'To Kill a Mockingbird,' Other Books Banned From California Schools Over Racism Concerns

Discussion in 'Political Opinions & Beliefs' started by Steve N, Nov 23, 2020.

  1. Steve N

    Steve N Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    So they're going to ban books in California, eh? 80+ years ago people also banned books and now progressives want to behave like them. And how can people be harmed or hurt over books? Want to stop the alleged harm? Then stop teaching people about slavery, stop making them believe they're inferior and teach them the sticks and stones parable.

    Oh, and the stories the parents told in this story, I'm calling BS. I mean, according to one parent "My daughter was literally traumatized," Helligar said. "These books are problematic ... you feel helpless because you can't even protect your child from the hurt that she's going through."

    There you go, literally traumatized and hurt. The world is not a kind and easy place, it's less kind and harder when you're raised as a snowflake who's traumatized and hurt by life.

    Meanwhile, there's this and there's nothing wrong with it.

    [​IMG]

     
  2. btthegreat

    btthegreat Well-Known Member

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    Lets ditch the hyperbole and some notion that either 'leftists' or 'righties' have a monopoly on book bans or that all book bans are created equal. They are local affairs in local schools, local libraries and revolve around local politics and cultures. In some places we are talking about a book mentioning a kid with two dads as a characters. In some places we are talking about classic literature. In some places they involve nonfictional historical accounts that tick off lefties or righties on everything from unionism, the Vietnam War, Slavery or Watergate. And it sure makes a difference what age we are talking with respect to access to minors. There is a difference between what a 12 year old ought to read, and what a 17 year old ought to read. There will always be book bans and there should be book bans wherever the taxpayer pays the bills and children have access to content.

    To the specifics here. Books like these should be taught and they should be taught in context addressing the very concerns these parents raise. In my school in high school we had one of these mini-controversies in AP Lit, and the teacher invited one of the concerned parents into the class and gave him time to talk to the class himself.. No literature comes without a wrapping of culture, history and politics encasing every single page. Its part of what you teach. You do no good avoiding or hiding it.
     
    Last edited: Nov 23, 2020
  3. FreshAir

    FreshAir Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    they are deciding what books to include in school libraries or that teachers can force a child to read, not the same as banning books

    do you think a book titled "all white people are racist" should be in the school library? that students be forced to read it by teachers? I do not.....

    some books just don't belong in our schools and some books our children should not be forced to read by our teachers
     
    Last edited: Nov 23, 2020
  4. FreshAir

    FreshAir Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    "The world is not a kind and easy place, it's less kind and harder when you're raised as a snowflake who's traumatized and hurt by life."

    Trump proves that, Trump is a spoiled little rich snowflake
     
    Last edited: Nov 23, 2020
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  5. 61falcon

    61falcon Well-Known Member

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    How does the decision of one district Burbank, with a population of 104,000, get somehow miraculously transferred to the whole state of 40 million people?????
     
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  6. ECA

    ECA Well-Known Member

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    Some people live by sweeping generalizations. It's the only way they know how to operate.
     
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  7. Doofenshmirtz

    Doofenshmirtz Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Why not ban all history books? All contain racism!
     
  8. HockeyDad

    HockeyDad Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Well they are banning To Kill a Mockingbird in schools all over the place. No great loss, I always considered it low rent trash anyways, it certainly is not a great work like Crime & Punishment or 1984. It is somewhat amusing to see the woke left of the present torching the work product of the woke left of the 60s. It is a like a big beautiful circle.

    https://www.independent.co.uk/news/...innestota-district-racial-slurs-a8201416.html
    https://time.com/4983786/biloxi-mississippi-school-ban-to-kill-a-mockingbird/
    http://www.therepublic.com/2019/03/...rates_calls_to_ban_the_book_for_racial_slurs/
    https://www.theguardian.com/books/2...in-us-banned-books-week-to-kill-a-mockingbird
     
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  9. ECA

    ECA Well-Known Member

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    What a shame To Kill a Mockingbird won't be read by these students. Is there a better book with lessons that emphasize tolerance and decry prejudice?
     
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  10. Darthcervantes

    Darthcervantes Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    they should replace it with a book about "how to act when being approached by police" instead. at least that will have useful information that can be used in life
     
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  11. Sallyally

    Sallyally Well-Known Member Donor

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    Brilliant, thank you.
     
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  12. btthegreat

    btthegreat Well-Known Member

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    Its the same magic by which five votes with bad signatures can disenfranchise 25, 000 voters and endanger the certification of an entire precinct. Ask the court magician, Rudy.
     
    Last edited: Nov 23, 2020
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  13. Adfundum

    Adfundum Moderator Staff Member Donor

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    Those books have been banned by different school districts since they were published. Most of the complaints I got about To Kill a Mockingbird were from White parents who thought the portrayal of Bob Ewell was a slap in the face of Whites. Got a few complaints about Huck Finn and the use of the N word, but not often. Of Mice and Men was considered a communist novel by some parents. It's a shame that we would ban any of those. It's like we're afraid to confront our negative side.

    Ironically, Harper Lee published what she considered her original version of To Kill a Mockingbird just before she died. It was so wildly different in tone, theme and plot. It's a peek back into an overtly racist past, and "Atticus Finch" was a strong part of it. Two very polar approaches to who we were.

    Anyway, book banning is nothing new.
     
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  14. Adfundum

    Adfundum Moderator Staff Member Donor

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    You bring up a point of contention among many English teachers. Books that seem simple, such as "Animal Farm," have some serious themes and allusions that are part of a more advanced reading course. Yet many such novels were taught in the middle schools, and other than reading the book and answering a handful of comprehension questions, little else was done. Many of us who taught AP or IB courses had to survey the classes to see which novels we could use and which ones the students had already read. As you pointed out, age really does make a huge difference in how ready students are to deal with those works on an intellectual level. Also, we had courses that were co-taught by English and Social Studies teachers to bring the political, historical, and cultural aspects of the settings into focus.
     
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  15. Ronald Hillman

    Ronald Hillman Banned

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    I read Of Mice and Men for my English O level, in a lefty comprehensive school, with a lefty English teacher and been a lefty all my life, but I cannot understand how it could ever be thought of as a communist novel!
     
  16. Indlib

    Indlib Well-Known Member

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    Never posted a pic before so experimenting semi on topic here.

    2013-06-03_19-07-16.png
     
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  17. Adfundum

    Adfundum Moderator Staff Member Donor

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    Because it was sympathetic to a low class group of workers and portrayed the owner of the farm as a bully.
     
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  18. Ronald Hillman

    Ronald Hillman Banned

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    Wow, some americans have strange notions of literature! I have never thought of it that way.
     
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  19. Sallyally

    Sallyally Well-Known Member Donor

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    Steinbeck has always been considered a bit “suss” by many Americans.
     
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  20. Ronald Hillman

    Ronald Hillman Banned

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    Makes me wonder what they think of Dickens, Wells or Llewllyn.
     
  21. Sallyally

    Sallyally Well-Known Member Donor

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    Bloody Commies, the lot of them!
     
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  22. Steve N

    Steve N Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Or the few voters who can't get a voter ID card.
     
  23. Steve N

    Steve N Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Do you see any push back fro the 104, 000?
     
  24. Steve N

    Steve N Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Like all Trump supporters being Nazis and all white people being racist? If sweeping generalizations bother you so much, then I'd avoid discussing blm if I were you.
     
  25. ECA

    ECA Well-Known Member

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    A) What do a holes who claim Trump supporters are Nazis and racist have to do with me?
    B) I don’t discuss BLM. I don’t give two craps about the BLM organization. To me, no one race matters more than another.
    So....you were saying?
     
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