Moose Jaw Forum

This was sent to me by a friend, and I thought it best to pass it on…

Do you remember, or at least, are you aware of the book burning in Germany, once Hitler seized power?

Not long ago, a fundamentalist preacher, in the US, staged a Koran (Q’ran) burning. Now the Texas school board, has moved to book banning in Texas schools — books that support the Mexican American Studies, as well as the MAS program itself. This ban — would you believe — also includes Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” (its about colonialism and slavery).

Reminds me of Pastor Niemoller, who wrote:

First they came for the Communists, and I didn’t speak up,
because I wasn’t a Communist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak up,
because I wasn’t a Jew.

Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn’t speak up,
because I was a Protestant.

Then they came for me, and by that time there was no one
left to speak up for me.

By Rev. Martin Niemoller, 1945
http://www.hoboes.com/FireBlade/Politics/niemoller/

Niemoller declared, that he “would rather burn his church to the ground, than to preach the Nazi trinity of, ‘race, blood, and soil. He did speak up at the time.

The thin end of the wedge?

The following is what I am able to add to it, so far...

Educators Speak Out Against TUSD Book Ban

Students said the banned books were seized from their classrooms and out of their hands after the vote came. And they are troubled. They are saying that it’s sort of like Nazi Germany. And they were unable to sleep after it happened. Some of the books also include Suzan Shown Harjo We Have No Reason to Celebrate and many others.
http://mediaroots.org/educators-speak-o ... ok-ban.php

Chuck-ee wrote:This was sent to me by a friend, and I thought it best to pass it on…

Do you remember, or at least, are you aware of the book burning in Germany, once Hitler seized power?

Not long ago, a fundamentalist preacher, in the US, staged a Koran (Q’ran) burning. Now the Texas school board, has moved to book banning in Texas schools — books that support the Mexican American Studies, as well as the MAS program itself. This ban — would you believe — also includes Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” (its about colonialism and slavery).

Reminds me of Pastor Niemoller, who wrote:

First they came for the Communists, and I didn’t speak up,
because I wasn’t a Communist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak up,
because I wasn’t a Jew.

Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn’t speak up,
because I was a Protestant.

Then they came for me, and by that time there was no one
left to speak up for me.

By Rev. Martin Niemoller, 1945
http://www.hoboes.com/FireBlade/Politics/niemoller/

Niemoller declared, that he “would rather burn his church to the ground, than to preach the Nazi trinity of, ‘race, blood, and soil. He did speak up at the time.

The thin end of the wedge?

The following is what I am able to add to it, so far...

Educators Speak Out Against TUSD Book Ban

Students said the banned books were seized from their classrooms and out of their hands after the vote came. And they are troubled. They are saying that it’s sort of like Nazi Germany. And they were unable to sleep after it happened. Some of the books also include Suzan Shown Harjo We Have No Reason to Celebrate and many others.
http://mediaroots.org/educators-speak-o ... ok-ban.php

Thanks for the post. Book banning and censorship are major issues.
Are there books that should not be in schools, yes, but at the same time books that by all appearances are cultural and encourage understanding between peoples and religions are in my opinion worthwhile.
Big question is who is the Library God here?????

truth defender: Thanks for the post - Are there books that should not be in schools, yes.

You're welcome, and I agree - some books, just have no right to be in schools, other than for programming sakes - And don't we already have enough of that?

"King's son did not want to go to the library as he was afraid of the library police".

That's from one of my favorites.

The Library Policeman
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Past_Midnight

Chuck-ee wrote:

truth defender: Thanks for the post - Are there books that should not be in schools, yes.

You're welcome, and I agree - some books, just have no right to be in schools, other than for programming sakes - And don't we already have enough of that?

"King's son did not want to go to the library as he was afraid of the library police".

That's from one of my favorites.

The Library Policeman
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Past_Midnight

Actually I was thinking about books of a more sexual nature as being banned from schools. Other-wise the banning of books that help to foster understanding between religious groups, cultures and languages should not be banned which I believe was what was happening in the US case.
As far as book burnings go I think that one of the best tv shows that showed it as destructive was an episode of the Waltons where in response to German book burnings all German books were to be burnt. Just before they were set to burn the books they had one translated and discovered it was a Bible. The book burning ended there....

truth defender: Actually I was thinking about books of a more sexual nature as being banned from schools.

Well - coincidentally - I was also thinking along those lines, and in particular, the materials that delve into Lesbianism, 'Gayism', 'Bisexualism' and 'Transgendaism'.

Or as Hilliary Clinton has dubbed them "LGBT" people.

No, am not for banning or burning just any old book either...

It seems to me that if I was an author, I would actively encourage the burning of my book. Hell, I might even help organize the book burning. The more books they burn, the more books they have to buy, and that just increases sales.

book burning is merely symbolic of censorship. in modern society, no book burning effort by individual groups, or even nations, is likely to completely censor or eliminate any book. in fact, all it will probably do is generate publicity for the work. There have been many books banned over the years, yet still survive. long before mass media or the internet, at a time when they were systematically rounding up people and beheading them in the streets with the blessing of the masses, they still could not stop even the Marquis de Sade from publishing. What chance do we have now.

Fahrenheit 451.

arron wrote:Fahrenheit 451.

well, ok, maybe we can ban ray bradbury. or at least the movie version of fahrenheit 451. LOL

Priapus wrote:

arron wrote:Fahrenheit 451.

well, ok, maybe we can ban ray bradbury. or at least the movie version of fahrenheit 451. LOL

I thought that was a great classic movie....