General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsAbout adults controlling what children read.: I am watching the growing insanity
of whackdoodles. . .errrrrr, "concerned parents" and other "concerned" adults, .like the mayor in MS, and I want to add my observations and perspective.
When I was in elementary school, my reading levels were years ahead of whatever grade I was in. As I used to tell the banned books crowd, in the second grade I was reading books that they, as presumed adults, still could neither read nor comprehend.
In high school, I had the run both of our school library, and the public library. I read widely, outside of school subjects, anything that interested me. Neither my parents nor my teachers bothered me.
The idea that some stranger, or group of strangers, likely not up to my interests or reading levels, whose worldview was nowhere near mine,, could dictate what I could or could not read, or have access to, would have had me screaming at the school board even more than I already had been.
The arrogance, the hatred for intelligence and learning, the absolute fear in these small-minded, authoritarian, mind-controlled simps, is frightening. They were not fit to tell me what I could read or study way back when, and they most certainly are not qualified to do so now.
May they receive everything they deserve.
SheltieLover
(57,073 posts)niyad
(112,066 posts)Atticus
(15,124 posts)FakeNoose
(32,202 posts)... only increases a teenager's interest in that item. That's how adolescents operate, that's how they think.
Millions of teens are suddenly interested in reading "To Kill A Mockingbird" that never would have bothered otherwise.
Let this always be so.
niyad
(112,066 posts)Many years ago, a friend told me that the way she got her kids to read decent books on sex education was to sort of hide them, and tell the kids "hands off". Worked every time.
FakeNoose
(32,202 posts)I loved the book, but I'll admit that I didn't get all of it. Read it again in my mid-20's - and oh my God I was shocked and amazed. It really is the best American novel ever.
RockRaven
(14,715 posts)Not only will kids find it online (after looking for it because you made them curious) but they'll also find a hundred similar/adjacent things too while they are looking. If you want your kids to remain ignorant of it, whatever "it" is, just STFU about it. That's your only hope.
niyad
(112,066 posts)and information when I am looking for specific books. All added to my library lists.
pnwmom
(108,915 posts)Irish_Dem
(45,215 posts)Any adult telling me what I could read would have me screaming at the top of my lungs.
And then I would damn well make sure I read the banned books.
niyad
(112,066 posts)Irish_Dem
(45,215 posts)MotorCityBeard
(201 posts)Any book I am told that I or no one else should read, I'm going to read it.
My dad was as much of a reader as I am. We were always trading books back and forth. When I was a kid, there would be some where he would tell me. "Now this one is not for you...". You can pretty well guess I read them anyways so I could make up my own mind.
In the 90s there was a HUGE stink over American Psycho. No one should read this, it should be banned, etc, Of course I had to read it. It's a very disturbing book, but I've certainly read worse. As far as American Psycho, it could be interpreted in so many ways that even though I wouldn't recommend it (unless you have a strong stomach), I wouldn't ban it.
I have been horrified by all the anti-CRT crap, which has been evolving into banning books, that's been going on. This is NOT America and needs to be stopped.
Irish_Dem
(45,215 posts)Banning books seems so unAmerican.
MotorCityBeard
(201 posts)all the books being banned would be making my reading list. There is a reason they don't want you to read them, and I want to know why. Still doing that. It seems they're getting all upset about Beloved by Toni Morrison now. Got it on sale on Kindle and that's next on my list.
Ocelot II
(115,070 posts)might have been a couple of weeks. So my teacher recommended some books for me to read while I was recovering. One of them was Huxley's "Brave New World." I found it fascinating, though some of it probably went right over my head. Would that teacher get in trouble these days for assigning that book to a ten-year-old? Most likely, at least in some school districts.
niyad
(112,066 posts)50 Shades Of Blue
(9,728 posts)kskiska
(27,037 posts)published by the Catholic Church to decide which movies to see. The best ones were always "condemned." I'd also read my mother's copy of "Peyton Place" when she wasn't home.
niyad
(112,066 posts)complete nonsense. A Bob Hope movie too sexy?? Are you KIDDING me? Whatever last remnants of respect (few though they were) I still had left that day.
kskiska
(27,037 posts)John Waters has also said he used that list to decide which movie to see.
Skittles
(152,918 posts)that is some fucked up shit right there
niyad
(112,066 posts)FSogol
(45,312 posts)Junior high school students in Kutztown created a teen-banned book club to discuss and celebrate challenging stories, discussing both classic novels and current hot topics.
The clubs first meeting, held at the Firefly Bookstore in Kutztown on January 12, was attended by a group of nine young people, primarily from grades 7 to 11 in the Kutztown area.
14-year-old Kutztown 8th grade Joslyn Diffenbaugh founded the club after reading about a public protest to ban books in national and regional schools based on the topics of race, gender identity and sexuality.
I wanted to give teens access to books that could be personally relevant or interesting, and prevent groups in the community from pointing out what we could and couldnt read. It was, Joslyn said.
More at:
https://pennsylvanianewstoday.com/teens-appear-in-the-newly-created-kutztown-banned-book-club/304939/
Demovictory9
(32,297 posts)niyad
(112,066 posts)ripcord
(5,037 posts)The problem comes when you want to decide what everyone else's children can read.
niyad
(112,066 posts)a family of readers, and I was never without a book in my hands.
malaise
(267,465 posts)I am still in a state of stunned incredulity at this madness
niyad
(112,066 posts)Leith
(7,802 posts)In elementary and junior high, schools got catalogs of books for students to buy. I bought a lot of books that way. When I was about 12, the description of The Bell Jar looked interesting, but it required signed parental permission to get it.
I asked my mom nervously if she would sign the permission slip. Before I could tell her the book I wanted, she took the permission slip, signed it, and gave it back. "Don't you want to know the book I ordered?" I asked.
"Nope," she answered.
Now that I'm old(er), I realize that the catalog wouldn't have any book that would be outrageous for a smart kid and avid reader. We had a houseful of books when I was growing up.
It's child abuse to deny children books, especially those that expose their minds to ideas.
niyad
(112,066 posts)twodogsbarking
(9,167 posts)Made the books and movies even more popular.
niyad
(112,066 posts)peggysue2
(10,801 posts)The good ole days! Whatever's old is new again.
Book banning was as obnoxious then as it is now. It's perhaps more dangerous now bc there's a concerted effort to quash any information or knowledge that defies current right-wing ideology.
I am cheered that school kids in certain regions are rebelling and opposing these School Board decisions. This is what the hard right-wing is so terrified about--the generations to come who are far more open, liberal and accepting of different ideas and attitudes. In addition these younger Americans, the majority under 15 years of age, are of mixed races. Multiculturalism is percolating from the bottom up.
Oh, the horror! Enough to throw the wing-nuts into a frenzy.
twodogsbarking
(9,167 posts)TreasonousBastard
(43,049 posts)as denying them food or water.
"But how will they know the proper books?"
"It's called learning."
niyad
(112,066 posts)TreasonousBastard
(43,049 posts)niyad
(112,066 posts)inthewind21
(4,616 posts)Can't continue the stupid legacy of the "don't tread on me" crowd if they allow their kids to grow a functioning brain.
JT45242
(2,157 posts)We had watched I, Claudius on PBS and I thought it was fascinating. I was extremely gifted so I went to the public library and got the rise and fall of the roman empire to read.
My 3rd grade teacher told me "You can't read that". I thought she meant that I couldn't read and understand it. So I read a couple of sentences and then para[hrased them for her.
She said "You should not be reading that. It isn't appropriate."
My 8 year old self responded: "My dad let me check it out. The librarian let me check it out. So, it really doesn't matter whether or not you think I should be reading it." Then I went back to reading my book for silent sustained reading.
Hated the thought police when I was 8. Still hate the idea of them controlling what people read now.
niyad
(112,066 posts)PoindexterOglethorpe
(25,684 posts)I'd always haul them off to the local library and have them get a card. I also always signed the permission for them to check out adult books.
niyad
(112,066 posts)CaptainTruth
(6,540 posts)...to have raised children who are so emotionally fragile.
If they raised children that can't handle books, how in the heck do they think they'll be able to handle the complexities & challenges of life?
niyad
(112,066 posts)Evolve Dammit
(16,564 posts)niyad
(112,066 posts)barbtries
(28,689 posts)i would bet most of these supercilious assholes never read the books they seek to ban. I was the same as you. There were books I read in my early teens that I had to read over again in my 20s because I really didn't get it, like Catch 22 and As I Lay Dying. But i never experienced anyone whether it be a parent, a librarian, or a teacher say "you can't read that."
niyad
(112,066 posts)About the only things they read are their marching orders on reichwing internet.
LoisB
(7,015 posts)PREVENT a child from reading everything they can or want to read. The parents, teachers, politicians,
school boards should encourage children to read. I always told my grandkids that you can learn something from everything you read, even if it's no more than a new word.
niyad
(112,066 posts)that children are actually reading.
NoMoreRepugs
(9,216 posts)100 to 1 says its 1 in a 100 or less.
niyad
(112,066 posts)pazzyanne
(6,501 posts)niyad
(112,066 posts)GB_RN
(2,263 posts)That's not a look you want to emulate.
niyad
(112,066 posts)GB_RN
(2,263 posts)Fascists will be fascists, after all.
Lonestarblue
(9,812 posts)Kids from states like Tennessee can be assumed to be ignorant because they have not been allowed to read anything but Republican propaganda or the simplest books that focus on praising the deeds of white people. And since they will never have been challenged with opinions different from those of their parents, they will be too emotionally immature to engage in productive discourse with students from other states who are widely read and far more knowledgeable and have learned to evaluate ideas from multiple sources and to form their own opinions confidently.
niyad
(112,066 posts)to get really bad.
HUAJIAO
(2,362 posts)Irish_Dem
(45,215 posts)What happens to a society when uncomfortable literature is banned?
What books are left to read?
Great literature builds character and moral views.
niyad
(112,066 posts)their frightened little world.
vapor2
(1,204 posts)niyad
(112,066 posts)CrispyQ
(36,112 posts)& may appeal to kids even more because of that.
niyad
(112,066 posts)Meowmee
(5,164 posts)Things are going to devolve here, and rapidly if the fascists take over. I am starting to get worried about us leaving in time since lots of time consuming things have to be done. And I have to get my cats out of here too.
niyad
(112,066 posts)Meowmee
(5,164 posts)Its terrible we have to worry about all of this.
niyad
(112,066 posts)even I, as cynical as I am, never imagined the magats and traitors.