You Can’t Read That
“The books are to remind us of what asses and fools we are.” — Ray Bradbury
It always starts easily enough. A concerned citizen sent a list of 60 books that she found objectionable. These books should be removed from the public library. At least that is how everything got started in Llano County. It ended up turning into a federal lawsuit.
In the meantime, a librarian was caught in the crossfire as they usually are. She was fired when she refused to remove books from the shelves. A secret cabal of concerned citizens bandied together to come up with the list of books that should be removed. The same librarian caused a stir when she attended the meeting. Obviously, she wasn’t supposed to be there.
Why should she be there? The meeting only concerned the books that would be on the shelf in her library. Again, I would have to repeat that we aren’t talking about school libraries here. We’ve already seen enough stories about districts (Katy, cough) that have tried to censor what their students can read. Now, we are going after the adults.
One of the groups most effected is a group you wouldn’t think would be effected. The group that is the most up in arms in Llano County are the senior residents there. Many of them have taken up electronic books because they are not as mobile as they used to be and can’t necessarily make it to the physical branch. Many of these titles have been wiped off of the electronic catalog.
I still remember battling with my parents over technology. Simple word processing and spreadsheet tasks were a nightmare. I remember when my mother first got one of those Nooks from Barnes and Noble. She was reluctant at first, but now she hardly ever puts it down. She can purchase new titles for pennies online and at Itunes. I could just imagine if her favorite author was removed from the list.
These things are very simple. If you have to meet in secret to do anything then there is something rotten in Denmark. I won’t say that you are definitely on the wrong side, but chances are pretty good that you are. Anything that you want to do in private should be able to be done in public. It really is that simple.
ANYONE who tries to censor ANYTHING is an evil pile of waste material.
1Anyone can change the channel or read a different book.
What about the CHILDREN!!!!! They scream. Well you can hear worse stuff being discussed on the play ground!!!
“No girl was ever ruined by a book.”–NYC Mayor Jimmy Walker
2Affected.
3I think these folks should be required to read the book and then do a report on it in public explaining, from their own reading, why a book doesn’t belong in the library and then be ready to take questions. Too many of these lists are acquired from online crazies with no idea what the book is about, literally or the book metaphors. I hope the Houston library doesn’t go down that rabbit hole!
4I remember in the early 90s when a colleague tried to have Madonna’s “Sex” banned from the college library. He said there was no reason to have “such filth” in a largely technical college library. I wasn’t a much of a fan myself (of the singer or book) but like the rest of the faculty considered this guy a nut (he dressed up in blinking lights for Halloween while teaching nuclear chemistry) Faculty and students stood firmly behind the librarian. He may have moved it out of the main stacks but it wasn’t removed completely and may still be there for all I know.
5Qcumber conservatives are once again taking their ‘logic’ to reading material. They are beyond tiresome and irksome. What is so difficult to admit if they don’t like abortion, then don’t have one? Similarly same-sex marriage, etc. If you don’t like a book, then don’t read it.
We enjoy some music and comedians more than others. It’s called taste. It is NOT a right to deprive others of something they enjoy.
6I can find plenty of excerpts from the King James Bible that if they appeared in any other book would be the kind of thing those people might want to see banned:
The phrase “pisseth against the wall” appears six times in the King James bible.
Then there is “waste his seed on the ground”.
“And I took hold of my concubine and cut her in pieces and sent her throughout the land of Israel’s inheritance; for they have committed a lewd and disgraceful act in Israel.”
“Here is my virgin daughter and his concubine. Please let me bring them out that you may ravish them and do to them whatever you wish. But do not commit such an act of folly against this man.” But the men would not listen to him. So the man seized his concubine and brought her out to them; and they raped her and abused her all night until morning, then let her go at the approach of dawn.”
When I was in my late pre-teens we boys used to search
7the Bible for such passages.
Librarians are agile too! The Brooklyn Public Library is making available e-library cards to teenagers nationwide in order to challenge book bans.
https://lithub.com/the-brooklyn-public-library-is-giving-ecards-to-teens-nationwide-to-challenge-book-bans
8This may be a bit off topic, but repubs won’t allow truthful reading materials into libraries if it is outside their agenda or makes them uncomfortable or guilty. But they will provide their followers with widely debunked and false conspiracy materials because it does fit their agenda and narrative. This Pro Publica article talks about their secret meetings to build the false narrative about 2020 election fraud and support the Jan 6 insurrection. And 2/3 of repugnanticans are convinced it’s true.
9Good article:
https://www.propublica.org/article/big-lie-trump-stolen-election-inside-creation
The pioneer original European settlers of Central Texas’ Llano County, primarily the Adelsverein beginning ~1842, [predominantly German freethinkers], are probably spinning in their graves now, considering that their descendants have devolved into mindless MAGAots.
They were generally non-Confederates and many were killed and oppressed by the Texass Rebs during the Civil War.
Llano’s voting pattern is pretty much like most rural Texas counties, about 80%+ Rethuglikan [just like mine].
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Llano_County,_Texas
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adelsverein
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin_Settlement
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forty-Eighters
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freethought#United_States
[one of my closest neighbors has the surname of one of the more well-known emigrants [minus the “Von”]]
Sounds a bit familiar, but this is from 1854, The Texas State Convention of Germans:
“…meet in San Antonio and adopt a political, social and religious platform, including:
1) Equal pay for equal work;
2) Direct election of the President of the United States;
3) Abolition of capital punishment;
4) “Slavery is an evil, the abolition of which is a requirement of democratic principles..”;
5) Free schools – including universities – supported by the state, without religious influence; and
6) Total separation of church and state.[13]…”
The more things change, the more they stay the same…
10The children must NOT know what a man and a woman looks like .
11Have any of these jokers read the bible. IIRC, it has incest and proposed genocide in it.
12Has anyone ever heard of The Index? Its the list of books banned by the Vatican. Just one problem. They are availabale at various places that are very accessible. I should know!
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