Banned Books Week 2022....
I thought I would post a pic of one of my libraries where they had an AWESOME Banned Books display but alas, I did not have my phone with me (it was plugged in my car, because I was using the GPS) but it was something like this: the books in the bottom of the display all had ribbons around them that said: verboten! or prohibido! or prohibited! in black block letters. You could not miss it. The books on the top of the display had page markers that were little flames: yellow, orange, red...
The library has three big columns and in each one there was a banner hanging: Banner one: Banned. Banner two: Books. Banner three: Week. And all the banners were burned and charred at the bottom. I got chills. Bradbury would have approved. I promptly got two of the banned books and took them home with me. Because that's the best response to Banned Books Week: reading those books.
What Beau says is true: our knee jerk reaction is to call these people who have tried to ban thousands of titles and authors bigots is way too easy. They are more than bigots, because their excuse to ban the books is indefensible: they don't want their spawn to read them and learn about people of color and LGBTQ people because those are not their 'values'.
Among the 1,648 unique titles in the Index,
674 titles (41 percent) explicitly address LGBTQ+ themes or have protagonists or prominent secondary characters who are LGBTQ+ (this includes a specific subset of titles for transgender characters or stories—145 titles, or 9 percent);
659 titles (40 percent) contain protagonists or prominent secondary characters of color;
338 titles (21 percent) directly address issues of race and racism;
357 titles (22 percent) contain sexual content of varying kinds, including novels with some level of description of sexual experiences of teenagers, stories about teen pregnancy, sexual assault and abortion as well as informational books about puberty, sex, or relationships;
161 titles (10 percent) have themes related to rights and activism;
141 titles (9 percent) are either biography, autobiography, or memoir; and
64 titles (4 percent) include characters and stories that reflect religious minorities, such as Jewish, Muslim and other faith traditions.
It's very simple: it's easier to control their children if their children don't know they've been controlled. Knowledge, my dears. Is a deadly weapon against bigotry. These people are scared about what their children will learn: they will be unmasked as horrible human beings. Which they ARE.
So go ahead, check out the list and buy or borrow one (or two, or three) of the Banned Books. Someplace in Texas, a bigot is crying in his oatmeal right about now...
XOXO
P.S.: it's the same old usual suspects what they want to prevent their children to learn about:
“Banning books is just one arm of a larger, organized campaign to target and harass LGBTQ youth nationwide,” Ellis said. “There’s no separating book bans from ‘Don’t Say Gay’ laws, attacks on healthcare and sports for trans youth, and the hundreds of other bills and policies that put LGBTQ youth at the center of a target built by extremist groups and politicians. Everyone deserves to see themselves represented in books and other forms of media, and the targeting of LGBTQ youth through book bans and other anti-LGBTQ school policies must end.”
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That sounds like a wonderful display at your library! Very visually effective.
ReplyDeleteOh, they got their references right!
DeleteLove me a good librarian. I wonder how many people just walk by the display though...
XOXO
Nice to see that South Carolina is not a huge book banning state ... as of now.
ReplyDeleteI have been reading lots about banned books, and then buying banned books to read.
And speaking out about it because a lot of people don't seem to think it's an issue.
It's always good confirm that it's not as bad as we thought.
DeleteIt's Texas and Floriduh. But it's still 'the south' and they're pretty conservative. I also borrow (so the libraries get the movement) and buy banned books every year. And you would be surprised how many people do NOT know about it.
XOXO
What surprises me is the Great Plains. South Dakota is practically the Mississippi of the west.
DeleteBig says,
ReplyDelete...and the parents can't answer those questions because they themselves are ignorant. Banning books, music, films, artwork, or any other means of expression is because they fear that particular expression. It's not only the right-wing Repukes doing it, either. There are plenty of left-wing libs doing it too with the whole "woke" movement, as they try to silence those they don't agree with (i.e., getting University speakers canceled, getting professors silenced or fired, getting actors fired from roles)....Fight against banned books. Fight against banning anything! XOXO
Oh, Big
DeleteIgnorance is not a bug for them, it's ingrained. And it all comes down to fear: fear that their children are shaken out of their indoctrination. It's pathetic. The difference with 'wokeness' it's that it's not lack of conversation or knowledge, it's the calling a bigot a bigot. I don't consider having a bigot outside of a free speech circle in a college canceled censorship. Higher education is no place for hatred. If an actor is a homophobic, sexist, white supremacist pig he should be fired. That's apples and oranges with banned books.
XOXO
Big says,
DeleteOh, I didn't mean homophobic, sexist, white supremacists. Those should be called out regardless of their profession. I meant actors like Eddie Redmayne, who has been made to feel like a real shithead for accepting a film role. Comics who have had their appearances canceled because some folks didn't like their brand of comedy. XOXO
Just mention anyone whose opinions on the Middle East are left of the ayatollahs (or they just don't feel qualified to speak). When and why tankies became buddy-buddy with right-wing theocrats is debatable, but BDS types are now assaulting Jewish students on campus.
DeleteHuntleyBiGuy:
ReplyDeleteAnd it’s not just relatively recent titles that are getting banned. To Kill a Mockingbird and Huckleberry Finn are also banned in quite a few places. And so is the Harry Potter series (WITCHCRAFT!).
Yes, they get banned out of ignorance and the propagation of said ignorance. And as you said, that’s how you control a population.
XOXO 👨🏼❤️💋👨🏽
They're banning anything and everything that does not conform to THEIR view of the world.
DeleteIt's a desperate attempt to avoid seeing their world as it is . And they want their children to have the same views. Being ignorant is their badge of honor. I've seen it. And yep, it's all about control.
XOXO
These people get on my nerves. Do they think banning books eill actually stop people from reading them and getting them??? And let's be honest....if everytime someone is insulted or upset by the content...of a book or movie or show....we wouldn't be reading anything and viewing any movies or shows.
ReplyDeleteIt's simple. You don't like what you read or view...then don't read it or watch. But nobody said they were the brightest.
Oh, they do.
DeleteThey do think that because they're banning those books their children will never read them. But these are very specific: these books go against white supremacy and homophobia, and xenophobia. That's the bread and butter of the conservatives in the United States.
And how dare you use logic with the bigots?? Nope, not the brightest.
XOXO
Except the best reason many have to read a banned book is because it's banned. Dummies.
ReplyDeleteHeh
DeleteI know right? It's the reason I have a list of banned books I take out of the library every year. But I'm an adult (mostly) so I don't count. Their campaign is to keep their youth as ignorant as possible. It's easier then to manipulate them. It's evil and simple.
XOXO
Rather surprised Minnesota has banned any books. I must do some research. As for Texas... please sucede already. History will bury that state. I mean, what kind of accolade is it to be considered worse than Mississippi? And Florida... talk about a horrid state of affairs. Thanks for sharing the info, hon. Kizzes.
ReplyDeleteSo what you're saying is, if at first you don't secede, try, try again.
DeleteImho, they make those banned books even more interesting and arouse curiosity to read them.
ReplyDelete