I’m too busy being righteous to read!
Chicago Sun-Times – May 22, 2006:
A northwest suburban high school board member seeks to ban seven books from classroom use because she thinks the profanity, depiction of graphic sex, and drug and abortion references in the literature are inappropriate for teenagers.
Leslie Pinney admits she only read passages of the controversial selections, including Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five and Toni Morrison’s Beloved, which were on the American Library Association’s 100 most challenged books list between 1990 and 2000.
But Pinney said perusing the questionable parts of the books made it clear they weren’t suitable for children and should be taken off Township High School District 214’s proposed required reading list next year.
Nazis. Fucking Nazis.
My local library had a very cool display of Banned Books. they said THESE ARE BANNED. They had circle a circle and cross through them.
They did this to make kids actually read them. And yes they were telling kids to read books with graphic sex.
Books are literature, not a movie with some guy stoned fucking some random chick. Books tell a real story..
When books go from required reading to being banned something is wrong.
God forbid our kids be exposed to reality.
Oh wait, that’s really her? I thought that was Rosie O’Donnell.
I was required to read Slaughterhouse-Five in High School… A Catholic High School…
Some people need to get a life – or read more. Leave it up to the parents. Gosh how I hate the liberal left making it the school’s responsibility to parent a child. I wonder what this bozo’s political leanings are. My bet is republican, which, if so, is a shame. But it wouldn’t surprise me if she were a Kerry Dem. Now wouldn’t that be ironic!
Slaughterhouse-Five!?!?!?!?!?!?
For cryin’ out loud. Why don’t these people get a grip. I suppose “A Catcher In The Rye” is on this list too.
These religo-facist zombies should just keep to themselves, instead of imposing their narrow beliefs on everyone.
Ignorant people like her ruin our children for the future. Heaven forbid our kids learn to having sex from words. She hasn’t even read any of the books, just pessages?!?!?!?! I guess if I could choose to read the words that I want to read only, I could make it up to be anything I want.
I don’t see religion mentioned anywhere in this article, Roc. Facist zombies sounds more accurate according to the info given in the article.
The bible has graphic depictions of sex and violence, I wonder if she wants that banned to?
A bit porcine she is.
I think her comment about the books being unsuitable to “children” says it all.
if you click on her picture it takes you to the page showing all of the other board members, i love how it shows their service dates being from 2005-2009 and other such variations. seems like there is nothing that can be done to oust these whackjobs from their positions once elected if they are going to be so pretentious to post future dates for the service terms.
Its amazing that …
Listening to OTHERS about what I’ shouldn’t read, makes a VERY short list of books to read.
Iv read many authors, that I didnt know, because I ran out of books I DID know. And found some great stuff.
According to many, I shouldnt read ‘Harry Potter’, but its a great read.
How about the Shadowrun series. Magic, Chaos, corporate monarchy, killing murder, and a small amount of sex, and Racism(orcs, ya know).
I would LOVe to see what they think of the REAL brothers GRIMM…Murder, mayham, and sex…
that lady needs to move to kansas, then she’d be right at home with those other “right-wing-minded” bozos
Why would she bother to read them? A brain like she probably has would simply implode trying to get through the meanings in one tiny sentence by Vonnegut, much less an entire book.
Maybe Billy Pilgrim will take her away to be observed by aliens…
You know i’ve only read portions of this “Bible” thingy but that’s just filled violence and sex. Maybe we should ban those too. Just for safety’s sake.
Won’t someone think of the fucking children?
My question is: why does most of school board look too old to have kids in school?
Reminds me of a joke. A new arrival to heaven was being shown around, and inquired about a large walled in area. The angel guide whispered, “Shhh, that’s the Baptists. They think they’re the only ones up here”.
I’m sure I just pissed someone off, but it’s just a joke. These religious threads needs a bit of levity for balance.
Why just ban them? Maybe we should just burn all books.. Except the Bible of course..
Are people jumping to conclusions? Holey moley.
I’m against people trying to ban -most- books for public consumption, but the article said she wanted them -removed- from the district’s REQUIRED reading list. Not banned, set ablaze in a book-burning festival, or spanking teenagers found with those books on campus.
If the list is finite in #, I’m sure there are a vast # of other books that would be more valuable from a literary point of view.
p.s. For sure, Vonnegut’s Breakfast of Champions should not be REQUIRED reading either. I found it funny as all heck, but my God the illustrations alone would be considered porno in high school, and you can’t exactly bring a Playboy into school… (or can you?)
(donning flame suit now)
People who try to limit access to ideas they don’t like either a) don’t believe that people are capable of making good informed decisions, or b) believe that they are capable but will not choose the censor’s preferred ideas because they are weaker. (Perhaps I have missed a possibility? Fill me in.)
If the censor is trying to limit the access or exposure that adults have to some kind of ideas, I cry “foul” every time. But are children (say, under 10) fundamentally different? Maybe. I am curious to hear people’s opinions about preventing kids from coming into contact with certain ideas. What categories of ideas are always dangerous? At what age should that “protection” end? Does censorship aimed at kids put those kids more at risk by stunting their intellectual development?
Some of those books should not be read by children. I wouldn’t have my children read Schindler’s List. Children do not have the maturity level and sense of perspective to read such books. (I wouldn’t ban them; just suggest they aren’t appropriate.)
Teenagers are NOT children. They are between childhood and adulthood. This is the time they need to start being exposed to more adult themes. They need to start being instroduced the things are not always black and white, that sometimes stories don’t end with “… and they lived happily ever after… The End.” That there is evil in the world and good. (eg Schindler’s List certainly has both) That there is disturbing racism (Huckleberry Finn), but it is appropriate to understand these things.
Most people on school boards aren’t sophisticated enough to read the recommended reading list. (which is why they want to ban them from the reading list, because they don’t understand them.) If they don’t want their children reading those books that’s fine. There are plenty of “safe” books on the list.
To clarify a previous post: This women is a board member of a high school, yet both she and most the comments are referring to “children.” The real nut of the issue, I think, is that she wants to censor books from young men and women. Censoring books from young children may be a different matter. The change in language is very important: It highlights the slippery slope that she is on but doesn’t recognize.
Ignorant people making ignorant comments and decisions…
This is the downfall of this country…
“They” have been trying to ban Slaughterhouse 5 since it was first published, and that book should be read by everyone old enough to understand death and tragic loss.
Wow, just wow…
While I am against censorship… I think that with themes invoked in Slaughter House 5, a valid case for censorship in public schools can be made.
Just to be fair, if schools are going to prohibit teaching creationism and the bible in class, rightfully so, then shouldn’t anti-christian works be banned also? Iirc, Slaughterhouse 5 has many anti-christian themes in it.
I guess it is too bad this lady is too stupid and ignorant to find an actual good reason to get Slaughterhouse 5 censored…
And people like her are the main reasons why child safety advocates can freely say that american children are dumb, defenseless, stupid, idiotic, morons, imbeciles, unable to take care of themselves, etc. and any derogatory comment you can imagine.
American children ARE smarter than many people think and believing that they are nothing but pulsating lumps of flesh is just plain wrong.
Well, except the children of Ultraconservative Christians, which they come in two flavours: Extremely dumb or Extremely perverse.
The only book our kids should be reading is the Bible! And they shouldn’t be allowed to read that either! Bah!
It’s obvious too few actually read other’s posts. Lots of references to the Bible and idiot right-wingers and Christians. It was pointed out early on that the article doesn’t mention this lady being either religious or politically motivated. Maybe she’s a friend of Tipper Gore?
But consider that banning the books may actually make students read them. Maybe it’s just a subversive move on this lady’s part to get kids to put down their phones and games and read something engaging. OK, she doesn’t *look* that bright, but who knows?
The readers of this blog are always ready to take the easy way out on virtually any issue. The easy way for most is to criticize, say, “Wrong”, or “Nazis”, or “Profiteers” or, whatever is the negative tone.
So, if “Banning Books” is bad, the opposite is “Allowing Books” is good, does that mean allowing ALL books is good, or “Banning ALL Books” is bad?
What pisses me off about all you lazy bastards is the unwillingness for anyone to go on record and DRAW A FREAKIN LINE IN THE SAND that is actually USABLE in reality. Hundreds of thousands of cultural works are added to the world every year, and educators and parents can not be expected to make individual decisions about every one. And even if they have to, screw all of you for saying that they are wrong and Nazi’s at that.
They are doing what they believe is best for their “constituency” whatever that might be (children, teenagers, young adults, use the term that will help your argument, of cource), but they are doing what they believe in, and for my children, I will be happy if they err towards the “conservative” side of things rather than the other way around.
Unless you have no boundries that need to be observed for your children or teenagers, that you have NO RIGHT to attack either the person that sets other boundries, or the boundries they set. You can offer a different opinion, and hopefully back it up with actual reasoning, let alone facts, but keep at least keep it civil, and most importantly, rational (even if you believe that others aren’t acting that way).