdmgwy26bgjvicujjcr7e2o7e-story.html

New York Daily News is dropping 'Dilbert': a note from the editor
By Andrew Julien
New York Daily News
•
Feb 25, 2023 at 3:45 pm

The Daily News is dumping "Dilbert."

Earlier this week, the strip's creator, Scott Adams, launched into a hateful tirade on a YouTube video show saying Black people are a hate group that white people should stay away from.

There's no need to repeat his exact words, which have been widely reported elsewhere. But they crossed a line that has made it impossible for The News to continue running his content and underwriting his work, a conclusion a growing number of newspapers across the nation have reached.

At a time when America is becoming increasingly defined by its divisions, Adams' comments fueled racial antipathy in a mean-spirited and ugly way.

New York Daily News, seen here rolling off the presses, has decided to dump the comic "Dilbert" due to creator Scott Adams' racist comments. 
[New York Daily News, seen here rolling off the presses, has decided to dump the comic "Dilbert" due to creator Scott Adams' racist comments. (Gardiner Anderson/for New York Daily News)]
The News covers New York, among the most diverse cities in the world. And just as we celebrate the diversity of people, faiths and cultures that shape our community, we welcome diversity of informed thought and opinion.

But this isn't about tolerance of diverse views. It's about making clear there's a bright line between what's acceptable and what's not, and that hate should not and cannot be tolerated. And that it certainly will not be endorsed.

You're going to see "Dilbert" for a few more days on the pages of The News, despite this decision. That's because the comics are prepared for publication in advance. We will be working with the syndicates that supply our comics in the coming days to remove "Dilbert" as expeditiously as possible and find a replacement you will enjoy.


Some might ask what any given cartoonist's statements have to do with the strip that appears in the newspaper. "Dilbert" gained popularity as a satirical look at the inner workings of an office. But while Adams' content is in the form of a comic strip, he is nonetheless a daily contributor to The News and the report we put in front of our readers.

We understand some readers may disagree with this decision, but be assured we are not trying to make a partisan statement here. We are saying there's a line that can't be crossed and that Scott Adams crossed it. And that when you cross that line, you no longer get to be part of the Daily News.

Andrew Julien is executive editor of the Daily News.

[Langue_doc]

Apologies for the double post, but as for Roald Dahl, money speaks--
https://www.npr.org/2023/02/24/1159224907/roald-dahls-publisher-responds-to-backlash-by-keeping-classic-texts-in-print

Roald Dahl's publisher responds to backlash by keeping 'classic' texts in print

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/roald-dahl-penguin-original-books-censorship-backlash/