Slate.com out-right stated that banned books no longer really happen. Here is their full article below: http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/culturebox/2015/09/banned_books_week_no_one_bans_books_anymore_and_censorship_of_books_is_incredibly.html
Book Riot, seriously one of my favorite book-addict sites, makes an excellent rebuttal: http://bookriot.com/2015/09/29/hey-slate-banned-books-week-isnt-crock/
Banned books are still very much alive and well. Slate stated that making a formal complaint classifies as a “challenged” book and not necessarily a big enough deal because someone could just buy it off of Amazon or something. But the idea that it is a book that has been denied free access, denied a chance to be in a public library for everyone to have a chance to read it for those who can’t afford to buy it or not able to travel to a “select library” is unconscionable.
Last year, a school district over an hour away from me was in a huge uprising about the book “The Miseducation of Cameron Post” by Emily M. Danforth. It was just a suggested book on the reading list but the story of the lesbian teen from Montana was deemed “inappropriate” and use of the “f-word.” Although I am sure the content itself was a factor. Because of this book, the school district had decided to ban the entire reading list for the curriculum, violating both the state laws and the district’s own policy.
Another school district, only a half-hour or less from me, has written up permission slips for parents to fill out if they don’t want their children to read a certain book. So much for a well-rounded and grounded education for those kids. For them to be raised to be taught about rape, homophobia, gang violence, or suicide and then try to go out into the real world??
I want to become a teen librarian to help get the right books to the right people (and not just because I can read young adult and get paid for it! lol). Teenagers are going through so much physically, mentally, and emotionally. Young adult books cater to those changes as a way for them to connect with personal issues, give assurance that they are not alone, and give awareness to the issues of the world at large.
So yes, Slate. Banned books are still happening. They may not reach the court rooms but they are the subject of school hearings, or dining room table lectures, or, I am sure, library board hearings. A library in Georgia banned the book “50 Shades of Grey” by E. L. James for its lewd content. While I don’t care for the book, once you start banning one, what stops people from banning another?
Like “The Giver” by Lois Lowry
Like “Persepolis” by Marjane Satrapi
Like “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee
I saw a copy of “Mein Kampf” by Adolf Hitler in my own library not too long ago. Let me tell you, it was a bit chilling and weird that we would have one. And not too far from the “Klingon to English Dictionary.” But you know what? I wouldn’t even support that ban because we need to know where our past has been in order to not make those same mistakes in the future. We need to keep the book to examine and maybe explain why it happened, make others aware that it happened, and that it never happens again. There are very very few Holocaust survivors left to tell their stories and soon we will have a generation of children who won’t fully understand or appreciate the strength of the human spirit and the horror of what a person can do to another.
We need our books to tell those stories. We need our books to bring to light these issues. We need to make these relevant and pass them on so that no one will have to wonder if anyone else is being bullied because they are gay. No one should have to wonder if they should talk to someone about killing themselves or just keep it all inside.
We need our banned books in our libraries. I am proud of being a library student and celebrating this week and for those readers curious about reading a book because it was challenged.
Read a banned book this week. Amidst all this haze of homework, I will definitely try. I will read it in the place of someone who is not able to. I am very lucky to have a library that carries banned books because some people don’t have that right.
