Re: Huckleberry Finn–I think it was banned in some libraries even during Twain’s lifetime, too, right? Not for the same reasons that it’s challenged for today–if memory serves, a few libraries just didn’t think it was a very good book and figured that Huck wasn’t a good influence on children.
The ALA had a database available through their website. Unfortunately their website has changed about as frequently as the Cylon plan has in BSG. This is as close as they get. In a few months such should be hopfully be back up and running.
As to the plague vector, it originated from Canada. What was posted at Florida Institute of Technology was ripped off from the originator. That is why I said there was some plagiarism involved. Jessamyn heard from the person concerned and that person has kept a rather low profile as of late.
ALA has a rough list defining the different grades of challenges. This is akin to having multiple grades of severity for hurricanes. You can find that list here. By the ALA’s own definition, Mrs. Palin didn’t even hit the lowest rung on the reporting chart which is “Expression of Concern”.
As to the whole book banning bit, it is a huge red herring. Too many librarians have called (sorrybarb) on it. Within the profession, Jessamyn is a very persuasive authority and was one of the first to call this out especially considering it was a drive-by comment post at her site. When I linked to the podcast that we did with her, I should have said that there were links in the show post to some background bits by librarians in the matter. If there was any real truth to the matter let alone any seriousness, you would be seeing a whole lotta outrage from the relevant parts of the ALA. Alas, if the ALA shows no outrage then it likely has no merit for such expression at all.
Eep. Blame shoddy/overly-quick research from my work desk while doing other stuff. I take it back.
Yeah, I think you’d be surprised, too. There are a lot of challenges in places you’d never expect. Also, it’s usually one or two parents of individual kids who are nutty enough to object to books and pursue getting them removed, and there are always at least one or two crazy parents in every town in America.
Easy mistake to make, since it was presented in a lot of places as being just that.
I attended my 10th. grader’s meet the teacher night two weeks ago and the English teacher expressed concern about whether or not the kids would read Night by Eli Weisel (pretty sure I misspelled his name) because the Holocaust is so upsetting. I spoke up right away (loudly) that they should read it because it is one of the best works of literature on the planet. I was forceful enough that no one spoke against me, but I’m sure some agreed because they wanted it to look like they too knew which book I was talking about. The teacher seemed pleased with the positive response. But I wish she didn’t feel like she had to test the waters. Believe me, if they don’t end up reading it, I will have no problem showing my ugly side.
At the jr. high/high school level, I always seem to be the only parent who asks WHO the kids are reading and I make the teacher name names. I do this because I want to make sure my boys are reading good stuff, not filtered junk. Most everyone else seems more concerned with keeping their kids’ GPA perfect for college applications. Literature that frightens, challenges and inspires is so necessary for kids now in the You Tube world.
Three cheers for banned books- I’ve read most on the list and many are in my bookshelf.
It’s funny how that works - think of how many classics are on the list.
And bravo, Dawn, for being so involved in what your kids are reading - my mother read everything we did in school. She didn’t stop until I was in college, and then she really only stopped because she couldn’t keep up with me at that point. 
Go books!
I suspect there’s a bit of cherry picking going on there.
Not read Night because it’s upsetting? That’s pretty crazy.
Well kids today are so frakkin’ coddled its crazy. (But that’s another thread!) It will interesting to see if and when Solzhenitsyn and Vonnegut make it on the reading list. They’re more appropriate for older kids and “upsetting” in their own brilliant ways.
I saw someone on TV joking about Sarah Palin promoting book-burning as a source of alternative energy. 
I found that very amusing, until a coworker told me that she went to one when she first became a Christian. She didn’t really see why it was such a big deal. 
:(:mad:
Three cheers for DawnAZ! It’s always nice to see some evidence that the entire next generation won’t be completely populated with idiots. 
Could we ban the Bible (If it isn’t already), isn’t it pretty upsetting too?
I think if I used the local ads I get in the mail as a alternative energy source I could go off Natural Gas all together.
hey, just wondering… is Ronald “re-imagined” Moore in any way related to Michael “Supersize me” Moore?
Or Roger “Bad Bond” Moore, or Gordon “As in the Law” Moore?
you know what, banning books will only make people read them even more… forbidden fruit tastes best…
btw, did you guys hear the BBS news report about the Guantanamo illegal detention centre being frakkin’ outsourced to Ethiopia? Where torture is the norm. The BBC interviewed an african detainee who bribed his way to get a phone to chat with the reporter…the detainee claimed that americans are running the show and the africans are taking orders. Nevertheless the State Dept is not making any comments on it.
I don’t know if it’s ever been banned outright, but I know that parts are censored from time to time in various places. Usually the bits about slavery, sex, “excessive” violence, etc.
You might as well get the kids to watch “The Killing fields”. Teach them about Pol Pot, the Khmer Rouge. How many people know about the Sook Ching massacres in Singapore? The Rape of Nanking (whom some Japs still deny happened)? How about ethnic cleansing in the former Yugoslavia? Anyone heard of the Sendero Luminoso in South America?
The Jewish experience is not the end-all of human suffering. It’s not just about the numbers. You need to dignify the experiences of all nations. Or else you’ll end up with one-sided views and the I’m-right-you’re-wrong type of arguments that last 4000 years. Like Palestine.
Sendero Luminoso was a movement in Peru, not all of South America.
Though we can always talk about the desaparecidos in Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Brasil, El Salvador… guerrilla warfare all over the place… UMAP camps in Cuba… violence against indigenous communities…
I’m always shocked when I get students in my classes who (being majors and all) don’t know anything about Latin American history at all. But on the other hand, that means that I get to teach them about it.
A very good point, but most HS history classes never even get to the Korean war. My son (the 15 yr.old) is reading The Things They Carried right now. Not as detailed in the areas as you describe here, but it covers the complete mind frak of war in Southeast Asia and the costs in human life, liberty and sanity with the same command of language that makes Night so mesmerizing.
ooh, I forgot to add : the 60 million who died during the partition of India
(again I have to highlight that it’s not only about the numbers but about dignifying such a horrific event.)