Posts Tagged With: banning books

How Many Times Must We Fight the Book Banners?

A school district in California has banned To Kill a Mockingbird, The Adventures of Huckleberry FinnOf Mice and Men, among others. How many times must we fight this battle?

Each of the books in question deal with difficult subject matter from our country’s complicated and painful history, including systemic racism. Blocking engagement with these important books is also avoiding the important role that schools can and should play in providing context for why these books inspire and challenge us still today. – Tom Ciccotta

And over at Penguin Random House, employees try to get Jordan Peterson’s new book banned — based on lies about the author. In fact, grown adults were crying that the book is being published. Johnathan Kay writes:

People are dying from Covid, losing their businesses, and these spoiled brats transform into babies because their employer is publishing a book they don’t like.

Indeed, the fact such people work at a publisher — supposed protectors of the freedom of speech — is disturbing.

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Is Banning Books “inclusive”?

Recently, a Virginia school banned The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and To Kill a Mockingbird because of “racial slurs.” Both books have been the subject of on and off bans for decades. A mother claimed, by reading these books, “We’re validating that these words are acceptable…” and there are “psychological effect” on the children.

Ridiculous.

One of the reasons that these books have endured is because they show how life was or address race issues. Contrary to causing “psychological effect(s)” on children, books are supposed to be read and studied with discussion. This is how school is supposed to work — and critical thinking.

“There is other literature they can use,” the parent argued. Like what? Some book that rewrites history or tries to discuss issues by being afraid to discuss them? The buzzword “inclusive” was thrown out there in trying to find books that didn’t offend anyone. Good luck with that.

Yes, I support every parents’ right to control what their child reads, learns or sees, but that doesn’t mean their position should be forced on others. Rather, we should decide not to be offended and try thinking and discussing these books with the students who read them.

Raising generations of children who are sooner offended by anything, instead of trying to think through something, will be a mistake we will all someday regret.

Categories: Books | Tags: , , , , , | 4 Comments

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