"Horton Hears a Wha?" (legal, death, abortion, school)

[delusianne]

I'm sure this is old news to the anti-choicers out there, but I just now discovered it and wanted to share. (Yes, I found it at Cracked magazine.)

Use in the United States abortion debate

The book (most notably Horton the Elephant's recurring phrase "a person's a person, no matter how small") has found its way to the center of the recurring debate, in the United States, over abortion. Several pro-life groups have adopted the phrase in support of their views. Geisel himself did not approve of these groups co-opting the phrase, nor does his widow, Audrey Geisel, who "doesn't like people to hijack Dr. Seuss characters or material to front their own points of view." [5] According to Geisel biographer Philip Nel, Geisel threatened to sue a pro-life group for using his words on their stationery.[6]

Horton Hears a Who! - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Apparently, the story--geared towards ages four to six--is meant to be a complex, prophetic metaphor which condemns the right of a woman to choose to get de-babied. Christian website The Elijah List, which boasts 127,000 members, ran a piece which not only drew parallels between Seuss's book and the abortion debate, but heralded it as a banner for their movement to rally around. In their words:

"Horton...is the prophetic Church with big ears and a large trumpet. He can hear what no one else can hear -- the sound of these little people. In the book, we also find a kangaroo who wants to kill all the little Whos, because he cannot see or hear them. He doesn't believe they exist. Immediately the thought came to me, "The kangaroo is the kangaroo court!" -- it stands for the Supreme Court who issued the death decree of '73 in Roe v Wade, and legalized abortion."

The 5 Greatest Books With Psychotic Fanbases | Cracked.com

(What bothers me about this is the appropriating without asking, btw. I like the pothead-style metaphor and dont have a problem with the sentiment -- just hire some creatives next time.)

[umtiki]

I also don't like people taking Dr. Seuss material to front their points of view. I find it weird because many of these people don't want homosexuality, evolution, and other subjects taught in schools. They want to protect their children from these things, and yet they are okay with taking a CHILDREN's book to promote their side in the abortion debate.

[Sirros]

Originally Posted by umtiki

I also don't like people taking Dr. Seuss material to front their points of view. I find it weird because many of these people don't want homosexuality, evolution, and other subjects taught in schools. They want to protect their children from these things, and yet they are okay with taking a CHILDREN's book to promote their side in the abortion debate.

I just heard the Duggars are going to buy this book and read it to their 19 kids in their home school.