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Cancelling Dr. Seuss

Started by apl68, March 12, 2021, 09:36:21 AM

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Langue_doc

Quote from: nebo113 on June 04, 2023, 06:29:48 AM
Quote from: marshwiggle on June 04, 2023, 05:43:13 AM
Quote from: Wahoo Redux on June 03, 2023, 06:02:22 PM
Quote from: Langue_doc on June 03, 2023, 05:57:44 PM
QuoteUtah primary schools ban Bible for 'vulgarity and violence'

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-65794363

Goose and gander.

At some point, when the libraries are empty, both sides will have to decide if they want any books at all, and if so they'll need to establish criteria that they can all live with.

The bible ban is a protest against rabid right wing nuts.  Not a two sided issue.

Utah is staunchly Republican https://ballotpedia.org/Davis_County,_Utah
At least one local politician seems to be in favor of the ban:
https://www.npr.org/2023/06/02/1179906120/utah-bible-book-challenge
QuoteKen Ivory, a Republican legislator in the state, released a statement on Thursday reversing his position on the ban, after initially calling the complaint a "mockery." He wrote that the Bible is a "challenging read" for children, and that the Bible is "best taught, and best understood, in the home, and around the hearth, as a family."

Wahoo Redux

Quote from: marshwiggle on June 04, 2023, 05:43:13 AM
Quote from: Wahoo Redux on June 03, 2023, 06:02:22 PM
Quote from: Langue_doc on June 03, 2023, 05:57:44 PM
QuoteUtah primary schools ban Bible for 'vulgarity and violence'

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-65794363

Goose and gander.

At some point, when the libraries are empty, both sides will have to decide if they want any books at all, and if so they'll need to establish criteria that they can all live with.

As nebo posted, this is actually a ploy, and a good one.

But if you really worry about this conundrum of canceling, you'll need to rethink some of the things you've evinced on these boards, my friend.
Come, fill the Cup, and in the fire of Spring
Your Winter-garment of Repentance fling:
The Bird of Time has but a little way
To flutter--and the Bird is on the Wing.

ciao_yall

Quote from: Langue_doc on June 03, 2023, 05:57:44 PM
QuoteUtah primary schools ban Bible for 'vulgarity and violence'

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-65794363

"Bob Johnson, the father of a primary school student in the Davis School District, told CBS News that he opposes the Bible's removal. 'I can't think of what's in the Bible that you would have to take out of it. Its not like there's pictures in it, he said."

No intimate photos of Tango's daddies or Heather's mommies, either.


dismalist

There is a brief discussion of the issue on another board. One comment [lightly edited] is germane:

"All books in any library are there by someone's subjective choice.
No library could physically contain the millions of available books, especially small school libraries.
Most books are 'absent' from any given library, but usually available elsewhere.
Key issue is who chooses a library's books -- not the merits of any specific book.

All choices in government schools are ultimately political choices."

I would add that the Davis school district contains 88 schools with 73,000 students. Why all these have to be restricted to the same books is beyond comprehension. Even for government schools, decentralize, decentralize. There is no need for school districts to be so big.

The law in Utah is actually about age appropriateness for the whole district [possibly State, IDNK], but allows parents to request that their own children not have access to books of the parents' choice. Virtually all requests from parents are the first method, not the second. Decentralization would reduce the influence of such busy bodies.
That's not even wrong!
--Wolfgang Pauli

Parasaurolophus

Quote from: ciao_yall on June 04, 2023, 11:42:32 AM
Quote from: Langue_doc on June 03, 2023, 05:57:44 PM
QuoteUtah primary schools ban Bible for 'vulgarity and violence'

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-65794363


No intimate photos of Tango's daddies

On the contrary, they're naked throughout. And they wind their necks together.
I know it's a genus.

jimbogumbo

Quote from: dismalist on June 04, 2023, 11:52:00 AM
There is a brief discussion of the issue on another board. One comment [lightly edited] is germane:

"All books in any library are there by someone's subjective choice.
No library could physically contain the millions of available books, especially small school libraries.
Most books are 'absent' from any given library, but usually available elsewhere.
Key issue is who chooses a library's books -- not the merits of any specific book.

All choices in government schools are ultimately political choices."

I would add that the Davis school district contains 88 schools with 73,000 students. Why all these have to be restricted to the same books is beyond comprehension. Even for government schools, decentralize, decentralize. There is no need for school districts to be so big.

The law in Utah is actually about age appropriateness for the whole district [possibly State, IDNK], but allows parents to request that their own children not have access to books of the parents' choice. Virtually all requests from parents are the first method, not the second. Decentralization would reduce the influence of such busy bodies.

But there is. We won't pay for small ones.

ciao_yall

Quote from: dismalist on June 04, 2023, 11:52:00 AM
There is a brief discussion of the issue on another board. One comment [lightly edited] is germane:

"All books in any library are there by someone's subjective choice.
No library could physically contain the millions of available books, especially small school libraries.
Most books are 'absent' from any given library, but usually available elsewhere.
Key issue is who chooses a library's books -- not the merits of any specific book.

All choices in government schools are ultimately political choices."

I would add that the Davis school district contains 88 schools with 73,000 students. Why all these have to be restricted to the same books is beyond comprehension. Even for government schools, decentralize, decentralize. There is no need for school districts to be so big.

The law in Utah is actually about age appropriateness for the whole district [possibly State, IDNK], but allows parents to request that their own children not have access to books of the parents' choice. Virtually all requests from parents are the first method, not the second. Decentralization would reduce the influence of such busy bodies.

The use of the term "government school" instead of "public school" is pretty loaded.

And all choices are political. And social. And ideological. And...

Enough with the faux-freedom-outrage. It's boring.

ciao_yall

Quote from: Parasaurolophus on June 04, 2023, 12:12:22 PM
Quote from: ciao_yall on June 04, 2023, 11:42:32 AM
Quote from: Langue_doc on June 03, 2023, 05:57:44 PM
QuoteUtah primary schools ban Bible for 'vulgarity and violence'

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-65794363


No intimate photos of Tango's daddies

On the contrary, they're naked throughout. And they wind their necks together.

It's Penguin Lust!

dismalist

Quote from: ciao_yall on June 04, 2023, 08:31:17 PM
Quote from: dismalist on June 04, 2023, 11:52:00 AM
There is a brief discussion of the issue on another board. One comment [lightly edited] is germane:

"All books in any library are there by someone's subjective choice.
No library could physically contain the millions of available books, especially small school libraries.
Most books are 'absent' from any given library, but usually available elsewhere.
Key issue is who chooses a library's books -- not the merits of any specific book.

All choices in government schools are ultimately political choices."

I would add that the Davis school district contains 88 schools with 73,000 students. Why all these have to be restricted to the same books is beyond comprehension. Even for government schools, decentralize, decentralize. There is no need for school districts to be so big.

The law in Utah is actually about age appropriateness for the whole district [possibly State, IDNK], but allows parents to request that their own children not have access to books of the parents' choice. Virtually all requests from parents are the first method, not the second. Decentralization would reduce the influence of such busy bodies.

The use of the term "government school" instead of "public school" is pretty loaded.

And all choices are political. And social. And ideological. And...

Enough with the faux-freedom-outrage. It's boring.

And apparently no choices are personal.

We're both bored, then.

We merely view causality in the real world differently.
That's not even wrong!
--Wolfgang Pauli

Parasaurolophus

I know it's a genus.

marshwiggle

Quote from: ciao_yall on June 04, 2023, 08:31:17 PM
Quote from: dismalist on June 04, 2023, 11:52:00 AM
There is a brief discussion of the issue on another board. One comment [lightly edited] is germane:

"All books in any library are there by someone's subjective choice.
No library could physically contain the millions of available books, especially small school libraries.
Most books are 'absent' from any given library, but usually available elsewhere.
Key issue is who chooses a library's books -- not the merits of any specific book.

All choices in government schools are ultimately political choices."

I would add that the Davis school district contains 88 schools with 73,000 students. Why all these have to be restricted to the same books is beyond comprehension. Even for government schools, decentralize, decentralize. There is no need for school districts to be so big.

The law in Utah is actually about age appropriateness for the whole district [possibly State, IDNK], but allows parents to request that their own children not have access to books of the parents' choice. Virtually all requests from parents are the first method, not the second. Decentralization would reduce the influence of such busy bodies.

The use of the term "government school" instead of "public school" is pretty loaded.

And all choices are political. And social. And ideological. And...


Which is why, in a pluralistic society, wherever possible choices should be made which are as acceptable as possible to as wide a range of the population as possible.

Given the limited budgets school libraries have, it's hard to believe there are so few childrens' books published that they have to buy ones on anyone's "ban list. As far as "ideology" is concerned, there are probably lots of books encouraging honesty, compassion, respect, etc. that do so without getting into all kinds of controversy. It is entirely reasonable to have civic expectation of how people should act towards one another; it's very dangerous government overreach to prescribe how people should think about everyone else.
It takes so little to be above average.

Scout

The goal of a library should be more than offer "minimally offensive" reading material. Access to a wide range of knowledge and literature, to expand options for its users, and enrich society is part of the equation. Society is not benefitted from appeasing every demand to limit options. Parents are more than welcome to supervise what children read if it's that important to them.

As a child, access to a wide range of books on a variety of topics was incredibly important to me. While I know that every possible book wasn't in my branch library, knowing that professionals in that space were curating a collection and not just populating shelves with whatever was most inoffensive, is important. Children's literature isn't just a collection of entertainment- books expose children to world, build vocabulary, develop empathy, and expand minds.

ciao_yall

Quote from: marshwiggle on June 05, 2023, 05:37:16 AM

Given the limited budgets school libraries have, it's hard to believe there are so few childrens' books published that they have to buy ones on anyone's "ban list. As far as "ideology" is concerned, there are probably lots of books encouraging honesty, compassion, respect, etc. that do so without getting into all kinds of controversy. It is entirely reasonable to have civic expectation of how people should act towards one another; it's very dangerous government overreach to prescribe how people should think about everyone else.

Oh, but then you might be getting into the dreaded social-emotional-learning and secular humanism that got math books banned from Florida.

Wahoo Redux

Quote from: marshwiggle on June 05, 2023, 05:37:16 AM
As far as "ideology" is concerned, there are probably lots of books encouraging honesty, compassion, respect, etc. that do so without getting into all kinds of controversy. It is entirely reasonable to have civic expectation of how people should act towards one another; it's very dangerous government overreach to prescribe how people should think about everyone else.

In other words, we should avoid anything that might upset your ideological platform (you do realize you also have a very clear "ideology" too, right?).  Nothing is "controversial" unless we decide to make it controversial.

Really, truly think about honesty, compassion, and respect in these circumstances.  Are you fostering these?
Come, fill the Cup, and in the fire of Spring
Your Winter-garment of Repentance fling:
The Bird of Time has but a little way
To flutter--and the Bird is on the Wing.

apl68

Quote from: Langue_doc on June 03, 2023, 05:57:44 PM
QuoteUtah primary schools ban Bible for 'vulgarity and violence'

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-65794363

That's been a standard tit-for-tat dodge for years among people protesting book challenges.  The Bible has long been one of the most often-challenged books for that reason.
If in this life only we had hope of Christ, we would be the most pathetic of them all.  But now is Christ raised from the dead, the first of those who slept.  First Christ, then afterward those who belong to Christ when he comes.