One of the Left’s anti-free speech tactics is the use of “cancel culture” to publicly shame, ridicule, or isolate people for various actions or words. In addition to going after people these days , the Left has turned its attention to “cancel” writers, authors, and poets of ages past.
Effectively, the Left wants to ban historical authors and figures and relegate their writing into oblivion. Authors such as Dr. Seuss, F. Scott Fitzgerald, William Shakespeare, and now Homer, are now being targeted by the Left in America’s education system.
As the Wall Street Journal reported, self-professed educators are calling for the removal of literature from various authors because they wrote about or lived during eras that were not tolerant nor diverse. This #DisruptTexts social media campaign included criticism of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s famous book, “The Scarlet Letter,” where one teacher said he would “rather die” than teach about the book. Another “antiracist teacher” had complained that classic books were too old because they were written over seven decades ago and did not account for changes in American society since their debut.
Jessica Cluess, a novelist who specializes in young adult fiction, pointed out the hypocrisy of the anti-Hawthorne activist crowd, she was shamed for it. She wrote, “If you think Hawthorne was on the side of the judgmental Puritans . . . then you are an absolute idiot and should not have the title of educator in your twitter bio.” Cluess apologized and pledged to learn more about the social media campaign. Her literary agent severed ties with her, condemning her alleged racism in the process.
Regarding Homer and The Odyssey, the Journal noted that some school districts have removed the classic Greek text from their curriculum for the coming school year.
One critic of the movement, science-fiction writer Jon Del Arroz, correctly pointed out, “Erasing the history of great works only limits the ability of children to become literate.” He added that , “It’s a tragedy that this anti-intellectual movement of canceling the classics is gaining traction among educators and the mainstream publishing industry.”
