We have frequently discussed the tragedy of the small minded-fools who are squalling around school boards to ban books. It is literally a tragedy to let these kinds of people make any decisions for all of us. It is a tragedy to allow these people to pull books out of the hands of the majority of us. It is a tragedy to stop people from the opportunity to grow, to learn about others, to develop empathy, to make choices about their reading and the things they want.
It’s pathetic.
Check out this excerpt from an article about the view of some of the high school students who are affected by the actions of these foolish little people. You can read the whole thing here.
What Students Are Saying About Banning Books From School Libraries
Teenagers share their nuanced views on the various book banning efforts spreading across the country.
“In the article “Book Ban Efforts Spread Across the U.S.,” Elizabeth A. Harris and Alexandra Alter write about the growing trend of parents, political activists, school board officials and lawmakers arguing that some books do not belong in school libraries.
As we regularly do when The Times reports on an issue that touches the lives of teenagers, we used our daily Student Opinion forum to ask teenagers to share their perspectives. The overwhelming majority of students were opposed to book bans in any form, although their reasons and opinions were varied and nuanced. They argued that young people have the right to read unsanitized versions of history, that diverse books expose them to a variety of experiences and perspectives, that controversial literature helps them to think critically about the world, and that, in the age of the internet, book bans just aren’t that effective. Below, you can read some of their comments organized by theme.”
The themes, from students across the country:
- It’s Wrong to Shield Kids From Reality.
- Books Are Meant to Challenge and Educate.
- Limiting Books Students Can Read Also Limits Perspectives Students Need to Access.
- Book Bans Aren’t Effective. There Are Better Ways to Handle Sensitive Subjects.
- Parents and Lawmakers Deciding What Students Should Read Is a Slippery Slope.
- Banning Books Limits Thinking.
- Book Banning Is a Form of Discrimination.
The thing that drives me the craziest about this stupidity is that the politicians and other “influencers” who are pushing this know it’s stupid. They know how dumb all of this is. But they also know that it’s hard to do good things. It’s hard to solve problems. It’s a lot of work to encourage people to work for their best interests, to encourage people to think of others as they would think of themselves.
They know it’s so much easier to whip up people’s fears and making them upset and angry. They know they are doing this on purpose. They know it’s a dumb thing. But it’s so much easier to push people into being upset and angry than to actually solve problems.
The next time you hear some wingnut squalling to have books yanked away from a library – remember: They are doing this to avoid doing work. Look around at what they should be doing, and know what absolute pathetic losers they are to pull this kind of thing instead of doing real work. Never vote for a loser. Never support a loser with your money, your time, and your attention.
Pathetic.