In favor of book banning

What are the pros and cons of banning books and how is it. The term heresy quickly comes to mind in the world of librarianship, but the story is much deeper than it first appears. Inappropriate the list including its title or description facilitates illegal activity, or contains hate speech or ad hominem attacks on a fellow goodreads member or author. The task of the platonic philosopher is to take up the ancient quarrel. In that case, the school board attempted to ban a number of books because they were antiamerican, antichristian, antisem itic, and just plain filthy, including titles such as slaughterhouse five, the naked ape, down these mean streets. Banned books are books or other printed works such as essays or plays which are prohibited by law or to which free access is not permitted by other means. Those surveyed were also largely in favor of shielding students from books containing witchcraft or sorcery 44 percent, sexual. You may not like something, but thats no reason to take it away from everyone. Below is a list of books that have been banned, along with the reasons cited for banning them. Republican presidential frontrunner donald trump has campaigned as an ardent advocate of expanding gun rights, but in the past he called for banning assault weapons and a longer waiting period for. And with this in mind, i present to you five better reasons not to ban books. Book censorship is the act of some authority taking measures to suppress ideas and information within a book. Book bannings on the rise in us schools, says anticensorship group this article is more than 6 years old the kids right to read project. Harper lees book has been challenged by black parents who object to the use of the word nigger.

The cons would be restricting the interests of othe. Tell your friends and neighbors in the community to join with you in speaking out. Last year, the ala recorded 347 reported book challenges in the united states, a 2. The ala has an entire week dedicated to the prevention of book banning. The supreme court set the standard for banning books in 1982 island trees school district v. September 2127 is banned books week, an annual event that highlights the freedom to read and the harms of censorship. In honor of banned books week, which ran for the last week of september, we thought that it would be interesting to take a look at the givers history of being on the bannedbooks list. Many tour players in favor of banning green books golf. While reading adventures of huckleberry finn in school, teachers often spend full class periods discussing a very important issue. Sherman alexie is the winner of the 2010 penfaulkner award, the 2007 national book award for young peoples literature, the 2001 penmalamud award for excellence in the short story, and a. Book banning has been defined down to mean making responsible decisions about what reading material is ageappropriate for school children.

Essay about banning books in schools 1066 words bartleby. In china, the qin dynasty 221206 bce was ushered in with a massive book burning during which most of the original copies of the classic works of confucious were destroyed. While many oppressive governments censor what their citizens can read, the u. To persuade my audience that book banning is uncalled for. Of course, the very fact that a book is on a banned book often makes kids want to read it and find out why. Abfe, which from its headquarters in white plains fights book banning across the country, keeps a list of books challenged each year by. Bookbanning arguments are heard the new york times. Though freedom of the press has grown significantly over the course of the twentieth century, book banning and related forms of. Why we want parents to try to ban books the atlantic. So really, what book banning and censorship are all aboutwithin both small communities and at larger, oftgovernmental levelsis personal opinions. Common reasons for banning books each book that is banned or censored is done so for the content within the pages. Book banning is a very real problem in society today. The pros would be limiting the distribution of the specific information detailed inside the books, but banning books doesnt do much to stop the spread of information once its already out there. The ala office for intellectual freedom has been collecting data on banned books since 1990.

Book banning, a form of censorship, occurs when private individuals, government officials, or organizations remove books from libraries, school reading lists, or bookstore shelves because they object to their content, ideas, or themes. Banned book week resources from the waterboro public library in east waterboro, maine banned books from the homework center at the multnomah county library in portland, oregon banned books and censorship a list of web sites that deal with book banning. The united states of america, a country touted with the legal ability to address and redress violation of free speech. When the han dynasty 206 bce220 ce took power, confucious came back into favor. Book banning would go on to have a long and troubled history in the socalled new world. Censors typically identify as either a concerned parent, community members who react to a text without reading, or local or national organizations. Those in favor of banning books for minors say that school administrators and librarians. Book banning hurting students by definition, a democratic society in america is a form of society which favors equal rights, freedom of speech and a fair trial and tolerates the views of minorities. Book banning has existed in america since colonial times, when legislatures and royal governors enacted laws against blasphemy and seditious libel. Censorship and book banning 1821 words 8 pages censorship cannot eliminate evil. Legislatures in the early american republic passed laws against obscenity.

How banning books marginalizes children the atlantic. It took a few years but in the end i became, and remain, a holoskeptic. Drama, a bestselling young adult graphic novel by raina telgemeier was. Plato on censoring artists a summary stephen hicks, ph. Incorrect book the list contains an incorrect book please specify the title of the book. There are a few common reasons that books have been banned or censored in schools, libraries, and book stores. Sherman alexie on book banning and censorship youtube. The practice of banning books is a form of censorship, from political, legal, religious, moral, or less often commercial motives. Censorship is the regulation of free speech and other forms of entrenched authority. In 2017, several books were challenged because of lgbtq content. In favor of banning books the blogosphere has been full of book banning memes all month, designed, so far as i can tell, as opportunities for bloggers to posture, to praise their favorite books, or if lucky, both.

Spam or selfpromotional the list is spam or selfpromotional. The history and present of banning books in america literary hub. The american library association ala has tracked book challenges, which are attempts to remove or restrict materials, since 1990. One banned book, a reader for writers, infuriated three board members originally because a selection in it had compared malcolm x favorable with the foundation fathers. Content labels, restricted access areas, and selfcensorship have all been on the rise since 2008, and in 2014, a group of childrens book authors started the we need diverse books campaign to.

This article lists notable banned books and works, giving a brief context for the reason that each. In tallahasse, fl, students put up flyers around the school calling attention to the definition of censorship after the schools principals kneejerk reaction to parental complaints about the. The american library associations office of intellectual freedom established banned books week in 1982 to promote awareness of challenges to library materials and celebrate freedom of. Book banning has been defined down to mean making responsible decisions about what reading material is ageappropriate for school. In my philosophy of art course, we are discussing platos philosophy of art, by means of selections from statesman and books 3 and 10 of the republic, along with snippets from ion, phaedrus, and symposium in the republic, plato makes a systematic case for censoring all arts. Even in the past few years, school libraries are attempting to ban books.

Book banning, the most widespread form of censorship, occurs when private. Book bannings on the rise in us schools, says anti. In the catcher in the rye, a high school student orders a prostitute to the manhattan hotel room where hes fled after being. By linda greenhouse, special to the new york times. How, one may ask, does such a seemingly primitive and authoritarian action exist in the context of the modern world, especially in a country such as the united states. I believed the official line until about 25 years ago when i began to notice things that didnt add up. Reasons for banning books banned books libguides at. I agree that not every single book is appropriate for an elementaryschool library, but its wrong to permanently ban books. Bookbanning now despite the lessons of the past, incidents of bookbanning have continued to the present. Reasons for banning books banned books libguides at butler.

The banning of book will not stop situations from existing it only will provide for the ignorance of people stemming from the ignorance of others. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Each year, the office compiles a list of the top 10 most frequently challenged books. The books on the ala list should make more than 2,000 parents nervous. All students are entitled to intellectual freedom and by banning certain books in schools, the school system and parents are putting students at a. Not even because the number one most challenged text is a book called ttyl, which is written entirely in text messagespeak, and therefore. Book banning is the act of having books removed from a library or bookstore so that no one can have access to it because one person or group objects to the book for some reason. The book was restored following this effective grassroots effort. We believe americans have the right to buy, stores have the right to sell, authors have the right to write and publishers have the right to publish constitutionally protected material.