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Banned books

12 years ago

I saw this list of books people have wanted banned from american libraries/schools, and I thought you guys might find it interesting/disturbing. What do you think?

 

http://www.ala.org/advocacy/banned/frequentlychallenged/challengedbydecade/2000_2009

Banned books

12 years ago
WTF Harry Potter series? I find that rather odd, I would think most schools would encourage kids to read that series.

Banned books

12 years ago

I think it's mainly parents and religious nutters who think it's occult or satanist or whatever. you can see the reasons if you look at the individual years you'll see the reasons people gave for wanting the books banned.

Banned books

12 years ago

Racist, but true. Reminds me of PeTA. 

Banned books

12 years ago

How is that racist? There was absolutely no mention of race.

Banned books

12 years ago

HAHAHA they want to ban the captain underpants series. I read those books as a kid and then named my email after them, in hindsight I shouldn't have done that but it is what it is.

Banned books

12 years ago

I can't believe some of these books are on the list, I mean I see the reasoning for some of them but there just good books:

Harry Potter (Series)

To Kill A Mocking Bird

My Brother Sam Is Dead

Of Mice and Men

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

A Wrinkle In Time

Banned books

12 years ago
No book that doesn't contain child pornography (actual pictures, not drawings) should be banned under any circumstance, ever.

Banned books

12 years ago
I like that position. How about that atrocity of a censored version of Huck finn?

Banned books

12 years ago

And possibly Twilight... if that qualifies as a book.

Banned books

12 years ago
Ha, I don't believe it does.

Banned books

12 years ago

It's on the list i think.

Banned books

12 years ago

nr. 10 in 2010 - beaten by the hunger games, which is apparently sexsually explicit.

http://www.ala.org/advocacy/banned/frequentlychallenged/21stcenturychallenged/2010

and nr. 5 in 2009.

http://www.ala.org/advocacy/banned/frequentlychallenged/21stcenturychallenged/2010

 

out of over 10000 challenges to books only 99 were due to inaccuracy, a reasonable reason, while 354 were due to sex education, which is different from sexually explicit - the most challenges at 3169, followed by 2658 for "offensive language" and 2232 for "unsuited to age group".

Banned books

12 years ago
This is just society's feeble attempt at controlling the minds of today's youth. It seems that they (society) just can't accept the fact that fiction provides us with a reality than non-fiction cannot. Also, banning books prevents our minds from growing and therefore limits our point of view on life. That's how I see it anyways.

Banned books

12 years ago
Yeah. Essentially, bombarding adolescents (and people in general) with as many conflicting view points as possible is the only way to create flexible, open-minded people. As long as books are introduced as someone's opinion and not as fact, there can't be much or any harm.

Banned books

12 years ago

Most of this books dont need to get banned they shall help the mind of the next generation

Banned books

12 years ago

The terrifying thing is that these "religious nutters" are the majority of Republican Americans. And don't think I'm a "Democrat," I think it's all a false dichotomy. A real pity that there's a purposeful schism between social and economic so that the people can't organize against these types of fools.

Imagine being a creature who actually lobbies against expression, and I don't care if it's against the black guys (yep, said black guys, they're not from Africa) in Times Square who told me my back would break in their diamond mines when I was seven visiting NYC as a tourist, or the Pope when he walked through Vatican City, flicking holy water onto teenage boy-heads.

The point of the above paragraph is actually not to be inflammatory but to argue against banning expression of any kind.

I think I celebrated St. Patty's a wee bit soon, though. Damn you, Jameson!

Banned books

12 years ago
Amen. A-fucking-men. Freedom of Speech isn't so we can discuss the weather.

Banned books

12 years ago
I'm quoting that

Banned books

12 years ago
Do it! I think it's originally a Ron Paul quote or something. I'm pretty sure I heard it somewhere.

Banned books

12 years ago
So you're a Ron Paul supporter? With the way things are going for him I doubt he has a chance for the nomination. Santorum or Romney maybe, Gingrich and Paul are almost a definite no.

Banned books

12 years ago
I'm pretty pissed Ron doesn't have more support. He'd be a damn good president.

Banned books

12 years ago
Unsurprising and also pathetic.

Banned books

12 years ago

Pretty sure Romney has the Republican nomination locked up. Santorum is way behind in delegates, Gingrich disappeared early in the race, and Paul was never given a shot.

Banned books

12 years ago
I was talking to my father and he said, "The day Ron Paul becomes president, is the day when the CIA assassinate him."

Banned books

11 years ago

I remember when I was 5 and on the news they showed this picture of the book suicide bunnies and said they banned it from schools. I didn't really get it, so kept playing with my stuffed kitties.

YEARS later, I walk into this store, and it's full of novelty items, and I spot this very...familiar....book...

Suicide bunnies!

I was like: "Wow! I've seen this before..."

I can see why it was banned though.

My fave suicide: The bunnies are hanging out by noah's ark.

Banned books

11 years ago

The Giver, Fahrenheit 451 (Most ironic thing ever),  The Giver (also pretty Ironic), and Song of Solomon (Off topic for what I'm going to say, but I thought it was funny),  Why? I really do understand why some of the books might be on the list, but seriously? What is wrong with people. I love that a major idea in Fahrenheit 451 is that destroying books because people don't like them is a bad idea. And what do people do? Try to get it banned. :P

Banned books

11 years ago

HA!

Banned books

11 years ago

Did I mention The Giver (The title has no relation to my character). Another book where a theme is that if we allow information to be regulated eventually we will slip into a wretchedly destructive ignorance? I don't know what they had to complain about in that book though. No language, nothing explicit.

Edit: Yes, I am aware I've mentioned The Giver three times now.

Banned books

11 years ago

It's been a while since i've read it (last time was in 5th grade) so I couldn't tell you exactly. :p

Banned books

11 years ago

Yeah but they only killed a couple of babies (ok, ALOT) and a few old people (all of them, literally every single one).

Banned books

11 years ago

Farenheit is frighteningly close to a representation of current american culture, as far as i'm concerned

Banned books

11 years ago

I think the point the author was trying to get across with the killing if infants and elders is that nobody cared anymore. There was no emotions. The government controlled everyone and nobody would fight back because they didn't care. Yes it's a little disturbing but it makes me feel that if no one stands up for what they believe then the ones in charge will do anything in their power to gain more. 

At least this is a book. It's not happening in real life thankfully. >~<

Banned books

11 years ago

That's what you think

It's probably happening somewhere. 

Banned books

11 years ago

What in the world happened to freedom of the press. Books with sexual reference are obviously made for adults! And racism and religious reference? That makes no sense!! Stop trying to keep others from reading something for their ENTERTAINMENT!!!! (Not at you at the ones who want to ban these books) What is happening to America and all of its glorious freedom?! It's practically communist, as its being run by one idiot controlling everyone else with money and fear! It's been like this for the past few years but now its obvious to the max! This country is falling apart...that's why I plan to move to another one preferably Japan because its pretty secluded. (Rant ended and got casual again)

Who wants to join me? XD

Banned books :P

11 years ago

Just because buddhists and christians or whatever can't read them, they shouldn't ban it from EVERY1.

Who is the idiot who thought of this?

Banned books :P

11 years ago

No clue but my guess is one of the idiots who call themselves part of the government.  >.<

Banned books :P

11 years ago

Actually the majority of the challenges, by a huge margin are by parents, according to the site http://www.ala.org/advocacy/banned/frequentlychallenged/stats which says only 145 challenges were made by the government as opposed to 6103 by parents.

Banned books :P

11 years ago

Well I guess that makes sense. Parents are so strict. It's ridiculous sometimes. 

Banned books

11 years ago

I lol'd at the Captain Underpants bit. It was probably because of the Flip O Rama sections containing GRAPHIC VIOLENCE.

No Lord of the Flies? Clockwork Orange? American Psycho? Crazy...