A Virginia entrepreneur and Republican gubernatorial candidate purchased and passed out copies of Dr. Seuss’s literature after six of the children’s books were canceled for images of alleged racism and insensitivity.
Pete Snyder, a GOP gubernatorial primary candidate, told The Daily Wire that his campaign bought a bulk of Dr. Seuss books to pass out to children after a Virginia public school district announced that it would not promote Dr. Seuss’s literature on the author’s birthday.
“Eighty percent of Virginia schools are closed right now and these bureaucrats are kowtowing to the woke mob and trying to cancel Dr. Suess, versus actually opening up the schools for students and teachers,” Snyder said.
In late February, Loudoun County Public School district in Virginia announced that it will no longer recognize Dr. Seuss on his birthday, March 2, which is also known as Read Across America Day. In an announcement obtained by The Daily Wire, the school district said that Dr. Seuss’s books contain “racial undertones” that are not suitable for “culturally responsive” learning.
On Read Across America Day, the company that publishes Dr. Seuss books announced that it will stop selling six books because the books “portray people in ways that are hurtful and wrong.” The company will no longer publish “And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street,” “If I Ran the Zoo,” “McElligot’s Pool,” “On Beyond Zebra!,” “Scrambled Eggs Super!,” and “The Cat’s Quizzer.”
In a tweet, Synder condemned Virginia school districts for appeasing unions and “deny[ing] the science” and offered signed copies of Dr. Seuss books in exchange for donations.
“Under pressure from the woke mob [Loudoun County Public School] is trying to ‘de-emphasize’ Dr. Seuss books from Read Across America Day,” Snyder said. “Oh the places they’ll go to deny the science, appease radicals, [and] continue to cause irreparable harm to [Virginia’s] children. #OpenOur Schools.”
Under pressure from the woke mob @lcpsofficial is trying to 'de-emphasize' Dr Seuss books on #ReadAcrossAmericaDay. Oh the places they'll go, to deny the science, appease radicals, & continue to cause irreparable harm to VA’s children. #OpenOurSchools. pic.twitter.com/Tqf0CAF1Cm
— Pete Snyder (@petesnyder) March 1, 2021
The top priority of Synder’s campaign is to reopen schools and combat bureaucrats in Virginia that aim to appease teacher unions. Snyder has called on the current Democratic Governor, Ralph Northam, to reopen schools five days a week — every week — with teachers in every classroom.
“[Teacher unions] are the number one reason why our schools aren’t open right now,” Snyder said. “Instead of trying to get our classrooms and our schools open, they’re spending, wasting time and resources on ridiculous things like getting rid of Green Eggs and Ham.”
On February 25, the Virginia state legislature passed legislation that mandates local schools to provide face-to-face learning by July 1. Snyder is calling on Northam to make an emergency clause to override the state legislature bill and force schools to reopen now.
Snyder urged Northam to think about high school seniors who have lost their final moments of high school to never-ending lockdowns.
“You think about high school seniors. They’ve missed their entire senior year, they could actually have a commencement, they could actually have some semblance of something to cherish this year if the politicians stopped kowtowing to the unions and actually had the courage to open up our schools right now,” Snyder said.
Related: Oh The Places The Woke Will Go: Dr. Seuss Canceled For ‘Racial Undertones’