So, for my first post of the October Ultimate Blog Challenge, I want to talk about banned books.
Some people do a lot for Banned Book Week. Some write more elegant blog posts.
This is a topic that deserves to be discussed more than one week. It should be discussed every time someone wants to ban a book. That would result in a lot of discussion. Why?
You might be surprised at the lists of books that have been banned, at least once, somewhere, by a government, a school. They include such classics as:
The Giver
The Absolutely True Story of a Part Time Indian
Black Beauty
To Kill a Mockingbird
Flowers for Algernon
Where's Waldo?
The Call of the Wild
The Kite Runner
The Hunger Games
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.
Even if you don't believe books should ever be banned (I am one) some books make you think hard. How about Mein Kampf, written by one of the most evil men who ever lived? In this day and age, this type of hatred is on the rise. Yet, I don't think that book should be banned.
I think, if you hide evil, you increase its power. The spotlight of discussion should be focused on hate.
Violence? Just think of all the mass shootings, almost every week now. Think of active shooter drills our children must endure.
Think about the fact that one of the sleeper music hits of 2011, Pumped Up Kicks by Foster the People, was about a school shooting. What if this song had been a book, instead of a song with a great beat that many listeners never even realized was about violence?
If you hide books that discuss bullying or mass shootings, in my view, you ignore a problem that has gripped our nation.
How about "foul" language? Or teens who are attracted to teens of the same sex?
Even memoirs get banned. How about the Diary of Anne Frank? Yes, it has been banned, along with number of other memoirs over the years.
Do you think there is ever a reason for a book to be banned?
Day One of the Ultimate Blog Challenge #blogboost
My father was an English teacher, my mother taught history. Our house was filled with books, and none were ever off limits.
ReplyDeleteI am not comfortable with book banning. Recently I heard about a school banning “Mockingbird” because it made people uncomfortable. That’s kind of the point, isn’t it?
Songbird, exactly. I was also fortunate enough to grow up in a reading home and, like yours, none were off limits.
DeleteFrequently history shows that banned books are just those that were written before their time.
ReplyDeleteEither before their time or too truthful for some. Too threatening. Too bad.
DeleteNever! A friend of mine was a librarian in a city public library than at a private college and a state college found books missing. Students, faculty and the public doing their own self banning antics. This caused funding issues, replace and have it stolen again or? Disgraceful!
ReplyDeleteYes, disgraceful. In another life I may have been a librarian, and stories like this raise my blood temperature.
DeleteI was an English/History major, and definitely don't believe any books should be overtly banned. I can see why schools (K-12) would ban some. BUT...knowledge is power. And to understand how Hitler thought, reading his words would give you insight into that. Reading a Satanic bible gives you insight into how followers of Satan feel, and why they feel the way they do. It doesn't make you a Nazi terrorist, or a Satanist. It just gives you some knowledge you might not already have. What you do with it is up to you. I just used the example you used (Mein Kampf), but banning books over beliefs and ideals that differ from our own, or because they were authored by vile human beings, or because they use unsavory language/racial slurs/teens having sex/homosexuality? Nope. It's one thing if someone is using a book as a recruitment tool, but it's another to familiarize yourself with the inner workings of the minds of some of these people (in the case of Hitler), and others just tell stories.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by my blog and leaving your twitter link; I followed you! I forgot what I changed my name to on there, but I think it's StormStardusst, if you want to follow back. I just crossposts from Insta right now, but maybe I 'll remember to get on there and look around, find more to follow, and share my blog posts and others.
Kim
Thank you for the thoughtful comment! I think I did follow you back yesterday. Right now, for whatever it's worth, I'm staying away from heavy reading - but when my mind is rested enough, I may start on The Testaments.
DeleteI get when a parent might not feel a book is right for their child. But not when an official agency keeps books from the general public. It's funny that The Hunger Games was banned somewhere. I was astonished to discover a 7th grade English teacher assigning it. (She was looking for more female heroines and pushed to get it taught. From what I heard of it that day--co-taught class--it's pretty well written.)
ReplyDeleteI loved The Hunger Games on many levels. I'm proud to say I read it before it became a sensation. I agree it's well written. Suitable for a 7th grader? It might depend, but kudos to that teacher.
DeleteLove your post, Alana! I always remember (as a complement to this discussion) what Mark Haddon, author of Curious Incident, said in a tweet. He said, "both sides, paradoxically, are to be thanked for getting more people reading and talking about books." It's true, and somehow we must all figure out a way to talk to each other rather than push each other away.
ReplyDeleteAmen to that, Paula. By the way, I intend to read The Hate U Give when my mind is a little less stressed. Right now I'm staying away from heavy reading.
DeleteI came here curious what is this book banning ? Banned from where? Then I realized. In the age of internet, nothing can e truly banned. I mean you can buy a ebook and read for most books. So no one should really try. It will just make you curious and seek it out somehow these days.
ReplyDelete