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Censorship is not always formal. There is also "self-censorship", which occurs when people censor themselves because "they know what is good for them". This is an even more frightening form of censorship, because it never gets challenged or even acknowledged.
My college library is having a "Banned Books Week" next week, during which there will be readings of books that were banned in 2008 and 2009. (This is at a college in Texas!!!! So maybe they are only banned textbooks.) I wasn't aware that any (other) books were banned in the past two years, so it will be interesting to attend.
man that's awesome, that would never happen around here...they do the opposite and keep their eye out for more books to ban. It's really sad.
There IS censorship. Try writing "f*ck" in this posting. Try saying it on TV. Try posting or producing child pornography. Believe me, I am in NO WAY suggesting these things are good.
As for the religious "nuts", I see that hatred and disrespect are alive and well on this posting. In no way do I support book burning or book banning. Personally, I believe the people that try to censor these things should be beaten with a shovel. The same way self-righteous liberals should be treated when they attempt to use laws and trumped-up charges of "racism", "homophobia", ad nauseam when something comes along that they don't like.
Before you start attacking one group, remember that censorship comes from both sides of the political spectrum. The Left cannot hold itself up as a spectre of all that is right by any stretch of the imagination.
My college library is having a "Banned Books Week" next week, during which there will be readings of books that were banned in 2008 and 2009. (This is at a college in Texas!!!! So maybe they are only banned textbooks.) I wasn't aware that any (other) books were banned in the past two years, so it will be interesting to attend.
Today was the day of the book readings at the library. In spite of a story about it last week in the newspaper, there were only two people (one besides myself) from the general public who showed up. All the rest were from the college community.
I did learn something interesting from one of the speakers, who briefed kus on the Pico decision in the Supreme Court. A librarian, once hired, is considered a "competent authority" on the appropriateness and artistic or literary merit of any book, akin to an "expert witness" in a trial. If a librarian places a book on the shelves of a library, even a school library, the librarian's professional opinion about the book outweighs the opinions of members of the school board or the community. Just as a doctor's medical opinion would.
A school board has wide discretionary latitude to remove a book from any classroom study, curriculum, or required reading list. But has no power to force a librarian to remove a book from the shelves. This limitation is diluted by the fact that the librarian is an employee, who can be dismissed for cause. But the cause cannot be a perceived inappropriateness of books.
It was also interesting to learn that "Catcher in the Rye" has been banned by at least one library, school or bookstore in the USA every year since its publication.
Re the closing observation in JTUR's last post, about The Catcher in the Rye, it's also interesting to note that Huckleberry Finn is an example of Bobmulk's point about censorship coming from the left and right both (and probably everywhere in between as well). Huck Finn has been railed against since it was first published, but for different reasons at different times. In the early years after the novel's publication it was the right who considered it controversial, feeling that an uncouth character like Huck was not a good role model for children. Now it's the left objecting to the politically incorrect portrayals of black characters in the novel, as well as the frequent use of "n" through its pages. Both groups would do, or would have done, well to actually read the novel, and THINK seriously about its merits as a work of literature portraying life as it was in the time of the novel's setting.
Last edited by ogre; 09-29-2009 at 10:24 PM..
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