**TL;DR: Not only is eBay's delisting of 6 Dr. Seuss books inconsistent with their treatment of other offensive listings, but it sets a dangerous precedent that it's acceptable for big tech to censor material from its users.** Early in March of 2021, Dr. Seuss Enterprises announced the retirement of 6 books they identified as portraying minorities in a character that was “hurtful and wrong.” Eager to demonstrate their commitment to racial tolerance, eBay quickly followed this announcement by halting user to user transactions involving these books. [According to the New York Post](https://nypost.com/2021/03/04/ebay-appears-to-scrap-canceled-dr-seuss-books-from-site/), “EBay is barring users from reselling the six Dr. Seuss books that will no longer be printed due to their ‘racist’ imagery.” Upon examination, each book does indeed exhibit clear racial caricatures and racially-intolerant-undertones. However, banning such inflammatory material is incongruent with the way the ecommerce platform treats other offensive listings. [Critics pointed out](https://www.cbr.com/dr-seuss-banned-books-delisted-ebay/), for example, that “eBay had copies of both Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and the white supremacist novel, The Turner Diaries...on sale at the same time the Seuss books were being pulled.” For eBay, banning these books seems to be more of a PR stunt designed to establish rapport with younger, more socially-active generations than a true commitment to anti-intolerant policies. Regardless, eBay should be wary of abusing their mediating powers to censor books, symbols, or art that they deem offensive. So many works of literature or antiquated art or symbols can have vastly different implications to different buyers. [This](https://www.ebay.com/itm/Third-Reich-Nazi-WWII-Hitler-Silver-1938-A-Berlin-Mint-5-Reichs-Mark-Swastika/174615720372?epid=102146063&_trkparms=ispr%3D1&hash=item28a7e871b4:g:8nwAAOSwg~5gE3NO&amdata=enc%3AAQAFAAACcBaobrjLl8XobRIiIML1V4Imu%252Fn%252BzU5L90Z278x5ickkSG%252BOFgrj2Yvbvmrj2TAdM%252BN9qjXef8jiTsCjeNgoIIP%252B6aTwBv9ojmlAi8hr5IOXzhuMeU8vywFnOE0qLZsG3gn3qXaX4wPQ%252BNRAsS0dQHdPxyCqas3HPeEjYb7zsZsYzowRwz4tL6kxuQdOnNLUsHWcP6fNDHHkSzYXhvSp90LUvaeAVyA1KDv%252FvnunPIPBfq%252B5Nn5ZW6EOkIKrPtUNJk4HBfCT4%252FbUaj4NDqckzMInaBltFyfBkVPI4A9kA7I93%252BA%252B%252BUS8EsAtr4KVDQU%252BuZIaom0rJvcOtRBMG017rNnNtWBkP0XUy22%252BiseVjLxVmwv%252FyAFUpNQ18Js3AcewuW83%252F5Z8tLyPbazsWUH1vVZYANn%252B0a4ConLMfRzX7gBynDcIavVRhrjUZ0Tc5EsYRGSxZwuRHQ7XeH1BTZ2WLei91NTFKY85n8IdoxHT1QQD0dg26dHFfWK6zTtvcoQU7qqRJLZuEZW8DxQQDZyA9JfwNnKA3FrES%252FGLQ5Q8RNgSpvSjmUk84s8fxGzCsf5I89iR4emwFs07OVHHyM8mhnxw5OKbTxh9IBhMWFLzYjkS3jdF0ojg%252B9HW4YaF2gY8J69c%252FDr9L1yvxcbX6klr2zpMIfRLa2%252FMSBKcTyjXdebwHD%252BVLAk4y9mMUzHUSLcFRTIE2j4X3QC%252FNvKiG9TJng16rvU82lMxoXuTMSeXCZYjMwwlEmie1%252B6cS5sO89lsKg%252F31Du9Sepoe7WcmAS5flbGnOqwKn8Pr4iiCoF5ZZYS2O%252BYCxHkQEn4FloZtCAfAQ%253D%253D%7Ccksum%3A1746157203723972c7204c9c4605882197020d43e12d%7Campid%3APL_CLK%7Cclp%3A2334524) 1938 silver coin that pictures a swastika on the tails side, for example, could be passively appreciated by any WWII relic collector. Just as easily, [this](https://www.ebay.com/itm/White-League-Ku-Klux-Klan-original-cartoon-by-Thomas-Nast-1874-RARE-Engraving/333913176521?hash=item4dbec6b9c9:g:H3MAAOSwFSpgBKjS) 1874 original Ku Klux Klan cartoon by Thomas Nast could be examined and critiqued by an art history class, could be submitted to a museum of the south, etc.. In no way does selling or owning something inflammatory transfer the item’s immorality onto the owner, nor does it signify that the buyer must be offended or that the seller is depraved. Ebay is not an accredited school supplier and is not protecting anyone’s emotions or impressionable subconscious biases by de-listing Seuss’s books. If the platform was truly committed to tolerance, eBay could have easily slapped an “offensive material” warning on the writer’s books (by the way, what standard is eBay upholding if KKK fan apparel like [this](https://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Original-Boys-In-The-Hold-Tshirt-Kkk-Ku-Klux-Klan-Sz-Xl-Grey-Nwot/154360278634?hash=item23f096ee6a:g:OSAAAOSw0sxgQtfZ) is left completely unregulated). Instead, executives at eBay are setting the democratically-dangerous precedent that it’s acceptable to arbitrarily ban content from users, without regard for context or intent.

The books are not racist, and anyone who thinks they are is just projecting their own racism.

My understanding of this issue is that the holders of the Dr. Seuss IP chose to remove these books. They weren't forced into censorship, they just decided to longer publish these books. They have that right.