Melanie Trump's Donation of Books Was Returned "Thank you but Not for Our School"
A Rich woman like her husband and the woman in charge of school education Betsy Devos, have with no idea of who needs what in this country. A hand Me down is a hand me down, maybe she thought. People, all people love free stuff. No, she was wrong.
Some people have scruples and know what they have and what they need. They don't mean to take what they already have but others need. The thing is she was not always rich nor American nor spoke english. I guess she put all that stuff behind her. As for Betsy DeVos, she has no experience in teaching or books except the one she's read. For the first time in this country we have a Billionaire President who lives in his own made up world who has surrounded himself with a staff of also rich people like him who gave out those positions like if they were thank you cards for the money they contributed to his campaign for president.
A school librarian has kicked the First Lady out.
Just like Sam from Green Eggs and Ham before her, Boston school librarian Liz Phipps Soeiro took one look at the Dr. Seuss books Melania Trump donated to her school, and decided she "would not like them here or there."
The First Lady's office declared on Sept. 6 that Trump would donate Dr. Seuss books to schools across America that had been recognized for education excellence to celebrate National Read a Book day. Cambridgeport Elementary School was on the list, but the book slinger in charge there took issue with the gesture for two reasons — she didn't need free books, and they weren't right.
As Liz Phipps Soeiro put it in a a blog post, there were schools that needed books and hers wasn't one of them:
"School libraries around the country are being shuttered," Soeiro wrote. "Are those kids any less deserving of books simply because of circumstances beyond their control? Why not go out of your way to gift books to underfunded and underprivileged communities that continue to be marginalized and maligned by policies put in place by Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos?"
There was more. Soeiro also wrote she found Dr. Seuss "a bit of a cliche," writing the late author's illustrations are "steeped in racist propaganda, caricatures, and harmful stereotypes."
She then drove home her point recommending stories she said illustrate the Trump Administration's impact on children like Mama’s Nightingale: A Story of Immigration and Separation, and Separate Is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez & Her Family’s Fight for Desegregation instead of The Cat in the Hat and Oh the Places You Will Go.
She even issued a plea for the First Lady and the President. "You and your husband have a direct impact on these children’s lives. Please make time to learn about and value them," Soeiro wrote.
In response, The First Lady's office said that the librarian's decision was "unfortunate":
"Mrs. Trump intends to use her platform as First Lady to help as many children as she can. She has demonstrated this in both actions and words since her husband took office, and sending books to schools across the country is but one example," her spokeswoman wrote in an e-mail to Fortune.
"Turning the gesture of sending young school children books into something divisive is unfortunate, but the First Lady remains committed to her efforts on behalf of children everywhere."
TIME
UPDATE: Melania had this Librarian Dismissed:
By now, you’ve likely heard about the Cambridge school librarian and her open letter to Melania Trump. The First Lady had committed the act of sending the school 10 free Dr. Seuss books, in honor of National Read a Book Day. The librarian published a blog post rejecting the gift — it should go to needier schools, she wrote — and trashing Dr. Seuss for good measure, on the grounds of being “a tired and worn ambassador for children’s literature” who is also “a bit of a clichĂ©,” and … wait for it … “steeped in racist propaganda.”
It’s such luscious Cantabridgian self-parody that picking it apart feels almost too easy. As most preschoolers are taught, the proper response, when presented with a gift you don’t want, is “thank you,” with no further commentary. And dismissing Dr. Seuss’s entire body of work as racist? “The Sneetches,” published in 1961, is the foundational text for teaching the perils of prejudice. (If you don’t believe me, ask Barack Obama.)
The Cambridge schools have already taken care of scolding the librarian. Now, we’re left to consider the sadder part of this story: why it’s so easy, these days, for smart people to lose all sense of perspective. Because this librarian is hardly alone. In an age of outrage, tribal warfare, and proudly-proclaimed resistance, we’ve lost something big: The ability to call them as we see them.
UPDATE: Melania had this Librarian Dismissed:
By now, you’ve likely heard about the Cambridge school librarian and her open letter to Melania Trump. The First Lady had committed the act of sending the school 10 free Dr. Seuss books, in honor of National Read a Book Day. The librarian published a blog post rejecting the gift — it should go to needier schools, she wrote — and trashing Dr. Seuss for good measure, on the grounds of being “a tired and worn ambassador for children’s literature” who is also “a bit of a clichĂ©,” and … wait for it … “steeped in racist propaganda.”
It’s such luscious Cantabridgian self-parody that picking it apart feels almost too easy. As most preschoolers are taught, the proper response, when presented with a gift you don’t want, is “thank you,” with no further commentary. And dismissing Dr. Seuss’s entire body of work as racist? “The Sneetches,” published in 1961, is the foundational text for teaching the perils of prejudice. (If you don’t believe me, ask Barack Obama.)
The Cambridge schools have already taken care of scolding the librarian. Now, we’re left to consider the sadder part of this story: why it’s so easy, these days, for smart people to lose all sense of perspective. Because this librarian is hardly alone. In an age of outrage, tribal warfare, and proudly-proclaimed resistance, we’ve lost something big: The ability to call them as we see them.
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