Support NeoGAF

[Dram]

http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/28/living/feat-racist-dr-seuss-drawing/

A California auction house is selling an early drawing by Dr. Seuss that's sure to disappoint the parents and children who adore his later work.

The 1929 color illustration for "Judge" magazine depicts a blatantly racist scenario and uses a slur to describe black people. It's being auctioned for a minimum bid of $20,000.

In the four-panel drawing titled ''Cross-Section of The World's Most Prosperous Department Store," the artist depicts scenarios in which rich men can purchase items to make their lives more difficult.

These include a fly for your ointment and a monkey wrench for your machinery. The final and largest panel features a crowd of men rendered in classic blackface caricature, with dark skin and pronounced red lips, being presented to a white shopper. A sign reads: "A n---- for your woodpile."

Merriam-Webster's dictionary defines the expression "A n---- for your woodpile" as "dated now offensive: something (as a concealed motive or obscure factor) contrary to appearances in a situation."

A request for comment from Seuss' publisher has not yet been answered. Bill Dreyer, the director and curator of The Art of Dr. Seuss, declined to comment.

There were no bids as of 8 p.m. ET Thursday and the lot was closed for bidding. The drawing will be kept for a while, in case of a post-auction bid, according to auction manager Laura Yntema.

Dr. Seuss' history of creating offensive caricatures isn't a secret.

His World War II depictions of Japanese people have drawn criticism for their portrayal of stereotypical physical features and behaviors. The National Education Association's Asian Pacific Islander caucus objected to the use of Dr. Seuss as the figurehead for the "Read Across America" campaign in 2003.

Seuss went on to create children's books such as "Horton Hears a Who!" and "The Sneetches" that espouse messages of tolerance, which some have interpreted as an apology for his WWII propaganda.

 

[MMarston]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUKmq7UMJys

 

[Slayven]

I said goddamn

 

[Hero_of_the_Day]

Got damn. I was expecting something a "little" racist. Not all the fuck in like that.

 

[DrFunk]

Never ends

 

[JJDinomite]

What a green eggs and sham

 

[Kurdel]

Jesus christ

 

[Slayven]

TIL I learned Dr.Seuss was racist as fuck

 

[Ferrio]

I was expecting Japanese/asian racism.

 

[uncredited male]

It is okay everyone. We still have H. P. Lovecraft.

 

[Count of Monte Sawed-Off]

Whoa, that's pretty bad.

 

[Enzom21]

http://www.businessinsider.com/befo...2012-3#flit-was-a-brand-of-insect-repellent-1

I thought it was known?

 

[J10]

I was expecting Japanese/asian racism.

So was I.

 

[PeakPointMatrix]

 

[BunnyBear]

Jesus...

Surprised it didn't sell though. It's historical, regardless of its awful depiction. Thought someone would have snapped it up.

 

[TAJ]

The idea is bad enough, but the drawing... yowza.

 

[Mattlikewhoa]

Got damn. I was expecting something a "little" racist. Not all the fuck in like that.

Same here...

 

[Imm0rt4l]

TIL I learned Dr.Seuss was racist as fuck

.

 

[Gonzalez]

Wait I thought "Green Eggs and Ham" was about accepting the Civil Rights movement, and liking it.

 

[Link]

That's.... hmm.

 

[entremet]

I remember reading about his more questionable works.

We need to stop hero worshipping. Everyone is flawed in some way.

I'm a huge fan of Gandhi, as was MLK, but Gandhi was very racist.

We're also talking about another era, where racism was widely accepted.

 

[Slayven]

I was expecting Japanese/asian racism.

he got those too

 

[bobbychalkers]

Damn Seuss.....damn.

 

[Ferrio]

Seuss's humans look weird as hell. The guy on the fly panel reminds me of this character on the left from Monty Python

 

[Kinyou]

That strip escalated very suddenly.

 

[Meffer]

Yeahhhhhhhh, this shouldn't have been seen. Ever.

 

[zbarron]

So hard to have a role model. Mother Teresa, Gandhi, and now Dr. Seuss. All I have left is Mr. Rogers.

 

[Chie Satonaka]

TIL I learned Dr.Seuss was racist as fuck

Fucking this, Jesus.

 

[Ryuuroden]

To be fair, this was made before America reached the post racial stage of life...

Spoiler

man, I had no idea about the darker side of seuss :/

 

[Aquavelvaman]

Seuss was a bigoted piece of shit who drove his wife to suicide by publicly cheating on her when she was sick with cancer.

 

[Deadly Cyclone]

Wowza.

Seems like the article said these were early drawings and he did the childrens' books with equality messages to make up for them.

This one of those "old people are generally racist" things then? Product of the times?

Still, goddam.

 

[BIGWORM]

Fuck.

 

[Cheebo]

To be fair, this was made before America reached the post racial stage of life...

Spoiler

man, I had no idea about the darker side of souss :/

It was not THAT long ago honestly. Stuff like this was considered highly racist even back then by reasonable people.

 

[Slayven]

I was expecting a little shucking and jiving, as were the racist times. But dude went full Grand Wizard, 1-1000 in one panel.

 

[rrc1594]

Well damn!

 

[Parakeetman]

All I have left is Mr. Rogers.

The infamous sniper.

Spoiler

which is false for those of you who dont get the joke.

Though when you hear people saying Dr. Ruth was one, that isn't a joke.

http://www.snopes.com/medical/doctor/drruth.asp

 

[Toa TAK]

he got those too

Yeah, that was the sort of racism I usually associate him with.

But man I didn't know about this. Crazy.

 

[Eggbok]

WOW, I had no idea he was that racist

 

[GamerJM]

This is pretty bad, but why isn't Seuss' racism more well-known? Like I don't see why everyone (myself included) is just learning about this now because of an auction of a drawing that was already known to be in existence for a very long time.

 

[Link]

So hard to have a role model. Mother Teresa, Gandhi, and now Dr. Seuss. All I have left is Mr. Rogers.

I have some bad news...

Spoiler

Nah, I'm just fucking with you.

 

[maquiladora]

Wow...was not expecting that.

At least we all now know he was a racist scumbag. Better late than never.

 

[FromAtoX]

Shit is crazy, and I don't even get the joke.

 

[rrc1594]

So hard to have a role model. Mother Teresa, Gandhi, and now Dr. Seuss. All I have left is Mr. Rogers.

Story?

 

[Mechazawa]

That's some good ol' fashion not fuckin' around racism.

 

[TheBryanJZX90]

What's next, we're going to find out modern cinematic heroes like Mark Wahlberg are racist too?

 

[Massive Duck. C.M.]

Seen that one before

The Seuss was loose

 

[Ricky Ricardo]

Why Seuss gotta do us like this?

I grew on homeboy's works.

 

[Wag]

Well, at least I'm ok driving my Ford Taurus... Wait...

 

[Gentle Rodriguez]

I was reading the panels one by one, it all looked fine to me and I thought I was looking for something subtle.

But goddamn, that's so damn racist I'm more shocked than angry, that's amazingly racist.

I'm reminded of this Chappelle bit.

 

[Cheebo]

Story?

Oh boy. You don't know how crazy racist and sexist Ghandi was?