Sherlock Holmes Banned in Virginia
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http://www.speechandprivacy.com/2011/08/sherlock-holmes-banned-in-virginia.html
Sherlock Holmes Banned in Virginia!
How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth? (Sherlock Holmes The Sign of the Four)
Free Speech Issue: Should school districts ban books from libraries and reading lists based upon community objections instead of academic standards? The book banners are at it again. This time Sherlock Holmes' A Study in Scarlet has run afoul of the sensibilities of parents in the Albemarle County School District. It seems the book makes unflattering references about Mormons--the 1847 polygamist sect in Arthur Conan Doyle's day rather than the present day.
The M ost Banned Books in America Book Banning is nothing new. It goes on all the time and an entire blog could be devoted to the monthly books that are banned in communities across America. Last month in Republic, Missouri, the school board banned famed author Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five. According to reports issued by the American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF), the following books are the most challenged books of the 21st century. Some of these books are less than ten years old. Other books, such as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, have been around for ages. 1. The Harry Potter Series by JK RowlingReligious Viewpoint 2. The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier 3. Olive's Ocean by Kevin Henkes 4. The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman 5. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain 6. The Color Purple by Alice Walker 7. TTYL by Lauren Myracle 8. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou 9. It's Perfectly Normal by Robie Harris 10. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky And as a follow-up, here are the ALA’s Top Ten Most Frequently Challenged Books of 2010 followed by the reasons given for challenging the book: 1. And Tango Makes Three by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson --Reasons: Homosexuality, Religious Viewpoint, Unsuited to Age Group 2. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie --Reasons: Offensive language, Racism, Sex Education, Sexually Explicit, Unsuited to Age Group, Violence 3. Brave New World"by Aldous Huxley --Reasons: Insensitivity, Offensive Language, Racism, Sexually Explicit 4. Crank by Ellen Hopkins --Reasons: Drugs, Offensive Language, Sexually Explicit 5. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins --Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Unsuited to Age Group, Violence 6. Lush by Natasha Friend --Reasons: Drugs, Offensive Language, Sexually Explicit, Unsuited to Age Group
7. What My Mother Doesn’t Know by Sonya Sones --Reasons: Sexism, Sexually Explicit, Unsuited to Age Group 8. Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By In America by Barbara Ehrenreich --Reasons: Drugs, Inaccurate, Offensive Language, Political Viewpoint, Religious Viewpoint 9. Revolutionary Voices edited by Amy Sonnie --Reasons: Homosexuality, Sexually Explicit 10. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer --Reasons: Religious Viewpoint, Violence Quotes about Book Banning(Thanks to Georgia Highlands College and the American Library Association)
A censor is a man who knows more than he thinks you ought to. -- Laurence Peter, professor of education, 1977
Our Constitution was not intended to be used by...any group to foist its personal religious beliefs on the rest of us.--Katherine Hepburn
All these people talk so eloquently about getting back to good old-fashioned values. Well, as an old poop I can remember back to when we had those old-fashioned values, and I say let's get back to the good old-fashioned First Amendment of the good old-fashioned Constitution of the United States -- and to hell with the censors! Give me knowledge or give me death! -- Kurt Vonnegut, author Everyone is in favor of free speech. Hardly a day passes without its being extolled, but some people's idea of it is that they are free to say what they like, but if anyone else says anything back, that is an outrage. --Winston Churchill Free societies...are societies in motion, and with motion comes tension, dissent, friction. Free people strike sparks, and those sparks are the best evidence of freedom's existence.-Salman Rushdie The books that the world calls immoral are the books that show the world its own shame. --Oscar Wilde All censorships exist to prevent anyone from challenging current conceptions and existing institutions. All progress is initiated by challenging current conceptions, and executed by supplanting existing institutions. Consequently the first condition of progress is the removal of censorship.--George Bernard Shaw, Preface to Mrs. Warren's Profession
In the long run of history, the censor and the inquisitor have always lost. The only sure weapon against bad ideas is better ideas. The source of better ideas is wisdom. -- Alfred Whitney Griswold, Essays on Education We are not afraid to entrust the American people with unpleasent facts, foreign ideas, alien philosophies, and competitive values. For a nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people. -- John F. Kennedy. Remarks made on the 20th anniversary of the Voice of America at H.E.W. Auditorium, February 26, 1962
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http://www.speechandprivacy.com/2011/08/sherlock-holmes-banned-in-virginia.html
Sherlock Holmes Banned in Virginia!
How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth? (Sherlock Holmes The Sign of the Four)
Free Speech Issue: Should school districts ban books from libraries and reading lists based upon community objections instead of academic standards? The book banners are at it again. This time Sherlock Holmes' A Study in Scarlet has run afoul of the sensibilities of parents in the Albemarle County School District. It seems the book makes unflattering references about Mormons--the 1847 polygamist sect in Arthur Conan Doyle's day rather than the present day.
The M ost Banned Books in America Book Banning is nothing new. It goes on all the time and an entire blog could be devoted to the monthly books that are banned in communities across America. Last month in Republic, Missouri, the school board banned famed author Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five. According to reports issued by the American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF), the following books are the most challenged books of the 21st century. Some of these books are less than ten years old. Other books, such as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, have been around for ages. 1. The Harry Potter Series by JK RowlingReligious Viewpoint 2. The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier 3. Olive's Ocean by Kevin Henkes 4. The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman 5. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain 6. The Color Purple by Alice Walker 7. TTYL by Lauren Myracle 8. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou 9. It's Perfectly Normal by Robie Harris 10. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky And as a follow-up, here are the ALA’s Top Ten Most Frequently Challenged Books of 2010 followed by the reasons given for challenging the book: 1. And Tango Makes Three by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson --Reasons: Homosexuality, Religious Viewpoint, Unsuited to Age Group 2. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie --Reasons: Offensive language, Racism, Sex Education, Sexually Explicit, Unsuited to Age Group, Violence 3. Brave New World"by Aldous Huxley --Reasons: Insensitivity, Offensive Language, Racism, Sexually Explicit 4. Crank by Ellen Hopkins --Reasons: Drugs, Offensive Language, Sexually Explicit 5. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins --Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Unsuited to Age Group, Violence 6. Lush by Natasha Friend --Reasons: Drugs, Offensive Language, Sexually Explicit, Unsuited to Age Group
7. What My Mother Doesn’t Know by Sonya Sones --Reasons: Sexism, Sexually Explicit, Unsuited to Age Group 8. Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By In America by Barbara Ehrenreich --Reasons: Drugs, Inaccurate, Offensive Language, Political Viewpoint, Religious Viewpoint 9. Revolutionary Voices edited by Amy Sonnie --Reasons: Homosexuality, Sexually Explicit 10. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer --Reasons: Religious Viewpoint, Violence Quotes about Book Banning(Thanks to Georgia Highlands College and the American Library Association)
A censor is a man who knows more than he thinks you ought to. -- Laurence Peter, professor of education, 1977
Our Constitution was not intended to be used by...any group to foist its personal religious beliefs on the rest of us.--Katherine Hepburn
All these people talk so eloquently about getting back to good old-fashioned values. Well, as an old poop I can remember back to when we had those old-fashioned values, and I say let's get back to the good old-fashioned First Amendment of the good old-fashioned Constitution of the United States -- and to hell with the censors! Give me knowledge or give me death! -- Kurt Vonnegut, author Everyone is in favor of free speech. Hardly a day passes without its being extolled, but some people's idea of it is that they are free to say what they like, but if anyone else says anything back, that is an outrage. --Winston Churchill Free societies...are societies in motion, and with motion comes tension, dissent, friction. Free people strike sparks, and those sparks are the best evidence of freedom's existence.-Salman Rushdie The books that the world calls immoral are the books that show the world its own shame. --Oscar Wilde All censorships exist to prevent anyone from challenging current conceptions and existing institutions. All progress is initiated by challenging current conceptions, and executed by supplanting existing institutions. Consequently the first condition of progress is the removal of censorship.--George Bernard Shaw, Preface to Mrs. Warren's Profession
In the long run of history, the censor and the inquisitor have always lost. The only sure weapon against bad ideas is better ideas. The source of better ideas is wisdom. -- Alfred Whitney Griswold, Essays on Education We are not afraid to entrust the American people with unpleasent facts, foreign ideas, alien philosophies, and competitive values. For a nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people. -- John F. Kennedy. Remarks made on the 20th anniversary of the Voice of America at H.E.W. Auditorium, February 26, 1962
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