‘Hurtful and wrong’ Dr. Seuss books removed from eBay
In the days following the announcement that six Dr. Seuss books which contain racist imagery would not longer be published by Dr. Seuss Enterprises, sales have skyrocketed — but you won’t be able to find the banned books on eBay anymore.
“These books portray people in ways that are hurtful and wrong,” the organization said in a statement, “Ceasing sales of these books is only part of our commitment and our broader plan to ensure Dr. Seuss Enterprises’s catalog represents and supports all communities and families.”
In the days since, sales of the offensive books, “And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street,” “If I Ran the Zoo,” “McElligot’s Pool,” “The Cat’s Quizzer,” “Scrambled Eggs Super!” and “On Beyond Zebra!”, as well as many of the author and illustrator’s other books, have dominated sales on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
Online reseller eBay said Thursday it was racing to remove the six affected titles from its marketplace, according to the Wall Street Journal.
A spokeswoman for eBay said the company “is currently sweeping our marketplace to remove these items.”
Resellers have reportedly already been informed that the six books violated eBay’s “offensive material policy,” which bans items that promote “hatred, violence, or discrimination.”
The books were also removed from stores at Universal Studios theme parks. The company said it was also “reevaluating” whether to shutter Seuss Landing at Universal’s Islands of Adventure in Orlando.
The area has portions named after or that reference the offensive books.
“Seuss Landing continues to be very popular with our guests and we value our relationship with Seuss Enterprises,” the company said in a statement. “We’ve removed the books from our shelves as they have asked and we’ll be evaluating our in-park experience too. But our guests can plan on continuing to be able to enjoy their favorite experiences at Seuss Landing.”
According to the publisher, when the current existing stock of the six books is sold, they will be taken out of print. The books will still be available at libraries and book stores.
