This had been triggered by a slew of international complaints: Children from developing countries (many of which had been liberated from themselves by the benevolent British Empire) were terrified and offended by the book's pale-skinned, blonde protagonist. He reminded them of days under British and European rule and the suffering (or 'learning' as the government preferred) that they had endured.
Historically, white people had always been unfairly picked on for trying to help the world be more like them and Jesus, so this was another major blow.
A legal battle over the book ensued, and when it was finally reprinted stringent efforts were made to completely remove any contentious material regarding race, colour and even gender. In the updated 1979 edition Sam was reimagined as a completely transparent flatworm which changed gender at will.
However, sales plummeted and, before long, environmentalists were reporting that crimes against flatworms had risen by as much as 23%.
I'm getting weird echoes here of tigers turning to marmalade.
ReplyDeleteNote that Sam on the cover is holding what appears to be an umbrella handle. This was not the artist's intention. Readers of the book will recall that Sam has the naughty habit of pulling long strings of earwax from the inside of his head -- until one day, he learns an important lesson.
ReplyDeleteI think it was butter that was then used for pancakes, Sedayne
ReplyDeleteYet another example of political correctness gone mad
ReplyDeleteYet another of example of political correctness gone wrong.
ReplyDeleteWhen will we ever learn .
flatworms are very importants for our life
ReplyDelete