Moomin character removed from Brooklyn library exhibition after racism concern
A Moomin scholar finds the move “absurd”, arguing that the character Stinky is far from racist and the decision likely reflects a lack of familiarity with the Moomin stories.
Yle News 1.8. 16:34 A Moomin character has been dropped from a major exhibition at Brooklyn Public Library in New York after one of the institution’s supporters raised concerns that the character might be perceived as racist.
“One of their supporters had thought Stinky could be seen as a racist symbol,” said Roleff Kråkström, CEO of Moomin Characters, the company that manages the rights to Tove Jansson’s beloved Moomin universe.
The exhibition, which has drawn a young audience over the summer, features illustrations of Moominvalley characters and details about Jansson’s life and work. But Stinky — known in Finnish as Haisuli — was removed from some of the large mural-style displays in the library, although he still appears in the original books on show.
Kråkström told Yle he was informed of the decision via a short email from the library and responded with understanding.
“We replied in a few lines and said it’s fine. We see this as a healthy societal discussion. If such a change is requested, we have no objection,” he said.
He noted this is the first time in 80 years that the character has drawn such criticism.
“Tove Jansson is widely seen as a champion of tolerance, radical acceptance, and inclusivity. But I greatly respect the American sensitivity around these types of conversations,” he said.
The decision was first reported by Finland’s Swedish-language Hufvudstadsbladet newspaper.
There’s literally nothing that would make you admit you’re wrong, no matter how obvious. You’re pitiful.
That’s called preemptive compliance and that’s exactly the issue as I keep pointing out.
Once again, your beef should be with the people who made this decision. That’s the fucking problem here. And what you and others here are doing instead is unconsciously advancing right-wing propaganda.
I’m literally quoting sources which you say don’t exist.
You have no criteria which you would accept as being true.
You just screech “not true, not true, not true”, and there’s nothing I could say to make you change your mind. It’s literally pathetic.
You say this is complete fiction, while there’s several names of spokespersons for these libraries mentioned, and you can verify these sources. Do you genuinely not see how ridiculous you’re being?
We’re citing the same source, you dense motherf*cker. You’ve been missing the point for the past dozen comments. And now you’re literally ignoring my whole reply. Great job!
“You’re perpetuating right-wing propaganda because I SAY SO, no need to have any of this verified in any way, and the proof you’re perpetuating right wing propaganda is that all the sources and quotes you can source and name the writers from just don’t matter. Whatever I happen to say, goes.”
So I should trust a random burner account more than a 100-year old national newspaper which sources it’s claims and quotes the spokesperson for the New York library. You can just check if that spokesperson has actually made that comment. It’s there. It’s online.
Several trustworthy newspapers quote a Brooklyn Public Library spokesperson. But he’s less credible than an autistically screeching burner account?
https://swedenherald.com/article/stinky-removed-from-new-york-moomin-exhibition-after-concerns
So you’re just stomping your foot and denying reality. And call me a “dense motherfucker.” Thanks man, I haven’t laughed that hard in a while. Probably made me healthier with all the tar that laughing fit made me cough up.
You have abandoned all integrity if you need to lie about something so easily checked as the age of my account.
Okay, that was an Incredibles reference, but here’s why you’re actually a dense motherfucker. Your source does not disagree with my point in any way.
Here’s the quote that actually literally explains what happened:
Your Bodenheimer quote above is in complete agreement with this.
It’s plain dishonest to pretend someone approached them and said the character is racist. That is just not what happened.
But at this point you are too emotionally invested in this fight to acknowledge this. So instead you pretend that Herald disagrees with the YLE article , when in reality it at most implies what you assumed to be true. Meanwhile you resort to calling me an “autistically screeching burner account”. Very classy way to undermine your position I have to say.
And here’s why I said this is advancing right-wing propaganda: Because that’s exactly what this narrative is about “the left” or “woke mobs” going around calling everything racist under the sun and cancelling people left and right. It is an incredibly pervasive and successful avenue of right-wing “culture war” propaganda in recent years. I was being fair with you by saying it’s unconscious, even added that I’ve been there myself. I know how good it feels to rhetorically dunk on ignorant fools like that. But… well, everything above.
source: trustmebro
The emotions are all yours. Ever heard of “projecting”?
You’re literally autistically screeching how a story with several established sources is “complete fiction”, without having anything to back up your statements.
If I were to see you IRL, I’d cross the street, because people mumbling to themselves about things which no-one else sees are usually not good company.
Your whole argument boils down to “nuh-uh, those named museum curators are less trustworthy than me, a random fucking idiot on Lemmy”.
Source: Dasus@lemmy.world lmao.
You’re not hurting my feelings by calling me autistic as an insult, sorry. It just makes you look like a 13-year-old on 4chan.
The sources are the trusted nationals newspapers.
Several of them.
Yle and Hufvudstadsbladet.
Are you getting a bit flustered? 😘