Except it was the copyright holder of the Dr. Seuss books that decided to withdraw these books. Not the government or sellers like Amazon. It's more of an argument for reducing the length of copyright in the US rather than some sort of ominous supression of free speech.
From wsj:
> Online marketplace eBay Inc. said it is working to prevent the resale of six Dr. Seuss books that were pulled earlier this week by the company in charge of the late author’s works because they contain offensive imagery.
Just like with tech companies' internal political culture or newsroom revolts sweeping all the major journalism houses, publishers have themselves experienced both internal employee activism and external pressures. Consider for example, that employees in Penguin House were in literal tears (https://reason.com/2020/11/25/jordan-peterson-12-rules-for-l...) because they decided to publish Jordan Peterson's new book. Or observe how activists associated with Rose City Antifa in Portland, Oregon tried to stop a local landmark book store (Powell's) from selling Andy Ngo's book "Unmasked", which details the criminal activity of local antifa cells (https://pen.org/press-release/pen-america-supports-powells-d...).
Book burning was once a far-fetched joke but it really is very much upon us. And it doesn't have to come in the literal form of a book burning. It's enough for the threat of "cancellation" to force the hand of authors, publishers, or retailers.
But antifa is an activity, not an organization. Anyone can do antifa simply by opposing local fascist activity. It may be as simple as covering up fascist graffiti, or punching Richard Spencer. Some people do it with their friends, others alone. Every little bit helps, but more helps more. Try not to endanger yourself or non-fascists.
There are many fascist and fascist-leaning groups and individuals, and many opposing them. Anyone may oppose them, without need for permission. Organizing with local others can produce greater effect. That also does not require permission.
Any existing organization may choose to engage in anti-fascist activity, possibly in coördination with other groups. That also does not imply an "Antifa" organization.
Opposition to fascism is everyone's responsibility. How that opposition may best be effected varies with circumstance. Rooting out fascism in police departments is an obviously important part of anti-fascist activity.
Why should a company still feel like this is appropriate to publish?
Or this image: https://www.nepm.org/sites/wfcr/files/styles/medium/public/2...
Should we still be publishing this: https://imgur.com/ykQpXON
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_Genesis
It's also only 33TB on bittorrent. Humanity's literary heritage fits on $900 worth of hard drives. If Sci-Hub is the World Library's nonfiction section then LibGen is the fiction aisles.
I purchased his book off Amazon a few weeks ago, thinking it wouldn't be long until they started delisting books. Now all this nonsense with Dr. Seuss.
One quote, loosely paraphrased from another book I'm struggling to finish -- an interview with survivors of post WW2 totalitarianism. One of them was incredibly disillusioned, and told the author not to bother with the interview, as no one would be ready to believe it was happening until it was too late.
Edit: I am speaking very loosely here. Yes, I know the government isn't censoring Dr. Seuss. Yes, I know the estate has the right to cease publishing for any reason. Yes, I know Amazon did not delist Dr. Seuss, it was eBay. But I was not referring to any of these things, and I did not intend to.
My statement was intended to be this: I expect Amazon to delist books, and am purchasing physical copies. What is happening now with Dr. Seuss is in the category of things that drove my worried purchases.
Rarely will I say this, as I value being precise with what I'm saying. If your response is, "But @bjt2n3904, the government isn't censoring this" you are both technically correct, and missing the forest for the trees.