Banning Books
There is a plaza in Berlin now called the Bebelplatz. When it was constructed in the mid-1700s, it was known as the Opernplatz, because the State Opera house is on the plaza’s east side, but that is not why it’s famous. I visited here a few years ago, not to see the opera, but for another important reason. In May of 1933 this was the location where ritual book burnings began in Germany, led by the German Students Association, which, along with the Hitler Youth, the SS, and the SA (Brownshirts) were groups that grew out of the National Socialist German Workers’ (Nazi) Party. The ritual burning on May 10th followed an inflammatory speech by Josef Goebbels, Hitler’s head of propaganda.
On the first night, 20,000 books from the library of the Institut für Sexualwissenschaft (Institute of Sex Research) were burned. On other nights, thousands of other “unGerman” books, written primarily by Jewish authors, were burned on the plaza. One of those authors was Albert Einstein.
On the site of those book burnings is a memorial that sits in the plaza. Called The Empty Library, it’s a 16′ by 16′ below ground room surrounded by empty bookshelves that would hold the 20,000 books burned on that first night. The ceiling is a glass panel so you can see it from the plaza above. It is impressive.
If I could, I would charter an airliner from Texas to Berlin and put all the book banners on it, including Greg Abbott all the way down to that Little Shit Matt Krause (who briefly ran for Texas AG against a rogue’s gallery of weirdos trying to unseat Indicted for Fraud and Insurrectionist Ken Paxton). It’s Krause who compiled a list of 850 books he wants banned from Texas schools which includes books by Pulitzer Prize winners. These clowns need to see where their politics is going.
Texas has been under the control of Republicans since 1997 and the results are exactly what one would expect of a system rotten to the core like ours. Wedge issues designed to keep the base stirred up are now fed in a continuous stream including the normal guns, God, gays, school vouchers, abortion, non-existent voter fraud, immigration, and all people not white. The latest is now CRT, mandates, science, and books. If you listen closely, you can hear the voice of Josef Goebbels and Adolf Hitler in the words of book banners. The language of these wedge issues eerily echoes their language as they took over the German government and started killing what would end up being millions of innocents they deemed to be “unGerman” and unacceptable.
There is a plaque at The Empty Library that is inscribed, “Where they burn books, so too will they in the end burn human beings”. Inspiringly, Texas students are not taking this latest move by finger wagging book banners. Last week at a meeting of the Granbury ISD outside of Fort Worth, a high school junior told the panel,
“No government — and public school is an extension of government — has ever banned books and banned information from its public and been remembered in history as the good guys.”
Couldn’t have said it better myself.
Wish Texastan would succeed then go quickly bankrupt, and taken over.
1Unfair that Texas is blessed with both Ted Cruz and Dan Patrick. I offered to share them, in any proportion, with friends Tom and Judi up in Idyho, but they mocked me, saying Texas is second only to the potato state in abysmal stupidity.
El Jefe is too correct, yet appreciated. Since we have shown we will vote, they have countered with “Ok, you may vote, but we don’t have to count your votes.”
Snidely Whiplash would scowl and say, “Curses! Foiled again,” only he looks too much like Cancun Cruz to allow the opportunity.
I mistakenly lauded the future, assuring others the day of freedom would come when my generation of segregationists died out, but alas I was wrong again as I had mis-reasoned, not predicting the bums would teach their children to hate.
“Curses…”
2This just happened in Tennessee.
3https://www.nashvillescene.com/news/pithinthewind/theyre-burning-books-in-tennessee/article_1f8c631e-850f-11ec-bc9f-dbd44d7e14d7.html
Students can get banned information, banned books and porn much easier and quicker by cell phone than at a school library…just sayin’.
I read that Amazon has a waiting list for Maus, 1984, amd Fahrenheit 45.
Book burnings give me chills when I think of the genocide of millions that followed.
Daniel @ 2
4May lightning strikes, natural causes, and freak accidents will happen to the current elected racist, fascist bass turds. Soon.
Oops… Supposed to be “Fahrenheit 451”.
5Dang, I need more coffee.
Should read: “May lightning strikes, natural causes, and freak accidents happen to the current elected racist, fascist bass turds.”
6The pre WWII Germans persecuted Jews, which included their top physicists.
Republicans have convinced their base that scientists in general, medical, environmental, archeologists, climatologists, are the enemy. Those who don’t learn from history… because they’ve burned the books…
7Talking about cancel culture. Repugnanticans constantly call out Democrats for cancel culture, but the right wingnuts are really the practitioners of cancel culture. All the wedge issues mentioned in the article are really about silencing reality and truth. I’m trying to remember the last time repugnanticans mentioned anything about helping people. Instead they only spend their time trying to justify and rationalize the criminals in their own house.
8I’m moderately encouraged by the immediate reactions to the book burners — high school book clubs to read banned books, students showing up to school board meetings to shame those critics of school textbooks and library holdings, and a rising tide of recognition of what the RWNJs are trying to accomplish.
Republicans pushing the issues are rousing the opposition and energizing organizations and campaigns that will impact the midterms.
The national news covers the Republican efforts to name Cheney and Kinzinger as heretics, to justify “legitimate political discourse,” and (soon) tell the whole tale of Trump’s effort to carry out a coup. State and local news continues to show Republicans violating the existing laws on election security and working to write new laws to enhance their chances in future elections.
With all of the reasons for outrage, I’m starting to believe the 2022 midterms may see another surge in participation. And when more people vote, fewer Republicans win.
9First, last and always ban kristian bibbles!
10Thanks El Jefe, great info!
But…”These clowns need to see where their politics is going.”
They DO know! And that’s the problem. Doesn’t get any clearer then this …
Powell Memo https://www.alternet.org/2018/01/time-overthrow-kings/
Dismantling the Fairness Doctrine
Dismantling the Voting Rights Act
Citizens United Ruling
Invading Iraq for the Oil
Attacking our National Security
(“I was an undercover CIA operative. My assignment was preventing rogue states and terrorists from getting nuclear weapons. You name a hot spot, I lived it. [images of Iran, Iraq, Syria, Pakistan and North Korea] Then Dick Cheney’s chief of staff took revenge against my husband and leaked my identity. His name: Scooter Libby. Guess who pardoned him last year? [image of President Trump]”
— Valerie Plame, voice-over in a video ad, released Sept. 9, 2019)
Stealing Supreme Court Justice seats
11Benghazi!!!
Obama’s Birth Certificate
Insurrection – trying to overthrow our Government
Etc, etc, etc,
And then they banned the internet.
12lex, holy s**t thanks for the link to that AlterNet story. IMHO, that’s exactly the kinda thing we need to remind each other of occasionally. Because just keeping straight the sheer. continuous. avalanche. of bullshit is exhausting.
Which is the point of the story.
Ormond, I know whatcha mean buddy.
13On January 6th I asked in here how long it’d be before CNN and MSNBC went black, pretty early on in the UnAmerican festivities.
I was mostly joking.
Mostly.
P. P. @13 Your welcome!
Powell outlined a blueprint on how Conservatives can forever dominate Liberalism and keep complete control of our Democracy. They have been implementing it over the years to perfection.
From the above link …
“Powell then went on to advocate that same system used for the monitoring of college textbooks be applied to television and radio networks. “This applies not merely to so-called educational programs…but to the daily ‘news analysis’ which so often includes the most insidious type of criticism of the enterprise system.”
Another good link, https://www.whitehouse.senate.gov/news/speeches/the-scheme-1-the-powell-memo
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