TheKingMoonracer
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Everyone thinks of Dr. Seuss as some sweet old guy who wrote kids books and made up cute words. Little do they know he was the most hardcore political motherfucker to ever draw cartoons for newspapers of all time.
He was of German and Jewish descent and got bullied a lot as a kid. Suess grew up and drew cartoons for his school paper and was later fired for being too real for the paper to handle. But that didn't stop him- he made up a new name and KEPT SUBMITTING THEM ANYWAY.
Dr. Seuss also did a feature length documentary after WWII about how WWII wasn't actually over and the Nazis still were holding influence over the public.
Who would have guessed that this beloved children's author actually wrote kids books on a whim and his real talent was dismantling fascist regimes with adorable black and white sketches of turtles? (Yes, Yurtle the turtle was about Hitler.)
What a badass MOFO.
Seriously I didn't know any of this about Dr. Suess until recently and thought Imgur might find it interesting.
FP edit: Send me pictures of your pets (and just to prove that FP edits never work) or your dicks. But not your pet's dicks, that's just wrong.
DjahalDin
Tove Jansson, author of the Moomins, was a political cartoonist too http://helsinkiheroes.com/hh/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/tj_2014_garm.jpg
Konosoar
Seuss had an affair while his wife suffered from cancer and depression. She killed herself and he married his mistress a few months later.
sunflowr72
Wow. What a swell guy.
Morg729
Anybody realize these were memes before the Internet?
thecolonels
Probably. At least Richard Dawkins when he created the word in the 70's.
vasquaal
He also drew some racist ads against black people.
ssurfcity
Still relevant today, as we see neo-Nazis emboldened by the election of the Fascist-In Chief.
wantondisregard
I'm guessing he was for America joining WW2
foosbabaganoosh
He was also a horrible person to his poor wife
choicebutts2
1942, still timely today: https://i2.wp.com/www.brainpickings.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/drseusswartime13.jpg
FavoritingCatsAlittletooOften
I love #6. I think I'll be using the "we were always suckers for ridiculous hats" line pretty often.
CaptainRedHook
A lot of his ire was at the "America First" crowd - once again all too familiar to our country today, sadly.
yeoldefrog
Beatdrums
"Little Adolf Hitler always hated the Jews, he'll be a mean friend to me or to you" - Dr. Seuss probably
AlteR11121
Actually Dr. Seuss was an asshole who cheated on his bedridden wife. She wrote him a letter for after she passed. He married the other woman
EhIWonderHowLongAUsernameCanBeLetsFindOutShallWeAaandThereItIs
The relevance this still has is sad
DepartmentofAlternateFacts
yeah, alot of childrens artist and writers were active in ww2, doing hardcore shit
LegendsBlade
You left out the racist ones though.
Poodlestrike
God, I hate how timely a lot of these feel.
imagurk
Promote education. We're still the same apes we were in Roman times and earlier, still afraid of our own shadow, still capable of horrors.
eviscera
"America first" eh? Sounds like another fascist movement fueled by racism, homophobia, ignorance, and nationalism.
themuttonisniceandlean
Not really. The US was geographically and economically pretty isolated which meant a lot more at the time, and it wasn't a superpower. 1/2
themuttonisniceandlean
Not being involved in a European war made a lot of sense. The US felt it wasn't really their concern until Pearl Harbor affected them.
VoltageXL1
He put the America first there to be critical of those who think that way. Was that no obvious? Smh
Caniac
Isolationism =/= nationalism
notme222
For the sake of completeness, we should say some doesn't look as good in hindsight: http://www.dartmouth.edu/~hist32/History/Seuss01.jpg
RavioliRavioliEndMyExistenceoli
.
NowDoThatVoodooThatYouDo
He actually apologized for it after the war and wrote Horton Hears a Who to teach kids people are people regardless of how they're different
birencall
Well yeah, the slant-eye look might be seen as insensitive by today's standards, but uhhh, yeah, the whole Manchuria thing was pretty shitty
Tennex
wasnt this a japanese thing? since japan was allied with germany for part of WWII
GadenKerensky
Japan took over Manchuria. Pretty bloody affair, but they ended up losing it to the Russians.
SoManyChoices
This comic makes perfect sense. Not really racist at all.
MajTommm
Not any different from official US propaganda at the time.
astrangehop
Ever see the "HOW TO SPOT A JAP" pamphlet? It showed difference between Japs and our Chinese allies with some... interesting verbiage.
themuttonisniceandlean
My parents were taught to identify silhouettes of the bottoms of airplanes in school to tell the difference between Japanese and allied.
himit
Remove the verbiage and that could actually be useful for some people. Lots of people can't tell different Asians apart.
imagurk
There's a website where you have to guess the origin of Asian people. I worked with a ton of Asians (I'm white) and I got the highest score.
himit
Ooooh what's the website? I lived there for yonks and consider myself a master. We should compare :D
Muddskipper2
Why's that?
notme222
As was the style, his Japan critique leaned a bit racist: http://cdn8.openculture.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/waiting-for-signals.png
damspam
Holy SHIT!
notme222
(For those not familiar, "Fifth Column" means citizens undermining the nation. This cartoon is pro- Internment Camp.)
Muddskipper2
Now that's a better pic to represent his leanings. I agree with you though, nobody's prefect. Shameful but in context of PH it's more 1/2
Muddskipper2
Understandable. Doesn't excuse it though. Thinking back to the post too, kinda goes against the racial prejudice bug one. Strange
notme222
Probably explained by timing. Seuss evolved his views later and wrote "Horton Hears a Who" as an apology of sorts.
arewevenom
He felt bad after some rather bad shit about the Japanese that's what drove him to write childrens books.
NotSoSmartAlek
"Horton hears a Who" supposedly.
SoniChan
He talks about how Horton Hears a Who came about in an article. http://davidsheff.com/article/dr-seuss/
Sandrilene
"The Very Hungry Hitler"
DoYouWantItYaass
"and he chewed up all of Poland...but he was STILL hungry!"
CozyDub
You actually made me laugh
VIIVIIIIX
Seuss wasn't fired for being too political, he was fired, because he was caught drinking at Dartmouth during prohibition. (1 of ?)
VIIVIIIIX
He created the name Seuss (his middle name) because, he was no longer able to use his name (Theodor Gisel). He actually wrote the (2 of ?)
Ilikekites
I thought Seuss was his mother's maiden name?
VIIVIIIIX
Theodor Seuss Geisel, but Seuss was pronounced differently than we pronounce it. Like "Sue-eas".
VIIVIIIIX
Also, I spelled his last name wrong up there, I'm sorry :(
HillOfBeans
Didn't he also write or draw using the name LeSieg (Giesel backwards) sometimes?
VIIVIIIIX
famous line in Horton Hears a Who, "A person is a person no matter how small," as an apology for these racist comics which (3 of 4)
VIIVIIIIX
originally appeared in PM News. He felt the Japanese deserved an apology for what he'd done propaganda wise. (4 of 4)
WKBetafiggit
He also had this: http://cdn8.openculture.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/waiting-for-signals.png
causality
To be fair, the first three Japanese-Americans who had the opportunity to go turncoat did so immediately. Nihau Incident.
SoniChan
He was the head of a propaganda unit. He felt really bad about it later on in life and actually really liked Japan and it's people.
Camelspotting
In my home town they used TNT/dynamite to blow up stumps to clear strawberry fields, they were the first to be interred.
themuttonisniceandlean
My grandmother & parents lived in CA at that time. My gma said, "It was a terrible injustice, but we thought it was necessary at the time."
WKBetafiggit
Guess that can be said for a lot of terrible injustices
WKBetafiggit
Just saying that for every light there's a shadow and you can't have one without the other
mycatToastwasafatasshole
-Kingdom Hearts theme starts playing-
LiterallyJustHereForThoseRecipeGifs
No one is right all the time. God knows I've done shit I regretted later in life. But I think the good outweighed the bad in his life.
mordaedil
I noticed they are off to Mexico.
MrRandom314159
nppraxis
Oh, wow.
aninvisiblemaniac
hey at least he hates nazis too
madetheaccountjustforyou
MichaelZWilliamson
Right, but that's an individual (Togo), not Japanese Americans.
madetheaccountjustforyou
... it's a racist fucking caricature, dude. There's no way you can spin it otherwise.
ruadhan1334
(1/2) It's caricature illustration. Maybe I'm just old, but it bares more stylistic resemblance to Seuss's signature style than it does ...
ruadhan1334
(2/2) ... the more racialised US depictions of "generic" Japanese features, during the 1940s. I guess if I wasn't familiar with mid20th art.
yurian903
It's a caricature. Is it also wrong for him to have just pasted a photo of General Tojo? I would be careful as to what qualifies as racist.
DrProfessorRocketSurgeon
Not excusing it, but that was done in 1942, shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor, so that may have influenced him just a bit.
WKBetafiggit
Most probably. See coment above, anyawy
Jupman
Using the it was just the time, is no excuse.
DrProfessorRocketSurgeon
Apparently you missed the part where I said it wasn't an excuse. An explanation is not an excuse.
Jupman
LOL that second comment was (sarcasm) I get ya bro/sis
Chalybos
Probably why they said "Not excusing it, ..."
Jupman
Yes "probably" >.>
LlamaLingo
Makin fun of some americans fear of american-japanese people at the time? Or am I gettin it wrong?
bobtheaxolotl
It's definitely racist. He recognized it later, apologized for it, and tried to make up for it by presenting better ideas to children.
OrkFaeller
Nope. Just fear of american-japanese people itself. Seuss drew racist, anti japanese propaganda during the war.
irishmts
Nope, definitely racism here. Didn't always quite hit the nail on the head with his political commentary, but sure who is ever 100% right
Rin007
That's what I thought. You know, Satire.
ashmenon
I mean, when we're talking about war, right is relative. Both sides tend to believe they're in the right.
UnPossibleMagician
The world view back then, was that foreigners were working mines and sending the profit back to their family's in home countries.
UnPossibleMagician
Then you have lots of racism and lies, example is this cartoon back in the Australian gold-rush era.
Dismang
That and Pearl Harbor
Ray0Sunsine
Well, I guess nobody bats a thousand.
YamatoIouko
What about Batty McThousandSwing?
MantisTobagganMD
Oh, well that guy is of the course the exception that proves the rule.
AdeptusWolf
CatBlaster5000
http://imgur.com/zXbw1Tc
IHaveNoIdeaAnymore
YamatoIouko
...fair enough.
NowDoThatVoodooThatYouDo
He actually apologized after the war and wrote Horton Hears a Who to teach kids that people are people regardless of their differences.
TheStaleBread
"A person's a person no matter how small" still manages to slip a wee bit of racism in there at the end
ruadhan1334
Yeah, in the land of Oz.
anadultmalesilverbackgorilla
I always thought that referred to his "pro-life" stance rather than anything with a person's race.
JakeDSnake
Suess was pro-choice
Ekajra
He did actually write a book about Japanese and Japanese-Americans, but Horton Hears a Who isn't it.
TheMarxVolta
that sure makes up for all the racism
Fortyseven
He was able to expand his mind and recognize his mistake. Then he did something about it the best he knew how. You can't ask for more.
ruadhan1334
Why ask for even that when over can expect the other person to be perfect from the start?
WKBetafiggit
Again, lights and shadows. Dr. Seuss had more lights than shadows, though
carnificus
I think that's debatable. Does the joy he brought to children outweigh the cruelty he showed to his wife?
KaleoM
Citation needed.
carnificus
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_Palmer_Geisel
yourkiddingrightnow
Yes.
cleverbeans
He had an affair, he wasn't eating babies or anything. His books easily outweigh his personal lapse.
carnificus
"Affair" sounds a lot better than "cheated on his wife while she had cancer, which caused her to commit suicide."
Mycologics
He also had a bunch of "racist" drawings of black people. Just like old WB Cartoons it was a thing of the times but still.
Asteroidrules
He did kinda acknowledge it though, did a lot of anti-racist stuff after he realized. Remember The Sneetches?
Mycologics
Oh yeah I know. Which is great.
HodorIsADJ
So I'm confused. Should we hate him or not? Tell me how to think!
MistaLake88
Seriously, his non-children's-book art is pretty out there… and just a google search away…
HoovinSchmoovin
Didn't occur to us plebs though, did it?
supergazm
I'll make it even easier. https://lmgtfy.com/?q=Dr.+Suess+adult+comics
JadeNB1729
It might even be easier if you search under "Dr Seuss". (I'm not clicking on that link, so I have no idea which gets more results ….)
davidbowieeyes
Burn the witch!!
Muddskipper2
I remember seeing a big book of these in my Elementary library. I think it's called, Dr. Seuss Goes to War. Was blown away when I skimmed it
magneticgumby
Can confirm. Own it on my shelf. Used it when I use to teach history and talked about propaganda.
Bezaid
I have a copy somewhere too; it's a fascinating look at what the times were like from his perspective.
TheWorldArriving
Wasn't Horton Here's A Who Seuss's apology for his support of internment camps for the Japanese during WWII?
Imsickofdisshit
He also drew some pretty anti-Japanese cartoons. But I think we are too quick to discredit great men with one flaw. Go Seuss.
sunyudai
He did. He also publicly acknowledged that fact and apologized, then devoted several works to anti-racist messages.
Imsickofdisshit
Awesome! Didn't know that
sunyudai
It happened after the war. Would have meant more during, but you take what you can get.
imagurk
The current generation coming up seems to destroy anyone the instant they hear one negative story about them. It's really distressing.
sepp
What is "the current generation" you are speaking of..?
nitemayr
It has ever been thus, Jesus was welcomed as a prophet and condemned as a heretic and they didn't have facebook to help.
ItsMeMello7
NotARobotISwear
Check out the pope's hat...
kantackistan
Baw gawd it all makes sense now!
raptorsoldier
LegitimacyProject
The Demoman's liver, I will sell this liver.
kantackistan
But he's in Scotland so no matter. Ho hum!
Skatchnev
HungryPumpkn
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RI7h0rddgno&t=203s Sauce if anyone was interested
DONALDTRUMPUSA
HEAVY IS BIRD. TWEET TWEET.
nightrein
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtIBHfOdyX0
NovaBlack0
Tell little burd he is cute
nclu
He was probably predicting Sims
OrkFaeller
http://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/lazy-purple-tf2nimals/images/f/f8/250px-Freedom_Feathers.png/revision/latest?cb=20131209191300
tripod2000
Illuminati confirmed
MantisTobagganMD
delpharseven
DR. SEUSS, IF YOU CAN HEAR US, WHEN IS HALF-LIFE 3 COMING?
ItsMeMello7
SUESS-LIFE 3 CONFIRMED
He4rtless
The problem is there's not Suess Life 3 without SL2... Whoa is me.
sunyudai
Careful, this is how religions start.
AbsolutelyKhaotic
In the distance a whisper is heard "never..." the whisperer angering millions upon millions of nerds and Gabe Newell fan-boys/girls. (1/2)
AbsolutelyKhaotic
Little did they know the whisperer was Dr. Suess who had infinite wisdom when it came to the topic of Valve's intentions to release games. 2
brandsilven
"Brush your teeth, go to bed, worry not your little head, after all has been done and said, it'll come out long after you're dead."
MrPakEDerm
Amazing.
thechompers
Oh the places you'll go. The front page probably.
MadDucks
ClemantTheGymLeader
This gif is now
MothsHaveFeelingsToo
And that one is now
as well
MothsHaveFeelingsToo
That is one of my favorite scenes of all time.
nuezjr
Or the Editorials section!
MothsHaveFeelingsToo
IRespondWithAnimeGIFSsometimesbecauseIhavenothingbettertodo
MothsHaveFeelingsToo
Glad to see I'm not the only one. :P
IRespondWithAnimeGIFSsometimesbecauseIhavenothingbettertodo
MothsHaveFeelingsToo
That scene was glorious XD
ThatgifwithaCat
tr0lleyjack
Upvotes here, upvotes there, upvotes cone from everywhere!
JackBeak
So close.
StandAgainstTyranny
tr0lleyjack
You sharp eyed son of a gun. I knew it as soon as I wrote it.
TachyonCode
If you don't reach Glorious off of this comment, yourself, I'll be shocked.
bubblegumnex
Go places with Henry Rollins :D https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_k5WBwUUjQ
LadyBumps
That last one is still sadly relevant.
Asteroidrules
Most of them are.
Yaxism
Oh only the last one?
PennnnnyLane
I just sent it to my husband and said the same thing.
LifesLittleLunatic
And round and round we go
domestomp
all relevant still, imo
thatauzzieguy
You aren't born foreign. They choose to be foreign!
CarreraCowboy
Good point. Where else should we be intervening that we haven't gotten to yet? I think next on the list is North Korea, and Iran, right?
mac821
how so?
lunobear
Trump suppprters literally still uses the phrase "America first"
BrumpoTungus
North Korea?
sprayingmantis
In Australia we have immigrants drowning while attempting to reach us in leaky boats. When asked about possible solutions many Aussies 1/2
sprayingmantis
2/2 respond by saying "SINK THEM, THEN THEY WON'T TRY COMING HERE!" But I think refugees will probably still try.
LadyWidebottom
I can't see your other reply to this, but I am disappointed with our attitude in respect to the boat people.
IOnceOwnedMoonMoonButOnceHeTriedToLickMyBallsAndRanAwayIMissHim
Boat people...
sprayingmantis
Imgur errored while typing second bit. fuckitgointobed.jpg
Camelspotting
Trump is pretty America first and isolationist.
DeLaRuuu
Fine by Europe right now.
SwarmLord
Not really. He said that he's going to stop USA being a "world policeman". With Russia being cocky in Europe that's not a good thing.
DeLaRuuu
Russia isn't the Soviet Union, they're not gonna invade Europe. They have no reason to. I'm more worried about the immigration crisis. ...
Camelspotting
Really? That means Europe has to pick up the slack.
DeLaRuuu
Which slack would you mean?
LadyBumps
If you swap "America First" for Britain First and "Adolf" for Assad. It sums up the uk's right wing press' attitude to Aleppo
DeLaRuuu
Assad isn't Hitler. Removing him won't save anyone.
TheWombatStrikesAgain
You don't have to go that far. Just remember that the biggest fear people had about the Drone War was that it could target Americans.
eviscera
...or, you know, Donald Trump's "America First" rhetoric. Literally uses that exact phrase a lot.
ShaZam1269
And my frigging co-workers totally support that shit.
YourAverageAyyLmaoAlien
Only if you're ILLEGAL
illidank
Legality and morality aren't the same thing. Black Americans were legally property. Legality =/= slavery ok. I'm for open borders. Sry
MichaelZWilliamson
How many illegals can you host in your house?
illidank
Lol wut?
imadethisaccounttocommentonpictures
Countries have the right to control their borders. Open borders destroy a country's sovereignty
illidank
What right is that? Man made rights? Gods rights? Natural rights? Free markets would correct the flow of people eventually
imadethisaccounttocommentonpictures
Man made. Westphalian sovereignty is pretty rad
MichaelZWilliamson
"Eventually."
filthbucketsfullofpuke
Like how the middle east treats foreigners?
DeLaRuuu
Oops, don't mention how other places are worse. We're only allowing self-deprication currently.
thesmelge
Ok, see, here's a problem. What is it with the whole "someone does a bad thing, so thats my excuse to not bother trying to be good"?
DeLaRuuu
Don't think that's what he said. And personally I don't see it being relevant for today. If the bad wolf is ISIS, the US interfering as 1/2
DeLaRuuu
little as possible is a good thing. The world doesn't need you to topple regimes over the place.
slipperynoodle
Being as its widely regarded that the US paved the way for isis I'd say we have some responsibility. Less you want us to leave Russia to it
damspam
I dunno man, invading armies are kind of different than fleeing refugees
filthbucketsfullofpuke
Try being just an average american citizin going to a middle eastern country and see how you are treated. Now reverse those roles 1/2
damspam
You assume everyone in the ME are radicals, when it's a complex and diverse region. Refugees are running from the people you describe
filthbucketsfullofpuke
And those refugees are living in Heaven compared to what they have back "home".
ZoidbergIsGreat
I think third from the bottom is still relevant as well...
Showmeyourotters
Replace a few names and most of them are
Galhaar
Honestly, in that case it was a critique of the US NOT intervening. Now most problems are caused by the US intervening.
JustCallMeJazzHands
Interesting. It's almost as if perfect solutions to complex problems don't exist.
RobertNAdams
Maybe we should intervene to defend our allies (as with Britain) and also not thunderfuck other countries because reasons?
IrishMikeB
Bobby Neill? Madam Rob?
MichaelZWilliamson
Allies...like Kuwait? Israel? Saudi Arabia? And now, Iraq and Afghanistan?
Galhaar
Tbh the only place I'd support US troops that isn't yet fucked up are the areas Russia could hope to annex (eg. Baltic states)
KiLSKi66
Do you want to start a war? Because that is how you start a war.
Galhaar
There already is a war in Ukraine, not like putin would care much about funding the invasion of a couple more countries.
Hybris51129
Things are made worse by the US intervening and half assing it, political correctness and counter insurgency don't mix.
ODSTsRule
I agree, thx to US Foreign Fuckups europe gets the bunch of refugees and blame for not taking enough in while the ones who started the 1/
ODSTsRule
chain of events that lead to this awful situation don´t even bother to take 200K because "Muslims". USA has room for millions and 2/
MichaelZWilliamson
Awesome. How many can you host in your house? (I've actually hosted one.)
ODSTsRule
doesn´t do shit. TBH it sometimes looks like there is an evil agency your politicians enforce not just being fools. 3/3
mrsuzukiami
Or don't enforce tribalism on the Arabs that had no wants for it in WW1 Europe?
glock19
Here's an idea EU stop taking in refugees & stop offering benefits to EVERYONE. Maybe then they'll go 2 Jordan Kuwait Saudi Arabia, UAE, etc
Attacker732
They're either malicious, or incompetent to the point of malice. Maybe both at the same time.
override367
Oddly our intervening largely comes in the form of massive military escapades, where as taking in refugees is a crazy idea
boomslander
Replace "foreign children" with "refugees" and it's pretty spot on.
MichaelZWilliamson
Wait, so is intervention good or bad? Because in this thread, it seems to be both.
boomslander
US intervention is bad 99% of time. The reason is not for good. Not democracy, not freedom, but for US interests. AKA big business. We 1/
boomslander
overthrow democratically-elected leaders and fund terrorist groups to accomplish our goals. It's terrible, really.
JBSmoove
2nd to last one as well, considering Trump selling his hats.
DisapprovingVader
Well, I am a sucker for a ridiculous hat
JizzRag
Make Hats Silly Again
RetConMan
SquidJesus
Axewhipe
In many ways
MichaelZWilliamson
Not a Trump supporter, but I'm not seeing the parallel.
scurvyturtle
Make America great again hats.
pyjamamama
Climate crisis