Today's conspiracy
 

AHA ! I beat you....:lol:

Honestly, do they still do this ?

http://calgary.ctv.ca/servlet/RTGAMA...calgary.ctv.ca

Lol

Rediculous! Its a book!

Sounds like a good book too......so much for freedom of speech

It is an interesting read for sure.

I don't get why people ban books, if you want to learn about something you will find a way. Even if its about a particular book and how it challenges something in society its a good thing. People need to learn that there are dissenting opinions out there. By having books, such as these, it teaches people to make a choice either to stand up for what they believe in, or to consider alternative possiblities.

Obviously you haven't met my mother :-)

Not to mention the Harry Potter books....

I think the whole Harry Potter thing was silly as well. Then again I'm very liberal when it comes to things like books.

Does anyone know anything about Groupthink? When I hear things about books being banned I always think about Groupthink. The the idea behind it is that there is a tendancy for all members in a small, close-know group to think alike, an to discourage dissent or disagreement among themselves and from outsiders.

Should I fear your mother? I wonder if she is like my Mum?

What other books have recently been banned? I remember Payton Place was once banned, but that was in the 50s or 60s I believe.

One of the clips I seen on the issue wasn't so much the book itself but the author was an atheist so on that alone the book should be banned from schools and the movie boycotted.

I would imagine Davinci Code was probably banned too. I don't remember. If it wasn't banned I'm sure they wanted to.

They're banning all the good books.

To Kill A Mockingbird - due to the N word I believe (though back when the book was based, the N word was common)
Of Mice and Men - same issue I believe


IIRC, most Stephen King and Anne Rice books have been removed, I remember hearing about R L Stine books (Goosebumps) being removed. Too bad too, because I used to love Goosebumps books as a kid. :lol: SK and AR write good books too!

here's a good site with a downloadable PDF of banned/challenged books. I'm 22 and I've read the majority of the books on the list, some of them even when I was in school. :wink:

*ETA* Not all the banned books are listed. It's not the list I read through awhile ago, but it has plenty from the list I'm thinking of.

here's another list

She puts the "C" in Conservative!

But here's the rub: books that contain magic or evil characters are often banned and/or protested. But J.R.R. Tolkien's books have been widely accepted, despite the fact that his depictions of evil and magic are as intense and graphic as anyone's. Same with C.S. Lewis' children's fiction. Why? Simply because they were both Christians.

I hope this doesn't turn into a religious discussion, because I'm pretty sure that's not allowed...lol. But I just think it's interesting.

Even though I have never met your mother I already have a fear. The C in conservative is a frightening though.

Its all about the politics I guess. It doesn't matter how far things are from reality, or how good the story really is, it often seems to be about who wrote it as being the deciding factor more so then what the book actually contains.

Some of the reasons for people wanting to challenge or ban a book come off as a bit odd...

JRR Tolkeins books have been banned in some places.

Yes, sure. But more *widely accepted*....

I dont see the problem with this. Its a private school and they have decided that it wont be offered in their library. They havent said that parents cant allow their children to read this book. They havent said they will be excomunicated if they read it and condemed to an eternity in the bowels of earth and all that other mumbo jumbo crap. The funny part...Im against all organised religion and Im defending them......never mind.

Scott

I guess since I grew up surrounded by that mentality, I have a big problem with it. It's the type of thinking that doesn't allow people the choice to decide what is right or wrong for them. Granted, we shouldn't let kids run around with crack pipes and whiskey....just so they can decide. But, literature that presents some contrasting ideas is fairly innocuous. Or should be.

It's biggest than just this one school though and the article at the start implies such. Maybe I'm expanding the original post but shows the power of a small vocal conservative group and how their views cross borders.

This form of power might be a good thing say for world peace but when it takes an oppressionist slant I shake my head.

But it does give people the right to choose. Go home and get your parents to buy the book for you or go to the public library and check the book out. The more religious zealots make a big deal about books like this the more copies of the book are sold.

This is not just a school....its a private school. If this were a non-religious private school would it be getting the same attention?

Scott

I haven't read the book,so I don't know how far the ideas slant from Christianity.But the article refers to not just a Christian school,but a school from a particular sect of Christianity,Catholicism.Keeping that in mind,I can see why they would ban the book from the library,or ban the teachers from using it for a class project.As it has nothing to do with Catholicism.But not an outright ban,as in confiscation if brought into the school by a pupil to read during spare time.
If on the other hand this was happening in a public school(banning),I think we would all have a reason to be concerned about which direction our children are being brain washed...Oh sorry guided.

...

I personally think banning books is ridiculous and somewhat pointless. There was many books (Stephen King, RL Stine, Ann Rice, VC Andrews) I wasn't supposed to read when I was younger but I always found a way to get a hold of them and read them aways. I think weather a book is banned or not if a person wants to read it they'll find a way to do so.

I agree fishaholic!

I have all the VC Andrews books. Started reading them in 7th grade ('97 for me) and have bought all of them since. I can see why some of them were banned, but it's not like banning them will solve the problem.

I personally don't see the problem with the classics like Huckleberry Finn, Tom Sawyer, Of Mice and Men, To Kill A Mockingbird. Sure they use racist language and what have you, but when taken in context of when they were written, that's just the way life was. Hell, I heard that A Scarlet Letter was banned too.

IMO, it's stupid.

Not to deviate from the topic but...

It is interesting to note that many of the same people who would protest the loudest about banning thought (not anyone here of course) would also claim that the debate on global warming is over and won't entertain the notion of using nuclear powerplants. It's funny how we all seem to have our blind spots.