This talking point keeps getting repeated over and over online in what I assume is an attempt to downplay "cancel culture" and portray mostly conservatives and concerned liberals as knee-jerk reactionaries. However, Dr. Seuss got dropped from Read Across America Day despite the annual tradition of him being included.[1] Many schools have said they're not technically "banning" Dr. Seuss, just not talking about him much anymore.[2] And online bookstores and resellers have made some of his books forbidden and have exercised their power to deem some of his images offensive or not.[3]
It's unclear what the status of Dr. Seuss will be in a year from now, but it's not hard to imagine his very name becoming just toxic enough not to bother with. This is textbook cancelation. Yet any attempt to point out that this is how it begins is routinely given dismissive "slippery slope fallacy, bro" type arguments. Yes, we know Dr. Seuss Enterprises can protect its IP and not publish whatever they like. Not the issue at hand. We're talking about a slow (or not so slow) reframing of the author's entire reputation. Maybe I'm wrong, but it's also ok to be a frog in the water and wonder out loud whether the temperature is rising and we might get boiled someday.
[1] https://www.newsweek.com/fact-check-joe-biden-break-dr-seuss...
[2] https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/01/us/loudoun-county-public-scho...
[2] https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/books/story/2021-...
[3] https://www.wsj.com/articles/dr-seuss-books-deemed-offensive...