All Aboard the Censor-Ship!

            As I’ve mentioned on this blog before, I am in class right now. We have received our final projects, and it’s on… wait for it… banned and challenged books. What I like about this professor is the fact that he encourages us to think not just about teaching, but how our teaching is going to impact students in the long run. I haven’t gotten that in all my classes.

            You might be able to tell, I’m against banning books. This post could easily turn into a long screed against banning books and the dangers of allowing kids to attend debutante balls. (The original draft of this veered WAY off topic.) But I’m not going to do it all in one posting. This is my opening post in a conversation that will last a while.

            Banning books is a horrible concept. But it’s been done in every society since the printing press was invented. Books were blamed for horrible tragedies (there were no video games back then), they were seen as an upper class enjoyment not fit for the lower class, they would spread ideas that ran counter to what the ruling class wanted everyone to believe.

            Doing it today under the guise today of “protecting children” is even worse. Protecting them from what? Bad language? Violence? The S-E-X word? Different ideas of a world than the one they live in? Banning books has never turned out well for anyone.

            This is where I cut myself short, before I get on a soapbox. There will be more to come regarding this, in a series of posts that will involve my thoughts, and maybe yours, on banning books. Have any ideas or any angles you’d like to talk about? Mention it in the comments, or email me at shakespearebad@gmail.com.