Calls for Book Banning and Book Burning in Wisconsin
Another fight started by more folks who want the government to control the media available to you. This is Wisconsin, not the Swot Valley, mind you:
The strife began in February when West Bend couple Jim and Ginny Maziarka objected to some of the content in the city library’s young-adult section. They later petitioned the library board to move any sexually explicit books — the definition of which would be debated — from the young-adult section to the adult section and to label them as sexually explicit.
Ginny Maziarka, 49, said the books in the section of the library aimed at children aged 12 to 18 included homosexual and heterosexual content she thought was inappropriate for youths.
She wants to be able to control what everybody’s kids get to read, not just her own. There is pushback:
Maria Hanrahan, also a West Bend mom, set up a rival blog to argue the other side.
“I’m against any other party telling me what’s appropriate for my child and what isn’t,” said Hanrahan, 40, who also created a West Bend Parents for Free Speech group. “We don’t mean to say these are appropriate for everyone, but we don’t feel they should be set apart from other materials or restricted from the young-adult section.”
And some wingnut christianists from outside the community jump in the fray with a lawsuit and a call for public book burning:
Outside West Bend, the fight caught the attention of Robert Braun, who, with three other Milwaukee-area men, filed a claim against West Bend calling for one of the library’s books to be publicly burned, along with financial damages.
If you want complete control over what your kids read, I suggest you do the work to make sure that they read what you want them to, in a spot where you can watch them. Don’t make an entire community enforce your control issues.
Thumbnail pic by Gregory Maxwell used under GDFL.
Tags: Books, Wingnuttery
I guess Mr. Braun is now leading the community in a rendition of Deutschland Uber Alles. Hope no one from SKKKOR reads about this.
I am generally opposed to such activities — though I do think that at times it may be appropriate to reclassify some works out of the kids’ section and into the adult section.
My question is why she doesn’t instead act like a group of local liberals we have down here — they just check out politically and religiously objectionable books (read that conservative and Christian) and “lose” them. It keeps the politically incorrect books out circulation for a time, and the county library system doesn’t always replace the “lost” books with the same titles.
Not that I consider the latter option to be morally better — but at least you don’t look like a loser in the press.
Note to “group of local liberals we have down here”: don’t take out “politically and religiously objectionable books” at all. Ever. Books that don’t stay in circulation in local public libraries get removed and sold off faster than popular, circulating ones.
And kids who want “homosexual and heterosexual” content generally don’t need books to get it. They have the internets. (slight snark intented)
The ones who go to the library for homosexual and heterosexual content are to be congratulated for
a) knowing how to read;
b) knowing how to use the public library;
c) knowing where the public library is located!
defining deviance down
Oh noez! Our children must be protected from books! Book learning will make them start questioning authority.
Eh, you have this on both sides. It all depends on what you believe in. This kind of crap will go on forever.
Hopefully, I am not the only one deeply disturbed by RwR’s comments.
“RwR” alias “Rhymes With Spigot” and “Rhymes With Grime” is one of the most disturbed commenters here. I wish Jason would post his “picture” now and again. 🙂
RWR: >>>My question is why she doesn’t instead act like a group of local liberals we have down here — they just check out politically and religiously objectionable books (read that conservative and Christian) and “lose” them.<<<
RWR…You realize you're a fascist right?
Is this what liberalism has come to people? The level of hate spewed by political junkies like RWR has turned liberals into the worst kind of government advocates.
I can see no difference between the Democratic Party and the Republican Party except for the fact that there seems to be many Democrats like RWR that blurr the meaning of liberal to the point where it no longer means liberal but is a clear example or real intollerant fascist statism.