We did it!
When I posted last Sunday night, we were oh so close, and by Monday morning, we blew past my $1,000 goal for Running for Rebecca. Our overall team goal of $2,500 is only a few $$$ away.
I can't thank you guys enough, I know that sounds cliché, but I mean it.
I'm going to post the links again here, as we are going to see what we can raise between now and May 20th, but what we've done so far is fantastic. I can't even describe how grateful I am to have you all as family and friends. And to what your support means to my family and I.
Running for Rebecca will meet on May 20th, 2021 @ 5:15 PM EDT, at Maurice Park in Maspeth.
💗😍 Thank you all.
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We here at Weekly Mail are committed to honoring and respecting the creeds and cultures of all. I promise that I make every effort to understand what is acceptable and what is considered insensitive. A few years back, I wondered aloud why some folks were giving Mike Francesca grief over his use of the word Oriental. Having had it then it explained to me, I duly noted it and made sure I never used it to describe anyone of the Asian persuasion. That's just one example that comes to mind, but my promise to you is that I will do everything on these pages to ensure that nobody will be insulted or made fun of because of their race, religion or orientation.
Having said that.... Dr. Seuss? Seriously?
Timmy-March 2, 2014
CHILDREN'S LITERATURE- Cutting loose Dr. Seuss?
There are some days where I miss living in the city, be in Woodside, Rockaway or Manhattan. But March 2, 2014 wasn't one of those days.
That was the first Dr. Seuss Day I went to at the Oceanside Public Library. Now I know they have this all over the country if not the world, but when I tell you that when I took Timmy to the library hat Sunday afternoon, we ran into so many people that we knew, practically the whole village was there.
It was a fun day. The kids could dress up, do arts and crafts, have the books read to them and there were screenings of some of the stories made into movies. Just a wonderful amazing day.
But now, some towns and communities canceled their Dr. Seuss days because they now believe some of his work to be offensive.
And maybe some of it is?
But from where I'm sitting, it's not enough to cancel out the positive messages, the joy that these books bring to kids, ever since many of us were kids.
The company that runs the late author's estate and business interests, Dr. Seuss Enterprises announced this week that 6 Dr. Seuss books will cease to be published. Including his first book And to Think I Saw it on Mulberry Street.
From what I read, the offensive content in that book is an Asian Man, depicted with a yellowish color, lines for eyes with chopsticks in his hands. In the original, he was referred to as China Man.
Yes, I will grant you that was not in good taste. Even Seuss himself acknowledged that. By the 1970's the yellow was gone and he was referred to as a Chinese Man. I don't know, maybe instead of making the book a collectors item in line with the Beatles Yesterday and Today album, can we update it again?
I'm probably going to get in trouble for saying this, but to me there is so much actual racism going on today that needs to be addressed. It just reminds me of a few years ago, when they banned Kate Smith from Yankee Stadium and whatever they call the Philadelphia Spectrum now (I think the Spectrum is gone and the new place is the Wells Fargo Center) Can we spend this energy going after the White Supremacists and the Proud Boys? Not to mention some of the shenanigans going on in Georgia and how they are trying to pass a boatload of new voting laws including one that would nearly eliminate early weekend voting, which takes direct aim at African American churches, the so called souls to the polls.
I don't think Dr. Seuss was a racist, he was more likely a man of his time. It seems like as he got older he evolved and realized some of what he did could be construed as racist. Think back even 20 years ago, we all used words and terms that now we know are wrong. We have the technology now to take the offensive material either out completely, or change it to update it to modern sensibilities.
I respect if you disagree, but I just believe in this case, banning Dr. Seuss is throwing the baby out with the bathwater. To deny his positive messages for the sake of some outdated material is just over the top.
Sorry, this is a short one this week.
Stay safe, wear a mask
and Have a Great Week
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