banning books

[viking thunder]

do you feel that it is ok to ban a book for any reason??? my local library has over 100 books banned by the city council that they are not allowed to carry.

things like:
Huckleberry fin
tom sawyer
harry potter


most of them either have to do with something christians do not like, or have to do with history and slavery.

in our modern world do you feel it is ok to ban a book for any reason?? do we not wish to protect the rights of those in our community to have access to everything and make decisions on what is right and wrong themselves.

many of the poorer in my community cannot afford to buy books all the time, if the library does not carry it they will never get to read it.

[Backglass]

If you dont like the book, dont buy/checkout/read it.

[Bozo]

ya, i got in shit last year for doing a report on 'Of Mice And Men' the teacher thought I was a racist

[ScottS]

Certainly governments can ban books - communities have the right to collectively determine their standards. Especially in/on government property, like a library. They've crossed the line when they go through the bookstores pulling those books off the shelves.

And in the meantime, the rest of us can laugh at the idiots who are afraid of words on paper.

[Megatron]

yes, i love how some groups of society feel that they can throw a fit and get whatever they want like keeping us from checking books at the library. If you don't want your kids to read stuff like that, it's called parenting. Otherwise, let people choose for themselves what they would like to read about. (although I do believe things like pornography should be kept out of public libraries, but that's pictures, not words)

[KoolBak]

Along those lines, my oldest boy's elementary school had to stop having little halloween parties this year due to one set of pissed off parents that had some problem with it....amazing......we snuck some cookies in for his 4th grade class anyhow.....someone has to rebel!!!

[MeDeFe]

As a small hint, I picked the "No, because we have freedom of speech (NOT in the USA) and we also have the right to freely obtaining information"-option.


And those books you mentioned are really only disapproved of by people who don't know that words like "nigger" (In Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn) were perfectly NEUTRAL when the books were written and not derogatory.

And if you go and ban Harry Potter you might as well go and ban every book with talking animals, witches, faeries and so on (which are an abomination unto god, except for snakes, but that was really just metaphorical and not a real snake at all... it just looked like one, and anyway it's 4000 years old and that means it has to be true anyway...), but what children's books does that leave you with?. btw, what fantasy and horror literature is left in your library? Or did they get everything out of there. It's a pretty big genre after all.


I think I'll stop here before I really start rambling.

[Freetymes]

ya, i got in shit last year for doing a report on 'Of Mice And Men' the teacher thought I was a racist

That is hystaricle... This book was required reading when I was in Jr. Highschool.... I hesitate to tell you how long ago that was but it is interesting (and disgusting) to see how far political correctnes has come...

[happysadfun]

The govt has the right, but that does not mean that they should.

[sfhbballnut]

If you dont like the book, dont buy/checkout/read it.

how can you not like a book you haven't read?

[happysadfun]

If you dont like the book, dont buy/checkout/read it.

how can you not like a book you haven't read?

The beliefs it expresses may not agree with yours, and you feel undermine yours (speaking about hp). Or you're just a complete liberal taboo-artist who believes that Mark Twain was a terrible racist and that his books should be burnt.

Either way, it's more your own opinion, and the law shouldn't be changed to fit a few peoples' opinions.

But I do hate HP.

[wcaclimbing]

ok...

if you dont like the topics in the book (no you dont have to read it to know what its about):
dont sell it
dont buy it
dont do reports on it
dont tell others to read it
dont ban it statewide


im fine with a school or group banning a book, but i think that it is unreasonable to ban the book for the entire state.

oh, and of of mice and men is required reading for freshmen in my high school. they also mention of mice and men 3 times in the TV series LOST

[cattrain]

I am a christian, but most books arent that bad, i am a fan of harry potter, i mean it is in the fiction section for a reason... if they did ban any books, the only one i would even consider would be the DaVinci code, and only because people belive it is real when it is in the fiction section, and it is based on nonexisting facts...

[Backglass]

If you dont like the book, dont buy/checkout/read it.

how can you not like a book you haven't read?

I wish I knew, but it happens all the time. When the last potter book was released, a lady protesting on TV was asked if she had read the book. She replied "NO! I wont read such evil books, and neither will my children!".

the only one i would even consider would be the DaVinci code, and only because people belive it is real when it is in the fiction section, and it is based on nonexisting facts

So you would ban a book of fiction because some people think it's real and "based on nonexisting facts"? As someone once said so perfectly...IRONY METER....CLOSE TO EXPLODING!

[viking thunder]

I myself have a very hard time understanding why anyone who has read an HP book could have a problem with it. the author goes out of her way to stay out of the organized religion section. there is nothing ever remotely wiccan, or witchish, about Harry Potter.

He learns about magic in the same way we all learned math in school, this is how it is, this is what it does, no hocus pocus or anything involved.

If you wanted this banned it would be just because it has magic and magic beings in it and what not, and if that was true you would want everything banned from the wizard of oz to star trek.

Every person I have dealt with who wished to ban any book for any reason was just showing of their own ignorance.

[sfhbballnut]

Some of these arguements are just plain old stupid, ban a book because people are too stupid to relize that it is fiction?? I'm a christian as well and I belive that a book is a book. It comes down to intelligence, or the lack of it. You have to be able to understand and anlyze or enjoy what you are reading, if not you shouldn't be reading it and certainly not telling other people what they should read.

[bluereaper]

Wow banning books..i have heard of that but was like nah...people aren't that crazy, but guess im wrong.
PEOPLE ITS JUST A BOOK!!! its just words written on a piece of paper for people to read for fun. Hell they want to ban harry potter or hucklebarry fin cause its racist or what ever the matter is...what if i went around telling everone around me of the books, saything the story from the books in words, what will they ban me telling a story then??? A book is just a thought on paper and is for people that have a past time and let them read. If you don't like it, or find it offensive, just don't read it/buy it. Hell half the really good books have movies on them or tv shows...what you going to ban all that too? hell if your banning that, you might as well ban all speeches and talking cause poeple talk of that stuff ever day.
Some people just have to GROW up and not be so self centered and try to make everyone live life the way you see it.
By banning a book because of certain reason is basically saying that people must follow your views, come on, its 2006, almost 2007, people now a days think and do what they want, it is all about what you think and thats as far as it goes, what you think is between yourself and yourself...not affecting the world....
Im going to stop now because im writing alot lol...
Last words would be GO GET A LIFE YOU F**KING idiots that think certain books should be banned for stupid reasons........
**sorry if i offend anyone**

[sfhbballnut]

Wow banning books..i have heard of that but was like nah...people aren't that crazy, but guess im wrong.
PEOPLE ITS JUST A BOOK!!! its just words written on a piece of paper for people to read for fun. Hell they want to ban harry potter or hucklebarry fin cause its racist or what ever the matter is...what if i went around telling everone around me of the books, saything the story from the books in words, what will they ban me telling a story then??? A book is just a thought on paper and is for people that have a past time and let them read. If you don't like it, or find it offensive, just don't read it/buy it. Hell half the really good books have movies on them or tv shows...what you going to ban all that too? hell if your banning that, you might as well ban all speeches and talking cause poeple talk of that stuff ever day.
Some people just have to GROW up and not be so self centered and try to make everyone live life the way you see it.
By banning a book because of certain reason is basically saying that people must follow your views, come on, its 2006, almost 2007, people now a days think and do what they want, it is all about what you think and thats as far as it goes, what you think is between yourself and yourself...not affecting the world....
Im going to stop now because im writing alot lol...
Last words would be GO GET A LIFE YOU F**KING idiots that think certain books should be banned for stupid reasons........
**sorry if i offend anyone**

THANK YOU

[Backglass]

PEOPLE ITS JUST A BOOK!!! its just words written on a piece of paper for people to read for fun.

Exactly! Just like the bible.

(DUCKS!)

[2dimes]

ya, i got in shit last year for doing a report on 'Of Mice And Men' the teacher thought I was a racist

That is hystaricle... This book was required reading when I was in Jr. Highschool.... I hesitate to tell you how long ago that was but it is interesting (and disgusting) to see how far political correctnes has come...

You should have grabbed his hand and broke it.

[cattrain]

If you dont like the book, dont buy/checkout/read it.

how can you not like a book you haven't read?

I wish I knew, but it happens all the time. When the last potter book was released, a lady protesting on TV was asked if she had read the book. She replied "NO! I wont read such evil books, and neither will my children!".

the only one i would even consider would be the DaVinci code, and only because people belive it is real when it is in the fiction section, and it is based on nonexisting facts

So you would ban a book of fiction because some people think it's real and "based on nonexisting facts"? As someone once said so perfectly...IRONY METER....CLOSE TO EXPLODING!

I said I would consider it, but not that much... and its not "some" people... it is hundreds of thousands

[vtmarik]

if they did ban any books, the only one i would even consider would be the DaVinci code, and only because people belive it is real when it is in the fiction section, and it is based on nonexisting facts...

If someone thinks that the DaVinci Code is real, than they have more problems than just having access to the book. They might just be the type of people who you see in a loony bin, knitting something that isn't there.

[hawkeye]

Banning a book is forcing an opinion on other people, just like not every one takes The Bible as fact(myself included). Just because it's written down doesn't mean it's factual.

[bluereaper]

Wow banning books..i have heard of that but was like nah...people aren't that crazy, but guess im wrong.
PEOPLE ITS JUST A BOOK!!! its just words written on a piece of paper for people to read for fun. Hell they want to ban harry potter or hucklebarry fin cause its racist or what ever the matter is...what if i went around telling everone around me of the books, saything the story from the books in words, what will they ban me telling a story then??? A book is just a thought on paper and is for people that have a past time and let them read. If you don't like it, or find it offensive, just don't read it/buy it. Hell half the really good books have movies on them or tv shows...what you going to ban all that too? hell if your banning that, you might as well ban all speeches and talking cause poeple talk of that stuff ever day.
Some people just have to GROW up and not be so self centered and try to make everyone live life the way you see it.
By banning a book because of certain reason is basically saying that people must follow your views, come on, its 2006, almost 2007, people now a days think and do what they want, it is all about what you think and thats as far as it goes, what you think is between yourself and yourself...not affecting the world....
Im going to stop now because im writing alot lol...
Last words would be GO GET A LIFE YOU F**KING idiots that think certain books should be banned for stupid reasons........
**sorry if i offend anyone**

THANK YOU

no problem man....and yup hawkeye your right...just because its on a piece of paper doesnt mean its factual...its just written down...like for example i don't have a religion, but believe there is a bigger power out there...i don't really believe in the bible cause no one can prove it happened or not

[stache hag]

I didn't read the whole thread, but, I taught a research paper on court cases, and one of them discussed banning books. Let me see if I can find any info about it.