Now that we hear eBay is removing some Dr. Seuss books from its offerings and Hollywood is agonizing because some old movies contain ethnic stereotypes, can we please all just stop the cultural self-flagellation?
There’s a song by the Eagles I’ve cited before, but at the risk of repetition, it’s worth citing again: Get over it.
We have become a culture of crybabies, too easily taking offense, too emotionally unable to overcome the slightest affront. Once upon a time, we were tougher, more adult. If we didn’t like something, we said so and then moved on. If something came from an earlier era, we understood historical context and dealt with it. We didn’t stew in our own juices about it, and we sure as heck didn’t try to make it unavailable for other people to see.
Sure, there were exceptions. Deliberate, vicious hatred, symbolism intended to terrorize, or incitements to violence: Those sins merited stronger responses.
But old stereotypes, published decades ago, possibly seen through modern eyes as being demeaning but not intended that way? Caricatures that served as the equivalent of mere background noise of old stories or artwork? Cultural assumptions — homosexuality is abnormal; French people are rude and snooty; southerners are ignorant — that were once common? The right response is to recognize and note them calmly, possibly register our complaint, and then live our lives.
We need not wear our victimhood on our sleeves. We need not make a federal case of it. We need not try to stop the offense from being seen. We need not “cancel” it or boycott it, ban it, or burn it.
Yes, if we find it really bothersome, perhaps we can ask for a small warning label. Transparency is good. Giving consumers or perusers knowledge that something may look objectionable might be advisable. Forewarned is forearmed.
But that’s it. That’s all that should be necessary. Adults should have wisdom enough to understand that all cultures at all times have been prone to stereotypes. Sometimes, they even stereotype themselves. Individual human nature seems predisposed to characterize, mentally organize, categorize things by apparent similarities with each other or by features that seem unique to a particular group or class.
Kind and thoughtful human beings resist the urge to do such things too carelessly, or harmfully, or inaccurately, or unfairly. Decent people try to see individuals as individuals first, not as mere constituents of an identifiable group. Sometimes, being flawed creatures, we fail at this. Sometimes, the failure is egregious enough to merit comment and a degree of restrained pushback.
Yet, it is also true that decent people recognize that humans have foibles and that this urge to stereotype seems part of human nature. We forgive, we look past the sin, and we try to see what else is being communicated by the cultural sinner in question.
Ten-year-olds want everything that displeases them to be removed from their lived experience. Most of us grow beyond that stage.
It’s time to end the collective freakout about all things racial or ethnic or sexual. It’s time for dignified response that doesn’t indulge the censorship impulse. It’s time to appreciate context and nuance and celebrate cultural advancements without wanting to erase all signs of those things we now have advanced beyond.
It’s time for us to calm the heck down. And, in most cases, it’s time to just get over it.
