if books are censored, do books on govt's censoring books get censored?

[212demop]

Talk of Catcher in the Rye, and an Al. rep seeking bans from libraries of gay-themed books, leads to this question- to cover it's tracks, must books about nihilstic book burning govt's also be banned by the Bushies if the others are? Ie: Fahrenheit 451.

What larger implications are there for all lit and political writing if that happens? Is any of this realistic or too over the top even for the Bush crime family?

Discuss.

http://www.google.com/search?q=Alabama+book+gay&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

[murielm99]

1. If books are censored,

the banned titles will be all the more coveted.

Just think...people would be passing around battered copies of Catcher in the Rye, and other things. They might even have clandestine discussion groups. A few people might actually get an education.

I don't want to see books banned. But who knows what they will get away with?

They seem to be saying that public money should not be spent for certain books. Well, we can always donate those titles.

[neweurope]

2. "Well, we can always donate those titles." I think not.

Because I think this is only a first step. Wake up, please wake up.

Protest. Do something. They won't be contend with that. There'll be more to follow.

And: Those who burn books burn people. Or bury them, in this case. That's not just a saying. That's a saying that has been proven to be true.

[212demop]

3. That seems like a romantic view of it, but the guy is talking about

taking these books out of the libraries and schools, making them inaccessible to people who can't spend money necessarily on educating themselves. The libraries belong to all of us. They are entitled to freely educate themselves whether they pick up crap like Lynn Cheyney's Sisters (which is on the banned list) or As You Like It.

The thought of covert groups meeting under cover of darkness for the sake of self edification is not a place we want to go to in a free society. That's the stuff of some Doystoyevskey nightmare. Don't glorify it.

[atommom]

5. Even if we did donate those titles, the libraries would not

risk adding them to their circulating collection. Libraries' funding is very vulnerable, and though librarians are generally not in favor of banning books, they have to be realistic about the consequences of putting banned books into their collection. Neocons can be pretty savage about things like that. :(

[212demop]

6. Well, if this guy had his bill passed it would be ILEGAl to put those book

on their shelves- I don't know what the repercussions would be if librarians disobeyed and snuck volumes on their shelves. It might be worse than losing funding. Library doors might be closed indefinitely. Certainly librarians would be fired immediately for violating these laws.

Police state anyone?

[Willy Lee]

4. Yes, it is called DOUBLETHINK!!

eom