Mutter Museum survives an attack from the Woke

When I wrote about the short-lived Cracker Barrel controversy the other day,  I never mentioned the word Woke, because I had no evidence the executives were kneeling to it, or were just flapjack stupid.

I suspected it, but I like to base analysis on fact, and the facts were not there.

And if you are a newbie here, I’ll explain that once upon a time Woke meant something righteous and pure, but has been hijacked and misshapen  from its original purpose. Instead of ignoring color, as suggested by the Rev. Martin Luther King, it objectifies it, and exalts it to a quality above all others.

So I was unsure that Woke greased the skids for Uncle Herschel, the old white gent seated next to the Cracker Barrel, but I was sure Woke was behind the remake of Philadelphia’s storied Mutter Museum, which began almost three years ago.

I am sure because the leaders told us so. 

In 2021, pediatrician Mira Irons was hired as president of the museum that dates back to 1863. Irons hired Kate Quinn as executive director. Mutter is run by the College of Physicians, and was for physicians only for more than a century.

In the 1970s, Mutter began admitting the public and quickly attained a large cult following, which mischievously nick-named it the Little Shop of Horrors.

Why? Because of its wide, wild, whacky, and gruesome exhibits. Some people went there for the giggles, sure, but most were fascinated by the macabre collection. It is not ideal for a first date.

Among the more celebrated exhibits of the 25,000 medical oddities are skulls, fetuses, a slice of a human face, a jar of pickled human skin, section of a small intestine, a giant distended colon, a cancerous growth that was removed from President Grover Cleveland, a piece of the thorax of John Wilkes Booth, and much more. Gross, I know.

In a misguided attempt to sanitize the offerings, the two Woke managers took a scythe to almost everything that made Mutter unique, to turn it into a boring outlet for health and well-being. 

“We are actively moving away from any possible perception of spectacle, oddities, or disrespect of any type for the collections in our care,” wrote Quinn in an email to staff.

It was a rejection of Mutter’s core mission, because of what?

The “possible perception” that someone might be triggered. There was no suggestion that anyone had actually complained.

The new bosses stripped dozens of YouTube videos from the Mutter website, along with any images of human remains.

That was countered by people who supported the museum as is, such as Philadelphia magician Teller, of Penn and Teller, who signed a petition with thousands of others to leave the museum alone.

Eventually, they prevailed.

Having done their damage, the Wokesters left and the new leadership decided to restore what had been canceled, but using a “holistic” approach to explain why and how some of the exhibits were obtained.

Fair enough. 

The museum is an educational institution, and the “holistic” approach educates.

I was educated about something I already knew: Political Correctness often runs contrary to the will of the majority.