Twitter Campaign to Revoke Dr. Seuss’s Medical License Gains Traction
A growing number of Twitter users are calling for Dr. Seuss to be stripped of his medical license. The pressure comes in the wake of renewed attention on several of Seuss’s stories that feature racial stereotypes. Last week, Seuss Enterprises acknowledged that the books in question are “hurtful and wrong” and will therefore no longer be published. Many online activists, however, feel that discontinuation of the problematic books doesn’t go far enough.
By early this week, several hashtags had begun trending, including #DrSeussIsOverParty, #BoycottDrSeussMD, and #SeussMalpractice.
Seuss has also been the subject of controversy for what some are arguing is questionable medical advice. In resurfaced text from his 1986 picture book, You’re Only Old Once, Seuss wrote:
In those green-pastured mountains
of Fotta-fa-Zee
everybody feels fine
at a hundred and three
’cause the air that they breathe
is potassium-free
and because they chew nuts
from the Tutt-a-Tutt Tree.
The Twitterverse expressed concern over the possibly pseudo-scientific nature of Seuss’s writing.
Above all, many agreed that decisive action was needed to prevent Dr. Seuss from causing any further harm to patients.
The Twitter outrage did not go unnoticed by critics of so-called cancel culture. In an hour-long diatribe on his FOX News show, Sean Hannity raged against the growing anti-Seuss sentiment. He insisted that Seuss must not give in and shut down his practice. “So these social justice woke progressive warriors want to cancel Dr. Seuss now, one of our nation’s most beloved medical experts. I remember him from when I was a kid. I mean the guy’s a legend. I don’t know where exactly he works out of, but if you’ve got kids and they need check-ups, I would get them in now and support Dr. Seuss before it’s too late.”
Hannity insisted throughout the program that he is “100% opposed to cancel culture in all circumstances,” before modifying his position to support the disbarment of Ally McBeal.
