Quote:
Originally Posted by Quoth
It can be subtle, self-censorship when an author makes a change. Even at the draft stage.
The howling on so called social media can be hard to ignore. Sometimes they are right and often wrong.
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Certainly, people have different definitions of the word censor. The back and forth between the editor/publisher and the author is a form of censorship. I don't really have an issue with a publisher censoring books he or she publishes in that regard.
With regard to Pippi, negro was the politically correct term when the book was first published. The last of that series was published in the late 40's. I'm pretty sure that changing negro to whatever doesn't bring the book up to modern sensibilities, but that's between the author and the publisher. In general, it's about where an author wants to draw the line.
The howling group on social media really isn't all that different that the small group of people fixated on communism during the McCarthy period. They will keep misbehaving until someone firmly smacks them on the nose with a rolled up newspaper. So far, we haven't hit the tipping point that McCarthy hit when he was asked if he had no decency. I would like to think we will hit that point.