Up to 150 students at a Missouri high school that ordered “Slaughterhouse-Five” pulled from its library shelves can get a free copy of the novel, courtesy of the Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library…
The offer for students at Republic High School comes on the heels of the Republic School Board’s decision to remove Vonnegut’s novel and Sarah Ockler’s “Twenty Boy Summer” from the curriculum and the school library shelves.
“All of these students will be eligible to vote and some may be protecting our country through military service in the next year or two,” Julia Whitehead, the executive director of the Vonnegut library in Indianapolis, said in a statement.
“It is shocking and unfortunate that those young adults and citizens would not be considered mature enough to handle the important topics raised by Kurt Vonnegut, a decorated war veteran. Everyone can learn something from his book.”
Slaughterhouse-Five, considered Vonnegut’s most influential and popular work, is a satirical novel centered around the bombing of the German city of Dresden during World War Two.
The Republic School District took the move at its April 18 meeting following a complaint lodged by local resident Wesley Scroggins in the spring of 2010.
In his complaint, the Missouri State University associate business professor called on district officials to stop using textbooks and other materials “that create false conceptions of American history and government or that teach principles contrary to Biblical morality and truth.”
The school district members immediately rolled over and stuck all four hooves in the air in response to this Christian command.
It’s just not Jesus enough for their school district.
I’d bet a buck the ANY books that have, or are being banned here the U.S. is being done by agent provocateur shills.
“They” -have been installing these shills for years to prime the pumps of the scripted “anti-think” police state many naive an gullible Americans are eating up like candy-coated poison..
While i’m agnostic.. -have a discussion with any “normal” christian, and you will find they find the whole idea of banning anything, let alone books, preposterous.
Don’t be fooled.
-s
This guy better get a “douchebag” call out on No Agenda.
#1 – Wesley Scroggins: Agent Provocateur
That has a nice ring to it!
Just an example of what a Perry/Bachmann presidency would look like.
Except without the Christian ethic of putting the needy ahead of the powerful.
“Das war ein Vorspiel nur, dort wo man Bücher verbrennt, verbrennt man auch am Ende Menschen.”
–Heinrich Heine
Republic is right down the road from where I live and I’ve always thought MSU was a shitty school. Must be if it employs such morons.
Someone hire me so I can get the hell out of this right wing religious state they call Southwest Missouri.
The guy’s name is “Wesley Scroggins”. I’m guessing that he’s had his head flushed in one too many toilets.
soundwash said “I’d bet a buck the ANY books that have, or are being banned here the U.S. is being done by agent provocateur shills.”
I’ll take that bet. Most fundamentalist Christian I know are nice folks, but have ZERO problems with keeping you from watching, reading, listening to stuff they don’t like.
The Christian homeschool movement is largely parents controlling what their children are exposed to.
I checked this guy out on “Rate my Professors” He stinks. Boring. Easy. Biased.
He also has “authored” 15 “papers”. Talk about a jealous author. He can barely teach or write.
Wonder what the retention rate is for MSU students who have him as an advisor?
Someone from MSU should demand accountablity from this dolt in his own school and program.
I bet Republic School District graduates and retains more students than Dr. Scroggins. Anybody want to do that research? Then his department head and provost will muzzle or un-tenure him asap. Promise I have lot of experience doing this to profs.
These parents took the proper procedure, I don’t see what the problem is here? I guess this school isn’t for you and your children. Obviously, this is the only source for most of you and your gripes.
With the situation our economy is in, and the non-response by everyone, I think there are bigger problems?
and Slaughterhouse 5 is one of my favorites of all time: “Billy was as spastic in time as he was in space.” and he would flip from whereever ((Indianapolis I assume?)) to Tranfamildor (sp) to Dresden being bombed. Billy wanders/wonders thru these events as a spectator always just trying to get on and live. I don’t even see an anti-war message or even anti-government message==just a story about one person being helpless to help himself–spastic in being self actualizing if you will, but he had/maintained a sense of wonder at just being alive and witnessing all these things.
Uncle Don may have it: just not enough Jesus. Ha, ha. Kurt would approve.
soundwash–what an agent provacateur YOU
are trying to cover the sins of VERY MANY christians with your proposition there are normal vs abnormal types. Isn’t normal a label that is supposed to apply to the majority of the group? Give a christian “free reign” and they would have us all in sack cloth for the glory of god. They are human only because they are out numbered.
Silly to give a christian a break. They are all bastards given half a chance.
Yea, verily.
Scroggins… Scrotum, whatever. If this guys does not want his kids learning about things that contrary to the bible, then let’s shut down the entire science department and math department! Let’s stop exploring our planet and the universe and just accept that EVERYTHING showed up exactly as the bible states, which was written how many years ago? Transcribed by how many people? Translated from language to language how many times? I’m positive that NOTHING could have possibly been missed that we may want to follow up with any more books, ever. Sounds like a plan…
Hopefully, due to the offer from the Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library this will backfire.
I mean, high school students being told they shouldn’t read a particular book. That’s a recipe for a read-in all by itself. Then they are offered free copies to boot!
Slaughterhouse Five is one of the books that changed my outlook on life. Not necessarily for the better, but certainly for the more realistic. And, it introduced me to Vonnegut for whom I owe lots and lots of great hours and laughs and insights.
As for Professor Scrotum, I think what he needs is some Wide Open Beaver!
@#7 Northeast Missouri is slightly more progressive but not much. I briefly passed over a couple of articles on this over the past week or so. His other argument was that the books were too adult and should be restricted to college students.
Where are the Teapublicans on this very important topic? It’s like a ghost town here!
#9 “The Christian homeschool movement is largely parents controlling what their children are exposed to.”
This is a problem?
There are plenty of organizations that are trying to control what students are exposed to in public schools.
For example; “A bill to REQUIRE California public schools to teach the historical accomplishments of gay men and lesbians passed the state Legislature on Tuesday in what supporters call a first for the nation”.
19 Whats the big deal they have been talking about the republican party for years in the history books, now they can just add the t party.
#17–deowll==I take it you don’t recall any reason then that this novel should be BANNED in a high school? To me, much as you say, its just a fanciful good story. The lessons to be learned are quite general and for each person to evaluate for themselves–not a big message book.
Not enough Jesus.
Ha, ha.
Schools will try to ban or force a biased view on everyone. That’s why it is the parents responsibility to go out and buy that book for our kids. Just like it is a parents duty to properly educate their children. And there isn’t jack shit the school can do about it.
>> # 13 bobbo,
>> Silly to give a christian a break. They are all bastards given half a chance.
Two billion Christians in the world and bobbo won’t give one of them a break because they are all the same!
Clearly, most books are challenged by conservatives, often religious. But not exclusively.
The bible, for example, gets challenged for use in a classroom. Tom Sawyer gets challenged because the “N word” is not PC. A rising trend is animal rights activists challenging books that depict animal cruelty.
But challenges, for whatever motivation, are rarely successful where the School Board is dedicated to progressive education.
Its not the “N-word” the word is nigger. The word only has the power we give it. Removing or editing any book because a group or individual doesn’t agree with the content or language IS censorship. I would like the words god, jesus, christ, and savior removed from the bible I find them offensive. I would like the bible removed from the library and children’s book bags searched every day upon arrival to prevent this text full of sex, death, incest, murder, patricide, matricide, genocide, infanticide, and imbibing of alcohol from causing any more damage to our society and our youth than it already has.
Wait until they find out the bible was written by a bunch of Jews – then there will be trouble !
# 17 deowll said, “I found it rather deranged”
So what? It’s an American classic that many people find to have a strong message. Others just find a fanciful and intriguing story. So leave it in the library. Take it off the curriculum? Sure. I’m not in a position to judge their curriculum and maybe it doesn’t fit in. But a library should be a place to explore and to stimulate forming minds. I remember in the 4th grade, I got into trouble for reading Moby Dick! It was too advanced for my age. Poop. Kids should be allowed to read almost anything that grabs their attention. Even the lingerie section of the Sears catalog. (Does Sears still publish a catalog?)
“I know very little about the other book” Gotta admit I’d never heard of it either. Sounds like something California would put on the reading list. Had to look it up on Amazon. Seems a fairly new publication (2009) and geared for grades 9-11. So not surprising we haven’t heard of it. After reading the review, I’m damned if I can figure out what they were worried about. Teen angst and love. Must be some sex in it.
“stronger supporter of Tom Sawyer/Huck Fin books and “Uncle Remus””
Uncle Remus? More Aesop’s Fables than literature. But I agree with your point. I see nothing wrong with including a preface to such books explaining it was written late in the nineteenth century in a a world of different attitudes and mores. I strongly object to the bastardization/sanitation of Twain’s books. I wouldn’t want my children to read them. These are amongst the first real American classics. Sawyer was even written before Remus. You want to teach kids that some of the things he said are no longer politically correct, fine. But if you change the words and then tell the kids they are reading classic literature, then you are fiddling with history and guilty of Orwellian Newspeak.
Read Slaughterhouse 5 and saw the movie. I do think that it may be a little much for _some_ High School kids, but that’s what parents, teachers, and librarians are for.
I always thought that Vonnegut was a little nuts, but he also caught some great things.
I’m not sure if the thing could have been done in a linear way, but that might make a lot more sense to some people. Montana Wildhack probably puts a few people off, too.
As usual, somebody trying to foist his views off on the rest of us.
> teach principles contrary to Biblical morality and truth.
And the violent genocidal parts of the Bible are what?
#9 and #13
-silly wabbits,
I said “normal” christians, not fundamentalists or any other *ahem* “real” christians (ie: the easily programmed /bible thumping kind)
you know.. christian only in name.
i am of the opinion that all religions are just an extortion tool to kill and/or dumb down and control as many people as possible through the use of fear. (although any means is typically fine by them) -save maybe for those Buddha characters.. they seem to understand the universe at a carnal level, if you will.
anyway.. no need beating this dead horse again. it is a waste of energy.
-like all things, just follow the money if you want to know who the ringleaders to any scam is, “legit” or otherwise.
-s
29
1 Samuel 15:2-3
Thus saith the LORD of hosts … go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.