[March 29, 2024] Reading is one of life’s great pleasures, and we can certainly learn much from those many words on a page. I regularly read to both my children as they grew up. One of those books was Roald Dahl’s Matilda, and they just loved the twists and turns that Dahl introduced so well. My son, in particular found funny the description of Matilda as ugly. In his mind, all girls were ugly.
I’m sure my son, now 40, would be aghast at how Puffin Books decided to “fix” Dahl’s book by changing the description of Matilda from “fat” and “ugly” to something more sensitive. I first learned of this mutilation just recently and thought to myself, here we go, another effort to destroy books and change our culture. Only the weak-minded would even attempt to do something like this.
Astonishingly, Puffin Books (U.K.) and others are going far beyond Matilda to change words, delete paragraphs, and switch out characters without the author’s permission. They are making up things as they go along with the intent to open up literature to more “sensitive readers.” Whatever that means.
All this appears to be legal. While Dahl is still alive, many of these books’ authors are long dead. Trent D. Laviano, a Knoxville, TN attorney, wrote an article a couple of days ago:
“The entrance of publications to the public domain is primarily a commercial matter. However, today’s “cancel culture” environment, combined with the prevalence of electronic publishing, has created a situation straight out of 1984 or Fahrenheit 451 and is clearly something that the Founding Fathers would never have expected to happen.” – Trent D. Laviano, Memory Holed, March 27, 2024
It looks like we now have a new kind of job where woke readers are scanning books, magazines, manuscripts, movies, and plays in a hunt for language that might offend modern folks. Atty. Laviano wrote that this “appears to be a growing trend in the U.K., but U.S. editions of Roald Dahl’s books have not yet been changed.
Get a copy of Matilda and other classics in print as soon as possible. That seems to be the only way to avoid the 1984 censors until laws are changed to prevent such literary mutilation.
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OUCH, no surprise however that Democrats/Leftists/Progressives are on the censorship kick again. They love tellling us what to do becasue they are better than all of us! At least that is what they think.
OUCH
“The entrance of publications to the public domain is primarily a commercial matter. However, today’s “cancel culture” environment, combined with the prevalence of electronic publishing, has created a situation straight out of 1984 or Fahrenheit 451 and is clearly something that the Founding Fathers would never have expected to happen.” – Trent D. Laviano, Memory Holed, March 27, 2024
Yes, indeed, good quote to highlight.
Got that right doc and XII.
Woke is everywhere and WORSE in my Canada. I’m shocked that our books are not being censored in the same way up here. I’m going to be keeping myself informed and will scream to the high heavens if it happens.
Off topic a bit but I wanted to say to Gen. Satterfield that if he wants to write another article on Advice to Young Men then he should soon address the idea of FEAR. Fear is what holds us back and keeps us immature. Today, the emphasis from our government and academics is to keep people in an infantile state (call them being triggered) and Gen. Satterfield is pushing back against this narrative. Gen. S. is the man who wants us to be strong and good and Godly and moral. Those things overlap and reinforce each other. We need more men like him and like Dr. Peterson and others who are willing to stand up and resist the wokeism that has only one purpose …. to destroy the West.
Hi Max, hope you and your dog are well. I know that Gen. Satterfield is standing up for the weak and those who cannot protect themselves (like unborn babies and the elderly). Let’s support him more than writing comments here but also in our local newspapers.
Much Much Much more than just that. If you encounter one of those weak-kneeded progressives, then tell them their ideas do nohting but destroy.
Great comment as usual, Max. 👍
Max
I agree with you. Fear is excellent article for our friend Gen Douglas Satterfield blog about for the youth
Gen. Satterfield thanks for enlightening us about this horrific trend. In this case, compassion kills. For new readers, I recommend you read “There are no Safe Spaces” https://www.theleadermaker.com/there-are-no-safe-spaces/ by Gen. Satterfield.
Such a sad day when leftists – who see themselves as superior to everyone else who doesn’t think like them – are allowed to destroy on their own whim….😒😒😒😒
Sad to say that is why WOKE is all about.
“It looks like we now have a new kind of job where woke readers are scanning books, magazines, manuscripts, movies, and plays in a hunt for language that might offend modern folks. Atty. Laviano wrote that this “appears to be a growing trend in the U.K., but U.S. editions of Roald Dahl’s books have not yet been changed.” – Gen. Doug Satterfield. The good news is that this has not migrated to the USA but it is all a matter of time. Get your uncensored copies of the classics NOW before they are lost forever as they are being destroyed by the woke left.
This is just part and parcel of the radical left’s propensity to destroy more of Western civilization. Historian Victor Davis Hanson writes about this very idea.
Exactly. Thank you Golly Woman. One way to see this also is hidden within Gen. Satterfield’s books, especially within “55 Rules for a Good Life.” Get a copy if you don’t have one, get another and give it away to someone you love or admire or would like to see succeed. This is how we can get better as a people.
https://www.amazon.com/55-Rules-Good-Life-Responsibility/dp/1737915529/
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Got my copy, thanks Julia.
Hi Julia and Golly, great comments today and I was thinking along the same lines. Nohting like reading a good book written by Gen. Doug Satterfield and I have both his books. My wish is that he will publish another one by the end of this year and in time for Christmas.