The woke publisher of Martha Mitchell’s “Gone With the Wind” has added a blurb at the beginning of the novel labeling the book as “harmful.”
The Civil War Story, published by Pan Macmillan, will now be sold with a disclaimer at the front stating that the book is “problematic” and may be “hurtful or indeed harmful” due to “racist” themes. The Daily Wire shared the contents of the trigger warning, which reads:
“‘Gone with the Wind’ is a novel which includes problematic elements including the romanticization of a shocking era in our history and the horrors of slavery. The novel includes the representation of unacceptable practices, racist and stereotypical depictions and troubling themes, characterization, language and imagery.”
The addition of this disclaimer is the only change to the book, as the publisher assured readers that none of the text had been altered to conform to modern ideologies. They continued:
“The text of this book remains true to the original in every way and is reflective of the language and period in which it was originally written. We want to alert readers that there may be hurtful or indeed harmful phrases and terminology that were prevalent at the time this novel was written and which are true to the context of the historical setting of this novel. Pan Macmillan believes changing the text to reflect today’s world would undermine the authenticity of the original, so has chosen to leave the text in its entirety.”
“This does not, however, constitute an endorsement of the characterization, content or language used.”
According to the New York Post, the publisher added a foreword from fiction writer Philippa Gregory. According to Gregory, “Gone With the Wind” “tells us, unequivocally, that African people are not of the same species as white people. This is the lie that spoils the novel.”
This is not the first time that “Gone With the Wind” has come under scrutiny from left-leaning groups. In 2020, HBO temporarily removed the movie adaptation from their streaming service during the protests surrounding the death of George Floyd. An HBO spokesperson said to Variety:
“’Gone With The Wind’ is a product of its time and depicts some of the ethnic and racial prejudices that have, unfortunately, been commonplace in American society. These racist depictions were wrong then and are wrong today, and we felt that to keep this title up without an explanation and a denouncement of those depictions would be irresponsible. These depictions are certainly counter to WarnerMedia’s values, so when we return the film to HBO Max, it will return with a discussion of its historical context and a denouncement of those very depictions, but will be presented as it was originally created, because to do otherwise would be the same as claiming these prejudices never existed. If we are to create a more just, equitable and inclusive future, we must first acknowledge and understand our history.”
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