It's Banned Books Week

[reanjr]

I wasn't being political with this post. Banned Books Week is about being aware of what goes on in your own community. It's not a Republican or Democrat thing.

While I'm not a mod, politics does cover more than Right wing/Left wing. A view on censorship is a political view. I suppose it depends on which semantics the board regulations were implying.

And anyway, everyone knows censorship is bad.

 

[qstor]

I read banned books at Hogwarts Gee...I think I'll Google where Harry Potter's been banned...Sheesh...Next they'll take my Armies of the Abyss and Guide to Hell from me

Mike

 

[Dog Moon]

I loved the Catcher in the Rye when I read that for 9th grade. Just sayin. Don't have any of those books handy though...

 

[Jdvn1]

I haven't read any of those.

 

[Infernal Teddy]

You know, I still can't get my head around the fact that these books are banned... Oh well, one more reason never to move to the USA...

 

[Umbran]

While I'm not a mod, politics does cover more than Right wing/Left wing. A view on censorship is a political view. I suppose it depends on which semantics the board regulations were implying.

Quite correct. We are not terribly concerned about what the party lines are on an issue - if it is a matter of public policy or concern, and something that folks are likely to get into an uproar about, it is probably politics as far as the rules are concerned.

 

[Nifft]

You know, I still can't get my head around the fact that these books are banned... Oh well, one more reason never to move to the USA...

They're not banned as in illegal-to-own-or-sell. They're "banned" as in some non-government groups have pressured some sellers to not sell them.

I can walk into many other book sellers and buy just those books.

I'm not even sure if they're all still "banned" (not being sold by Wal-Mart or wherever).

-- N

 

[Infernal Teddy]

How can anybody let such groups get aaway with this kind of behavior?

 

[Barendd Nobeard]

I'm not even sure if they're all still "banned" (not being sold by Wal-Mart or wherever).

They are. A lot of banning is at a very localized level. For example, a school board decides to pull a book from all school libraries in their district. So the book is banned (in those schools), but not nation-wide.

 

[Shemeska]

How can anybody let such groups get aaway with this kind of behavior?

Public policy set at the local level in terms of what books are taught or made available to students at public institutions. It's typically kneejerk stuff, but it's perfectly legal. The books are only 'banned' in that sense, not in any way of banning private ownership or them, selling them at bookstores, etc.

It's no different than the banning of smoking in public places, the legal restrictions on criticism of certain government bodies in europe, the banning of headscarfs in schools in some nations, restrictions on what food crops can or cannot be grown or sold in a country, the banning of sale of fois gras in Chicago because some people consider it animal abuse, etc. It's petty nitpicking by people through public legislation in terms of partially censoring material, but at least in the USA, it's virtually always a thing that amounts to virtually nothing of real consequence.