The mayor of Springfield, Massachusetts, is perturbed and he is not alone after it was learned that a mural in the Dr. Suess Musuem is considered racist and it’s slated to be replaced , reports Fox News . The political correctness epidemic is doing away with some important historical artifacts in this nation, but it continues to happen, just take a gander at the headlines.
Back in August the New York Times published a vast list of the Confederate monuments that have come down or that are slated to come down. There are sports teams defending their name during this new wave of political correctness and now there’s Dr. Suess, who up until a few weeks ago was a childhood staple.
The mural debacle started when three children’s authors declined an invitation to the Children’s Literature Festival which was set for October 14 at the Amazing World of Dr. Suess Museum in Springfield, Massachusetts.
The authors, Mo Willems, Mike Curato and Lisa Yee, posted a letter to social media calling the Chinese man in the mural holding chopsticks and eating from a bowl a “jarring racial stereotype.” So what do they find offensive?
The authors describe the “Chinese man, who is depicted with chopsticks, a pointed hat, and slanted slit eyes.” They also say, ” We find this caricature of ‘the Chinaman’ deeply hurtful, and we have concerns about children’s exposure to it.” The festival has been canceled and there is no word if it will be a go again if the mural is removed.
The museum hails in this neck of the woods because Springfield is the birthplace of Dr. Suess. The original house he was born in no longer stands, but the museum is dedicated to all the childhood fantasies in the Dr. Suess books that were a rite of passage for many a young tot growing up.
Mayor Domenic Sarno slammed the museum’s decision to remove the mural. Mayor Sarno is asking a question that is echoed throughout the nation today, “where do we draw the line?”
According to Fox News Sarno said, “This is political correctness at its worst , and this is what is wrong with our country. We have extreme fringe groups on both the right and the left dictating an agenda to divide instead of working together towards the betterment of our country.”
The image in question is taken from one of the Dr. Suess books depicting a Chinese man holding a pair of chopsticks and eating from a bowl. This image came from the Dr. Suess book, And to Think That I Saw it on Mulberry Street.
Two area businessmen have offered to purchase the mural from the museum once it was learned it would be replaced. Peter Picknelly, who is well known throughout Western Massachusetts for his various businesses and his vast community work, offered to purchase the mural calling the thought of replacing the mural , “political correctness gone insane,” reports Boston.com
Chinese-American developer, Andy Yee, is the other businessman offering to purchase the mural. Both men are only willing to purchase the mural if it is removed. They, like the mayor of Springfield, want it to remain right where it is.
[Featured Image by gillmar/Shutterstock]
