Book banning is so 1642
This article on CNN was recently brought to my attention, and I would like to share my views on the barbarian concepts of book burning and banning. West Bend Wisconsin is in turmoil over books featured in the local library. The main complaint seems to be a homophobic issue of the books feature sex, homosexual sex, or were written by gays or “ex-gays” whatever that term means.
The Maziarkas were still fighting to have books moved, having identified 82 questionable titles — more than double their original list. Then they stopped targeting a list of books and circulated a petition that asked the board to label and move to the adult section any “youth-targeted pornographic books” — including books that describe sex acts in a way unsuitable for minors. The books could still be checked out freely by anyone.
“We’re not talking about educational material. We’re talking raunchy sex acts,” Maziarka said.
One book she objects to is “The Perks of Being a Wallflower,” in which a fictional teenage boy tells about his freshman year in high school, including rape and homosexual and heterosexual sex between teens.
Tyree said book excerpts found on Maziarka’s blog had been taken out of context and, in the case of “Wallflower,” the criticism missed some of the book’s points.
The American Library Association reports that in 2008 alone, more than 500 book challenges were issued to local libraries and schools. My question is what are we afraid of? Are we afraid if our child reads about rape, she might be raped or he will become a rapist? If our children read about homosexuality they will become gay? If they were gay would that be a problem?
Banning and burning books is a direct violation of our first amendment rights. It is up to you and your family what books your children read. It is a personal responsibility for you as a parent to make sure the material is suitable for your morals, religion, and other factors. It is not your right or responsibility to decide for others children something is inappropriate for all. I as a parent may not have the same morals or views as you and your family do. So if I want my child to read a book that you feel is pornographic, you have no right to tell me or my child that is wrong.
Fear is a constant motivator in these types of cases, but as an avid reader I do not understand exactly what we are supposed to be afraid of. If we shelter our children completely they are more likely to not understand social situations that are going wrong and get into even more trouble. I commend and applaud our librarians and educators for trying to teach our children to be open minded in times where it seems we are becoming as a nation more closed minded than ever.
So please keep your nose out of my library, me and my children will read what we see fit, and just because the book is banned in the library doesn’t mean your kid can’t borrow it or buy it online. You make these books more sensational to your children by disallowing them. So wise up step into this century and stop trying to ruin literature for the rest of us.
By: Jenne
I totally agree and I am just sick of these people just assuming they speak for all of us. Guess they need an rude awakening LOL
By: Pam
Absolutely, I do not want anyone speaking for me or mine, I can do that just fine myself.
By: Chris
How dare you speak out about the people that ban books! Didn’t you know that the lawmakers and the powers that be are infallible? Sheesh, Pambo!
But I kid. I agree, banning books is limiting knowledge. Limited knowledge will inevitably lead to poor choices in the future. It still floors me that books like The Lorax (for example) are banned from various libraries. It always saddens me. BTW, stumbled. : )
-C
By: Cotta Nestler-Ginader
The German writer Heinrich Heine wrote 1821 “Where they burn books, so too will they in the end burn human beings” “Dort, wo man Bücher verbrennt, verbrennt man auch am Ende Menschen.”)
Unfortunately his words came true just a bit over 100 years later…
By: Pam
@Chris: Haha yes lawmakers and fanatical morals keep our children in the dark more that I would my own. I just want to censor my children myself, I don’t need others doing it for me.
@Cotta: Those words are very true, and a lot of really good literature comes from Germany, I have heard some instances of people thinking Inkheart was immoral, the story of a girl and her father who loves books! Yes how immoral is that!
By: katiebabs
Sad, disgusting and pathetic. Children decide on books with their parents and by the time they decide to choose books on their own, hopefully they can go to their parents and discuss what they read.
Why are they so afraid of sex in books? Oh yes, when I was reading books with sex in it, why I wanted to go out and act everything I read. Come on, give children some credit.
By: Michele
Two things:
1) This great country was founded on freedom, and one of those freedoms is freedom of choice. Freedom to choose, or not to choose what to do, think, or read. And I wish these book-banning idiots would learn that. I mean, what if someone challenged or tried to ban their choice of literature (like the Bible)? I bet they wouldn’t take it too well.
2) Ideas have power and yes, people are afraid of that power because ideas inspire not only other ideas but actions. Ideas make people think and so some, that is the real fear.
Great post!
By: I Heart Monster
I just wanted to tell you that I love the title of this post!
And yeah, I think people should decide for their own kids… expounded on that over at Ink and Paper Specials today and will not retype it all here, but yeah, let each parent be responsible for his or her own child.
By: heidenkind
“raunchy sex acts”? What, the kids get to second base? People are so threatened by the strangest things. If you don’t want certain books in your own library, that’s fine with me and everyone else on the planet; but a library serves more than just one person or family! Also, I bet if the kids were trying to check out books about serial killers rather than sex, that would be hunky-dory.
By: Pam
Ugh, this topic is so tired, not your writing about it but people refusing to let it die. I have never understood the mentality behind book burnings. If you don’t want to read it, don’t. If you thinking your children will read it, talk to them about your beliefs and then let them make their own decisions. It is really so much easier, and certainly more productive to live in a free society than go on the warpath, insisting that everyone obey your every philosophical whim. Also, as mentioned above, I find it far scarier that my son will grow up facing crazies hell bent on limiting public knowledge and art than the idea of him coming across a little bit of groping occasionally in his reading. Thanks for the post, as always, Pam!
By: Anthony
I don’t usually go around commenting on blogs I don’t normally read, but… It seems that most people did not read this article completely. Only in regards to the couple, not the book-burners, they are a different set of people, and I agree that books shouldn’t be burned. But, with regards to the couple with 4 children, I will put it in caps, THEY WERE ASKING FOR THE BOOK TO BE REMOVED, only reclassified as an adult book. It would still be accessible to children, just not in the children’s section. I’m a librarian. If I thought a book was way more graphic about something than most children’s books, I would have no problem reclassifying it as an adult book. That’s all these people wanted. It just got way out of control. Thank you for considering my comments. I think I will look around the rest of your blog now. ;)
By: Anthony
That last comment should read, “THEY WERE NOT ASKING FOR THE BOOKS TO BE REMOVED.” Sorry about leaving out the most important word.
By: Pam
Anthony: The article also stated that the actions started an uproar that has citizens calling for a public book banning. If the book is a YA book why would you move it as a libarian? Most of the librarians I have met have been progressive enough to fight for their right to have a public library that suits the needs of everyone, not just those who complain. Also I do not think you noticed that your collegues in that town did not have their contracts renewed due to this instance.
By: Anthony
Actually, it was members of the library board, not librarians, that lost their positions. My reaction is based on how people are attacking the original complainers, who were not looking to ban the books. What comes aftwerward is a different story, but people are attributing things to the original couple that are not stated in the article. I am also the opposite of most librarians: I do not support the ALA’s agenda.
By: Pam
Anthony: A book is catagorized by how it is written. If it is a YA book then it belongs on the shelf for Teens, what keeps teens from going to the adult section and checking out the same book? Absolutely nothing. It is a personal responsibility to censor what you and your family read, I do not need or want people who have different beliefs or morals campaigning to censor for me. It’s ridiculous. If it were up to me all books on religion would not have a special section, Paganism, Buddism, and the like would be in the fiction / fantasy section, but it is not up to me and I have no right to censor where a book is catagorized.
By: The BIblio Brat
Oh dear, “agenda” rears its ugly head. Seems the “deliberate dumbing down of America” movement is alive and well.
A librarian who disagrees with ALA policies – or as he puts it, “I do not support the ALA agenda”. Okay. No really. You see, this country prides itself on the freedom of choice, which includes disagreeing with others. So Anthony has a right to his opinion and displeasure.
However, if we follow his lead, and “reclassify” and reshelve a book, is that not a form of denying someone a choice? Parents may indeed find the content offensive. Then discuss this with your child and move on to that section of the shelf or library suited to your moral sensibilities. Let another parent have the freedom to make their choice – which may be to read that book.
You see there is an agenda, always an agenda; an ideological one.
But which agenda should be given the power to say what we are ALL allowed to read?
None of them.
Possessing a moral compass is admirable, but not at the cost of ones freedom of choice. And especially not at the cost of denying someone else’s theirs.
By: Vasilly
What a great post, Pam! You are so right. It is the job of parents to talk to their children about their values and beliefs. If the child brings home a book that the parent thinks is different what their values are, a talk is needed. To take a young adult novel and place it in the adult section is censorship.
It’s not the job of libraries and librarians to censor or ban books. The next generation is going through things we didn’t have to go through. To act as if they cannot handle knowing about so many different things going on in the world, is to shortchange them and leave them unprepared to step out in the world.
By: Anthony
You are correct that it is not the job of the libraries to censor or ban books, but they do have procedures in place for challenges for a reason. We do have freedom of choice, but America is also a democracy, and it is every citizen’s right to try and make their views the predominate views. That’s exactly what the president is doing this week with healthcare, trying to convince everyone that his plan is the best. If a book is challenged in a public library, then there are proper procedures, and it is everyone’s right to speak out during the process, which is what happened here. Again, my problem is with the way people are treated. So far in these comments people are described as having “fanatical morals” and being “book-banning idiots.” How is their right to choice being upheld? That is always the case with leftist thinking. The more liberal people want complete freedom of everything, but they won’t allow the conservatives to have the same. Thank you.
And yes, I am a librarian that does not approve of the ALA’s policies, so I don’t join. I don’t want my money going to to lobby for what they want.
By: Pam
Anthony: I don’t know when this turned into a political discussion but we really do not discuss politics here, if you would like to though, then you should read the first amendment. My main point is one family or person should not try to censor everyone else’s children by having a book moved from the section it is supposed to be in. The books are written for teens and feature teens, if the couple doesn’t want their kid to read it then tell them not to and leave the classification to the librarian.
By: Marco
Anthony,
If I read you correctly you’re saying that book banners/burners should have some sort of ‘right to censor’ because this is part of freedom of speech? That sounds an awful lot like ‘fighting wars for peace’ or ‘having sex for virginity’. It doesn’t make any sense.
You’re saying that people should have the right to censor / inhibit choice for other people.
In my opinion ‘freedom of speech’ ends where this ‘freedom’ is used to lessen the freedom of others. It’s simply not right, no matter how you put it and no matter if you’re a leftist or a conservative.
By: Anthony
Pam, I apologize if I got a little political. I try not to do that very often. In fact, I wanted to mention that when I said “thank you” in the last post, it may have sounded harsh, but I meant it to be thank you for allowing me to post my thoughts. I just re-read the 1st amendment, and a funny thing is that it says that “congress shall make no law…abridging the freedom of speech.” It doesn’t say anything about citizens trying to push their views on others, which is all politics in America really is about. My question to you would be, why do libraries have procedures for challenging books if it is against the law?
Marco, without getting more into politics, I am just saying that if everyone has the same rights, so if Mr. X wants doesn’t think a book is a children’s book, then he has the right to say so. Mr. Y has the same right to tell Mr. X he is wrong. I’m not arguing against that, but for equal treatment. I didn’t see anyone calling the library director any names or saying he is a fanatical anti-moralist. Equality has to be for all. I completely agree with your last statement, but it is hardly ever exercised well by either side. And as I said earlier, as a librarian, I do not support book-burning at all. I am totally for every book and author having a right to exist. It’s why I actually work in a college library, where we don’t have to worry about censorship issues. But, if I worked in a public or school library, it would be different.
I really do appreciate everyone allowing me to comment. That is part of what I am trying to get accross.
By: Pam
Anthony: Please do not feel offended! Debate is also part of our great nation, and I think there are no hard feelings here. I only mention the policital aspect because people tend to get angry then and the debate turns to argument.
My main point of all of this is we in our own homes can decide for ourselves what is appropriate for our family unit. We do not have to protest classification if we are involved enough in our childrens lives to know what they are reading. If a book is written about a teen, for teens, it belongs in the teen lit section of the library.
I think the challenge system is there for the same reason a lot of complaint systems are set in place. Marketing and giving people an outlet to vent frustrations but the system is abused by would be self censorers. A challenge should be formed for reclassification when the book does not pertain to the audience or is shelved in some place it really shouldn’t be. The books in question belong in the teen section.
Thank you for weighing in here on the other side of the spectrum being “leftist” I am always open to hearing the other side of the fence, even if I disagree.
By: J.T. Oldfield
Are these parents just too lazy to censor what their children read themselves?
By: Tif
What a lively discussion! I wholeheartedly agree with the original post! My theory . . . let my kid read anything he wants! I can then as a parent have a conversation with my child about what I think, how it agrees or disagrees with my beliefs . . . what a great way to encourage critical thinking, develop an invaluable relationship with your child, and send him/her off to become a responsible citizen that is capable of making his own good choices as an adult! What an amazing lesson!! :)
By: pachuvachuva
I would like to say that the above discussion’s very engaging and I believe that you people are an example of how freedom manifests when it manifests correctly — people who debate not because they are looking for trouble but because they think critically and accept and respect each others’ opinions whether they are pro or against an issue.
But since a right to something entails a certain responsibility, and in this case, a child’s freedom to his own choice of books, the accountability rests not only on the librarians who are tasked to make sure that books on display (or even those hidden in secret nooks and crannies) should be appropriate for the child in question, but more so to his parents who should be the first ones to bring him up as morally as they can (and should) and discuss certain topics with the child as honestly as they should.
While there may be parents who don’t often read books and can’t recommend any to their kids, how they live their lives should serve as examples of the kind of values that these kids should have that will, in one way or another, influence them to make their choices in life (or of books).
By: Rebecca
People who want to ban books are some of the most mentally unstable people in the world, imo. I say this because your mind has to be completely terrified of new ideas and you have to be scared that just because something is different that it will somehow jump up and take hold of you and not let go. If you read a book about a homosexual, it does not make you homosexual! Good grief! I 100% agree that banning books just draws attention to them. Like the whole craziness with the Catholic Church and The Da Vinci Code. People who would have not given 2 thoughts to reading the book or seeing the movie went and did just that because of the controversy. So they are basically having an end result that is the opposite of their intended results. And it is this way EVERY SINGLE TIME! Hello! But how can I expect anyone who bans books to learn from history? They haven’t read it.