Yeah, there are a lot of things I hate and wish would go away: the Ku Klux Klan, terrorists, right wing idiots like Nazis, etc… I suppose this would be censorship, so I have to live and let live…hint, hint to the terrorists!
Ya ever notice…the books that people want to ban are usually the ones that make you think or cause you to be uncomfortable?
Banning books is right up there as it prevents the free flow of information. It prevents people from airing their views and everyone is entitled to their opinions. Just don’t force yours on me. I may listen. I may be screaming inside my head. But I do believe you are entitled to have an opinion, to express it, and NOT to force that belief on anyone else. ANYone else.
That said, there are a couple of books / topics / opinions being banned that I had planned for the October Hodgepodge, but this seems a more appropriate moment.
Censorship Rears Its Ugly Head
The blog of the National Coalition Against Censorship reports that “Talks Cancelled for YA Authors Meg Medina and Rainbow Rowell” simply because the focus is on same-sex parents or bullying awareness (!). Placating the vocal minority in these cases. Well, I don’t care if they’re the vocal majority. These issues are front and center for our society today. NOW. In the case of gay parents…what??? They’re afraid gayness is…oops…catching? That if their children learn about it, the kids might…oops…be understanding…turn gay? As for bullying. It disgusts me that bullying is still an issue in so many schools. In schools where, supposedly, bullying is not tolerated. And now parents stupidly don’t want the issue aired? Oh, wait, must be the same parents who believe it’s okay to bully gay students??!
These groups who canceled these authors ought to be ashamed of themselves: a bullying awareness event at Cumberland Middle School in rural Virginia as “the principal (and district superintendent Amy Giffin) refused to allow her to reference her book Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass or show its cover” (yeah, because none of their students ever heard that word before) and Anoka-Hennepin School District and the Anoka County Public Libraries in Minnesota.
More Censorship Due to Stupid People
I know, I know, I shouldn’t call people stupid. The big stupidhead. Carolyn Kellogg with the L.A. Times reports that Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man has been banned because some parent wrote a 12-page (TWELVE PAGES) complaint that the book was too much — language, lack of innocence, content — for her precious 11th grader. How much ya wanna bet her daughter is sneaking erotic romances, watching violent movies, and listening to her parents curse each other?
Because of this one woman…explain this to me, people, how can one person force a ban on a book…? Especially one that is a classic…
Now go forth. Read books that have been banned. Celebrate Banned Books Week with such classics as F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath, Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, Alice Walker’s
The Color Purple, George Orwell’s 1984 and Animal Farm, Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, Joseph Heller’s Catch-22, Margaret Mitchell’s Gone with the Wind, Jack London’s The Call of the Wild, J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood, Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses, Kurt Vonnegut’s Cat’s Cradle, William S. Burroughs’ Naked Lunch, Evelyn Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited, D.H. Lawrence’s Women in Love, Lady Chatterley’s Lover, Sons and Lovers, and I could go on…! Mark Twain for godsakes!?!
Then there are the more “modern” classics such as Dav Pilkey’s Captain Underpants (he cracks me up!), Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis…
I was 14when my private Catholic school handed me The Invisible Man, I have to say that parts surprised me and made me aware and GROW UP. Books should be given to growing kids at the right age. I believe I received it at the right age, but I loved Shocking my mom, who was not the kind of parent who dared complain… wow now I know where my teen gets it….EPIPHANY! Great post and Banning Books is right up there in the go away list for me as well.
Good for you! And I’m glad you had your epiphany…what a pain, huh? I keep getting flashbacks to my mom telling me what I should do…and my ignoring her. Why is it each generation has to learn to invent the wheel every time???
The process of growth…. did you ever hear ‘God will punish you and you’ll get a kid just like you someday?’ I have led a very different life than my mom’s but some lessons are just global
Oh, yeahhh. I never did have kids. Guess I took that one to heart, LOL!
I teetered on the edge of indecision, but at 39 I plunged and had my ONE and only.
And you sound quite pleased with the one and only…!
And how.. I am one of EIGHT. One is perfect for me.
Got me beat. I’m the oldest of six.
My husband is the oldest of 6, I am the 6th of 8
There’s something about that “6 of 8” that sounds like it’s from a fantasy novel or a pub…hmmm…
Years ago my dad (now almost 94) was having a triple bi-pass there were 5 of us there as well as my mom. When they asked him what he wanted before the surgery he asked for his five eighths … I am having a fun giveaway, it ends in 6days .I made peace pouches full of goodies and each has a watch a piece of Time for peace in Time. I hope you can swing by my website and enter I enjoy your posts so much, especially the word confusion it would be cool to have you as a winner you can find it at http://www.thebridgeofdeaths.com
I love it! 5/8ths is too, too funny. Sounds like your dad has a great sense of humor! Glad you enjoy my Word Confusions…I enjoy writing them. They can be a challenge sometimes, but I like that it forces me to think. Your The Bridge of Deaths sounds fascinating! Definitely a twist on time travel and past lives!
The 5/8th moment is a great one in my life, after that triple by-pass my dad became a really gentle soul and it has been fun to know that side ,less intense. Word confusion warning on The Bridge of Deaths I apparently have a few with BRAKE and BREAK !
I am happy to provide a copy with the simple warning that the reader must be open minded to a lot of Historical data. It has over 200 footnotes and the fictional narrative weaves the story. Parts of the fictional narrative are based on real past life regressions, not my own.
I can happily supply a copy e-book or printed if you are interested. It is the least I can do as often as I visit and my friend Michael in Switzerland loves it when I share your word confusions. Let me know at m_c_v_egan@yahoo.com