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Woke-Resistance Rising All Across the Globe

Posted on Friday, February 24, 2023
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by Tammy Bruce
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90 Comments

An important thing recently happened that may portend cracks in the grip the left’s woke hammer has on western culture and civilization. European countries are directly criticizing a British publisher for re-writing some of  children’s author Roald Dahl’s work in the name of woke sensitivity.

The western world noticed quite swiftly when Puffin Publishers in England announced they had hired “sensitivity readers” charged with making changes to some of Dahl’s classics, including “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory,” “James and the Giant Peach,” and “Matilda.” The woke changes focused on eliminating descriptive language that was deemed offensive and gender-based references which for some unknown reason infuriate the left.

Fox News reported, “In James and the Giant Peach, the character of Miss Sponge is no longer described as the fat one, Miss Spider’s head is not ‘black’ anymore, and the Earthworm has given up its ‘lovely pink’ skin for ‘lovely smooth skin’…In ‘Matilda,’ the description of Mrs. Trunchbull’s ‘great horsey face’ has been changed to simply ‘face,’ and ‘eight nutty little idiots’ now reads “eight nutty little boys…Similarly, in “James and the Giant Peach,” the Cloud-Men are now Cloud-People.”

Are there passages, descriptions, and references in some of Dahl’s books that would offend today’s sensibilities? Considering everything offends the left, it’s a given. But the point here is, are we so soft, fragile, and paranoid that the only way to cope is to change the words of a writer to soothe our bruised egos? If we are to survive the world, we should hope not.

This issue isn’t even about sensitivities. As French philosopher Camus noted, “The welfare of the people… has always been the alibi of tyrants.” George Orwell warned us very specifically about the obsession of fascists, socialists, and communists to criminalize speech, vandalize language, control how reality is portrayed, and to erase history. In 1949, after watching fascism almost destroy the human race during World War II, he wrote “1984.” Many couldn’t imagine it as anything but impossible fiction, but it was a warning to the world about the reality of Nazism, Stalinism, and what the worldwide left did (and continues to do) in its mission to enslave humanity. Orwell wrote in his seminal cultural critique as novel.

“Every record has been destroyed or falsified, every book rewritten, every picture has been repainted, every statue and street building has been renamed, every date has been altered. And the process is continuing day by day and minute by minute. History has stopped. Nothing exists except an endless present in which the Party is always right.” 

Dahl’s Dutch publisher was not amused with Puffin vandalizing Dahl’s work, telling the Telegraph that removing or changing Dahl’s words would make his stories “lose all their power.” He noted, “Exaggerations are a figure of speech with him: if a person is fat, it represents gluttony and excess. Children understand what such literary hyperbole is. They really don’t think all fat kids are greedy,” confirming they have no intention of following suit and intend to publish the original versions. A renowned French publisher told Reuters, “Change a text today without (the author’s) consent? No,” adding “Contextualizing and updating some published works could necessitate the revision of all texts, and in that case, then ‘why not change fairytales?’”

Even Camilla, Queen Consort of the United Kingdom, appeared to make a condemning reference to the censorship when speaking to her online reading club when she encouraged them to, “Please remain true to your calling, unimpeded by those who may wish to curb the freedom of your expression or impose limits on your imagination.”

It would be understandable to argue that people in the first half of the 20th century, having had no real experience with the cancer of fascism and the political left, would be dangerously naïve about what the cancer of fascism would vomit up. We have no similar excuse; we know exactly what the left has in store for us. Courtesy of cultural critics and chroniclers like Orwell and our own recorded history, there is no excuse for us to allow this madness to continue.

The backlash against the asinine changes is indeed excellent news, but we know the left has patience, and holds onto its political delusions like a drunk with a whiskey bottle thrilled with the potential of one last glistening drop sitting at the bottom…if only they could reach it.

Make no mistake, the assault on Dahl’s work is not about soothing anyone’s feelings or protecting the ‘sensitive’ from having a bad experience by reading a children’s book with words leftist scold decided were bad and evil. This is about training people to accept as normal the vandalizing of art, censorship of the written word, criminalizing speech, and lying about history itself, while encouraging all of us to indulge our worst selves by joining the ranks for cancel culture assassinations.

There are many fronts but here in America where we do have the first amendment for a reason, there should be no question that changing an author’s words when that person died decades ago and cannot defend themselves or defend their work, is an atrocity. We can defend against the woke cancer by standing up for children, fair and objective education, freedom of expression, and law and order.

Orwell wrote about the dystopian future to help us prepare to defeat it. If we are to protect and defend American values and human rights we must start with this overt attack on freedom and civilization. Orwell wanted to be taken seriously. Let’s do him, and us, that favor.

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GTPatriot
GTPatriot
1 year ago

Instead of counting the numbers of illegals pouring in daily., we need to start counting the
number of solid citizens leaving the US to live in places such as Costa Rica and Puerto
Rico in order to get away from US madness. Oh yea, that number is substantial. Step 1:
leave the north to move to Florida Step 2: Leave the US

SJB
SJB
1 year ago

I want all published works, written and broadcast, edited to accommodate my sensitivities. Specifically, I want the choice to read, watch or listen to versions of written and broadcast media with all profanity and sexually explicit material removed. Aren’t my sensitivities valid? Shouldn’t I be accommodated just like the wokies? If not, why not?

GTPatriot
GTPatriot
1 year ago

My current bumper sticker says ” Fully Awake But Not Woke”
The next one will be: ” Work or Do Nothing. Tough Decision”

Peter
Peter
1 year ago

The other great dystopian novel, Brave New World, describes a society of rampant hedonism that fills the senses, cultural and spiritual debasement, and government-controlled im vitro birthing separate from the sexual act.

What we have now is a mix of Orwell’s and Huxley’s vision — we may end up with the worst of both.

Woke culture seems to embrace the worst — with the lies and revisionism of Orwell and the crass sexuality and stupidity of Huxley’s brave society.

Robin Walter Boyd
Robin Walter Boyd
1 year ago

Rewriting books, history and science is what Communist nations do. There is no place in a free U.S. of A. for Progressives.

Rich
Rich
1 year ago

When people actually start to think for themselves they realize that “the truth shall set you free”.

DanM
DanM
1 year ago

I have a feeling 1984 is no longer required reading in high school. Required reading now probably has something to do with CRT.

Shirley
Shirley
1 year ago

Excellent! I don’t understand why people think this is acceptable. If you don’t like the way it is written, don’t read it. Denying it to others is selfish and dangerous-it smacks of imperialism. I want to say to these people: Grow up! You’re not the only people on earth.

Valerie
Valerie
1 year ago

This is an excellent article because it describes exactly how I feel. The problem is the youth of today know so little about past history. The American Heros Channel (AHC) has excellent programs about Stalin’s rise to power, Hitler’s rise to power and what they did to get there also about World War II. They should be viewed by every high school student. When you see these programs about Stalin and Hitler what they were doing to the people it sends a chill down my spine because some of this is happening now with what the far left is trying to do. Thanks Tammy Bruce for the article.

Centurion
Centurion
1 year ago

This is WAR!! We are at war with the communists. Since we are at war it is legal to kill the enemy. KILL the owners and editors of Puffin Publishers and all the other radical leftist LIE-berals who wish to enslave humanity.

Cyndy
Cyndy
1 year ago

Society should review our not-so-distant history: Nazis burned books because of their content in order to control their World Order. Books are still a target, apparently. Freedoms of choice are craved by the majority of people. Choosing to read authentic, classic books should remain one of those freedoms. If you find it offensive, put it back on the shelf. (And thank you Tammy Bruce for writing this article!)

A Voter
A Voter
1 year ago

When did the word “woke” become synonymous with the word “stupid”?

Sammy
Sammy
1 year ago

“I woke up at 7 this morning”. “He woke me up last night when he got home”. Stuff like that is the ‘woke’ that I only heard of all my life until recently. This new world? I’m pretty sure that I do not like it. Especially the ‘woke’ stuff.

tempus
tempus
1 year ago

For someone who is extremely easy to offend, a wokespersons cares less about offending people who are offended by his stupidity.

Stan d. Upnow
Stan d. Upnow
1 year ago

It’s ironic to me that these “woke” Leftist idiots trying hard to promote their insanity would actually be exterminated by a totalitarian Leftist regime, once it assumed complete power. History verifies that.

Robert Zuccaro
Robert Zuccaro
1 year ago

Anybody remember Tipper trying to censor heavy metal hair band lyrics in the 1980s? Woke is just another name for censorship. Sadly the woke nazis will get rid of the term “incompetent moron” and we won’t be able to accurately describe Joe Bidens administration.

Freedom
Freedom
1 year ago

The wokeness and big government crap have got to stop. Government is way way way too big and wants to get its hands on everything. The democrats have taken away many freedoms with their big government giving the republicans a golden opportunity. However the republicans rather than cutting government are often using government to restrict freedoms too.

Libertarian is the way to go and libertarians never get accused of restricting freedoms. We need to stop regulating every damn thing.

FJB
FJB
1 year ago

The dims view 1984 as an instruction manual.

jan nebozenko
jan nebozenko
1 year ago

How much longer will the “Ministry of Information” not “correct” other documents like the laws, constitution, the Bible? When will this madness end?

lawrence greenberg
lawrence greenberg
1 year ago

Dealing with those who would limit or alter your speech because they or others don’t like it is very simple: ignore them. It is not hard to understand that their ultimate goal is to completely silence anyone who does not 100% agree with them. In this nation, The First Amendment protects my right to say anything I want other than making threats and defaming people. If there is anyone who doesn’t like that, I will describe in detail for them exactly where they can go and what they can do to themselves once they get there.

Kim
Kim
1 year ago

If I had words to express how irritated I become when hearing this nonsense, AMAC wouldn’t post them. A publisher changing the words of a dead author sounds like copyright infringement to me. Let the woke write their own books and see how many copies they sell. They’ll probably be on every public school library’s purchase order. Our tax dollars at work (waste).

What’s the point of making everything gray? Will our children wither in horror or retract into their shells when reading a story that correctly uses the terms he/she/they/him/her? Pretty soon, “I” will be out the door! I don’t care how the woke “identify”, but, please, I don’t want to hear about it. Those of you doing this stuff…you know you sound really silly/immature/self-centered, don’t you?

MILAGROS C Flores
MILAGROS C Flores
1 year ago

About time someone asserts the right to free speech and to call spade a spade. Inclusive language is the ruination of literature and all past and present classic works.

baroque570
baroque570
1 year ago

Beautiful article. Well said!

John S crumpler
John S crumpler
1 year ago

The “woke” corp. needs to be SHUT DOWN with EXTREME PREJUDICE!

Candace Gonzalez
Candace Gonzalez
1 year ago

Don’t they have any copyright laws in Great Britain?

sdgorton
sdgorton
1 year ago

Wokeness, gender BS,and CRT training are the 3 evil plagues spreading across the earth trying to enslave all of us & control us. We must fight back if we have any chance of stopping it.
WE MUST STOP WORKING MAKE THE ECONOMY CRASH, GRAB UP ARMS MILLIONS OF US AND TAKE BACK OUR COUNTRY FROM THESE LIBERAL, LEFTISTS, DEMONCRAT FILTHY VERMIN.

Rufus T Firefly
Rufus T Firefly
1 year ago

So they rewrite classic children’s books and replace them with kiddie porn in the school library? “Lawn Boy,” “Flamer,” and “Gender Queer” , good wholesome reading. HA

Mike S
Mike S
1 year ago

For once I’m encouraged after reading this story. Unfortunately, we need a whole lot more positive and true stories to be written. Our world is quickly plunging down a pit where there is no going back. I suspect many in 1938 had similar misgivings about the future as well. The Chinese and Manchurians, of course, were already under the gun against Japan since 1931. Today, like in 1938, only one country, Ukraine, is under the gun from Russia.

The League of Nations, after WWI was created to prevent another War to End all Wars. The United Nations was created for similar reasons following WWII. I hope that history doesn’t repeat itself again, since this time, they’ll be no one left to write about it. Life won’t be worth living by anyone left alive.

In the 20th Century, they had Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, and Hideki Tojo. In the 21st Century, we have Valdimir Putin, Xi Jinping, Ai Khamenei, and Kim Jong-Un. Nothing ever changes; just the number of dead.

I hope and pray that I’m not being prophetic.

Sean Richman
Sean Richman
1 year ago

I feel that eventualy that we,as a once great country will become divided.Not politicaly,but physically.There will be the entities that believe that all of this woke liberal stuff is normal.Then there are conservatives that still believe that there is still a great AMERICA without the liberals,socialists and dinglecRATS.It just might be the best thing because the liberals will always think that their views are the only way,that does include the dinglecRATS and sloppy joey and his misfit”entourage”.

RC100
RC100
1 year ago

AMEN!!!

Cathleen
Cathleen
1 year ago

Leave literature alone, you immature book burners! Who gave you total authority over someone else’s ART!

Robin Walter Boyd
Robin Walter Boyd
1 year ago

We are what we are, flaws and all. There is no such thing as a perfect world and there never will be. How boring it would be to be perfect. Our flaws give us character, sometimes good, sometimes bad, often just different. We must stop whitewashing literature and history.

Barrett Smith
Barrett Smith
1 year ago

This is just another version of book burning.

Gabe Hanzeli
Gabe Hanzeli
1 year ago

There are big lies about woke. first lie is that there is not 10% of the population that is LGBTQ. second blacks were more free 40 years ago then they are today. third the word trans mostly is a replacement for the feminine side of a gay relationship or the masculine side of a lesbian relationship.
The whole push to get children to endure sex change operations is to force permanent recruitment to increase their population. much like the democrats open border policy. see the parallel?

K. Martin
K. Martin
1 year ago

If they did this to Roald Dahl, I can’t image what they’d do to Mark Twain! Ban completely, I’d imagine, as rewrites would be too numerous to tackle.

Jack
Jack
1 year ago

HOPEFULLY, the left’s temper tantrums over normal children’s reading material is on it’s way into the “cesspool liberal of ideology”, where it belongs. Time for the adults to take charge again!.

Jackie
Jackie
1 year ago

Frankly, I am really tired of these few, ridiculously sensitive people who have absolutely no sense of humor at all!! If they don’t like what the book says, don’t read it!! If they don’t like what’s on tv, change the channel or turn it off!! If they don’t like a cake baker or florist, go elsewhere!! If they don’t like our history – well, that’s just too bad because you need to be taught the actual history to be able to learn from it!! If the history is changed, nothing will be learned!! If they don’t like our country they should move to a place they do like but stop changing our country, stop canceling everything!!

Jim
Jim
1 year ago

Would someone please tell me what “woke” means? 

Kurt
Kurt
1 year ago

It is encouraging to learn of people’s concern over the over the top positions of wokeness. May it become a snowballing movement!

Ann S
Ann S
1 year ago

They have been at it for so long to change history, ban books, change the language, change sex of our sons and daughters.
And nobody said anything.
It’s way past time to stand up against them. Everyone complies.
Master bedroom is now main bedroom. 2+2 is 5 has been taught in schools in India for years. Children who objected were shot in front of their classmates. You think any child after that would question this?
Wake up America and the rest of the world. If not now when? For I am afraid we are already too late.

anna hubert
anna hubert
1 year ago

Cancel Roald Dahl and bring in LGBTQ drag queen shows Where are all the real teachers?

Michael
Michael
1 year ago

The left is no longer democrat but is socialist or communist. They take terms we, used in the past, into totally different meanings. Gay used to mean happy. The communists are taking this country from within. When the communists take over “rainbows” will be persecuted. The Christians will be persecuted. We sit by and allow this to happen. Why?

Rodewaryer
Rodewaryer
1 year ago

I guess I’m not up on what rules or laws aren’t fashionable to follow but how can one change someone else’s book? It’s not their book so how is it allowable to change what a different author wrote?

Herb S
Herb S
1 year ago

This should have the effect of making old books more valuable. You get to read what the author wrote, not what some Woke wacko changed.

David Millikan
David Millikan
1 year ago

WOKE = LOSER.

Ben Franklin
Ben Franklin
1 year ago

If one word of an author’s work is changed, it is no longer their work.

Hey publisher, how can you, of all people, not be aware that writers sometimes agonize over a single word. To make haphazard changes to a classic is madness.

Veteran
Veteran
1 year ago

What the left is doing to our kids, history, and literary works is a violation akin of the Japanese Rape of Nanking in WWII, or what Hitler did to Poland!

Amacer
Amacer
1 year ago

“Wokeness” is a mental illness that gnaws away at one’s common sense.

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