1941 political cartoon from Dr. Seuss is shockingly relevant again:

[Blue_Tires]

Link to tweet

[Frustratedlady]

1. Too many comparisons/coincidences to the 1940s and today to dismiss them.

I, personally, don't want to even think about it, but we must. What is happening at the border is scary enough and other things people are uncovering should wake us up, but all we are doing is arguing and poking fun at each other. I do it, too, so don't chew me out for saying that. I just worry about my great-grandkids who are standing at the doorway to a horrid generation if we don't stop it now.

I'm not saying we will have a reincarnated Nazi period, but it will be something similar. Trump won't live that much longer, so I don't think he will be part of it, but he will enable Putin and his crew to come in and make the US theirs. No, I don't know how we, the people, will allow this to happen, but neither did the Jews in Germany.

We need to keep the possibilities at the forefront in our minds and start watching very closely. Thank God for Democratic Underground. It keeps us sane...most of us. ::

[Butterflylady]

4. The majority of people today do not even begin to know

The extent of what the Nazis did. Most only know about the concentration camps and the gas chambers, but there was so much, much more that they were responsible for starting in the 1930's. History will definitely repeat itself if were not careful. GOTV

[Tucker08087]

2. He was surprisingly relevant...

And had definite opinions that would now be labeled as Democratic in ideology. Stars upon thars? When I was teaching, turning the cartooned stars into the Jewish star used in Nazi Germany for lessons in tolerance for young children was too easy, and I believe intentionally designed that way. The story about the Truffula Trees is an Earth Day lesson before its time. I used it every year.
Sometimes we act like children. (Some of us more than others.) I truly believe he targeted two audiences.

[Aristus]

8. Dr. Seuss was a pretty unabashed liberal.

'The Sneetches', 'The Lorax', and 'The Butter Battle Book' are pretty convincing pieces of evidence for that.

Also, when the right-to-life crowd grasped at 'Horton Hears A Who' and the refrain "A person's a person, no matter how small" to promote an anti-choice agenda, Dr. Seuss's widow came down pretty hard on them, stating that was never his intention.

BTW, welcome to DU!

[Lucky Luciano]

11. He is good, but did have to atone for these racist cartoons among others that drew black people...

...in ape like ways.






http://www.openculture.com/2014/08/dr-seuss-draws-racist-anti-japanese-cartoons-during-ww-ii.html

[Hekate]

14. Japan attacked our country & got us into WW II. FDR erred horribly by interning...

...American-Japanese.

Yet, it was a fact that the Japanese Empire attacked the US without provocation, thus putting their people in the same category as Germans and Italians when it came to being mercilessly lampooned by political cartoonists.

Of all the things that bother me, Seuss's WW II cartoons fall in the category of "You had to be there," or, "That was then, this is now."

[Lucky Luciano]

19. Muslims attacked our country...etc

[Hekate]

21. Acts of war do not result in nice behavior as a general rule,but this country usually at least tries

...to learn from our past. Of all the things Dubya did that I disagreed with and even despised, his efforts to keep the more idiotic members of our nation from attacking every Middle Easterner and Sikh and to engender some understanding of "modest women in hijabs" was wholly admirable.

Now we have Trump, who panders to the basest parts of our national character.

[lunatica]

23. Individual terrorists attacked our country

It wasn’t another country.

[Lucky Luciano]

25. Japanese Americans are not a country.

[lunatica]

28. Japanese Americans didn't attack Pearl Harbor

What our government did to them is what Trump would love to do to Muslims and Mexicans plus anyone south of the border.

[krispos42]

24. "Muslims" are not a nation

What was the predominant religion in Japan in 1941?

Did we say that the Buddists attacked us? No.

Pearl Harbor was an attack by State actors, and 9/1 was an attack by non-state actors.

[Lucky Luciano]

26. Japanese Americans had nothing to do with that. nt

[lunatica]

29. You should learn history

and then you can argue with facts.

[Lucky Luciano]

30. I know plenty. Thx for your dismissiveness and superiority.

[lunatica]

31. If you conflate Muslims with terrorists or Japanese Americans

with Japan in WWII you aren’t very knowledgeable of history.

[Lucky Luciano]

32. No.

I’m saying the cartoons above conflate Japanese Americans with potential terrorists on US soil back then. Just like Muslims today. Bottom line is the cartoon was racist. Period.

[lunatica]

33. OK. In that case I owe you a big apology!

and I actually agree with you. I’m really sorry for misunderstanding your point.

[Lucky Luciano]

34. No problem!

My fault probably. I despise typing on iPhones, so I may have been too brief and unclear.

[lunatica]

35. Thanks!

[IronLionZion]

3. Idiots were worried America was getting too diverse back then too

and the immigrants stealing jobs were from Italy, Ireland, Eastern Europe, etc.

[Volaris]

5. One would think, that the white people in this country that aren't 'purebred WASPS',

Would remember that treatment, and start voting accirdingly. Old Man Bush was arguably a Republican before he was born. Me, not so much...

[geardaddy]

6. +1

[Ferrets are Cool]

7. Shocking, isn't it? nt

[Mosby]

9. I read the cartoon as a commentary

About the inherent cruelty of isolationism.

[Hekate]

18. Yes it is

[Wawannabe]

10. Blue tires

The mother’s shirt message! America first!
WOW. Just Wow. Seems like that was ripped off and Mrs. Suess or heirs should follow up and in a hurry!
What the hell? Right?

On another note. I once write to Lawrence Tribe via email. He responded. With good advice. It was before tRump stole our national flag and the right to live in the WH. Lawrence Tribe is a man of honor.
We all know what tRump is. Despicable!

[Hekate]

12. Wa, your post is confusing. Do you actually think someone stole or altered Seuss's original? Not so.

Theodore Geisel, aka Dr. Seuss, made many editorial-type cartoons prior to and during the WW II era. "America First" is a very old isolationist slogan, dug up from the grave by Bannon and Trump.

[Wawannabe]

20. Copyright infringement was the general idea,

yes. I didn’t know so old and reused by others. And “dug up” as you say.
Not sure why I confused you by hoping tRump could be caught infringing and writing about it in a reply. Melania (or aides) used same words as Michelle Obama. tRump does steal. And lie. And cheat people. It is not a far fetched idea.
Thanks for your historical info critique.

[Tarc]

27. Your responses are manic, bordering on nonsensical

That is an authentic, unaltered political cartoon

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/dr-seuss-adolf-wolf/

[rpannier]

13. Wolf Blitzer reading to children

[keithbvadu2]

15. Don't forget: Irish/Italians need not apply.

Don't forget: Irish/Italians need not apply.

Anti-Catholic sentiment was high back in the 1800s.

(Still is in many evangelical circles)

[AZ8theist]

16. None of this behavior by the elite is new...

This all reverts back to Feudalism that existed centuries ago.

Homo Sapiens have not evolved enough..yet, to throw away the shackles of kings, monarchs, or fascists.

We are today still living with humans, barely above the level of human sacrifice to "gods". They simply disguise themselves as "Capitalists" , or "Oligarchs", or "Nazis", or todays so-called "alt-right". (or even "Republicans&quot

These are humans who are ready, willing, and able to kill off their fellow human beings in the name of whatever benefit suits them. Mostly monetary.

Someone please tell me how they differ from the "leaders" of two, three, or ten thousand years ago. We think we're SO advanced, but in reality we're not. We're still primitive, just with better technology.

[BigmanPigman]

17. Ted Geisel/Dr. Seuss was an illustrator for the

military during WW2. He wrote his books for adults as much as for children (to help them read) and he was not especially fond kids and had none. As an illustrator and teacher in San Diego (where he lived) I learned a lot about him and his artwork.

[uponit7771]

22. K&R