Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Banning all books

I tried to post a comment to this story, which is about the dismissal of 4 librarians in Wisconsin due to their refusal to remove material from the library that some found objectionable. One line in particular caught my eye:

[two] patrons...demanded that the library add books “affirming traditional heterosexual perspectives.”
Wouldn't this apply to any book that includes a male and female involved in a romance? Which would include about 95% percent of fiction. Libraries don't need to add books affirming traditional perspectives -- those dominate.

Here's a question: are they going to ban books that include divorces? Or that showcase dysfunctional heterosexual relationships? How about books where couples fight and then break up? Or have premarital sex? Because there goes all the Gossip Girl books.

Libraries exist for the public, which includes all sexualities. Boards should not have the right to tell people what they can and cannot check out of the public library, which is funded with public tax money. Responsibility for deciding what underage readers can and cannot read belongs solely to that child's parent or guardian.

Just because you don't agree with a book doesn't mean I can't read it or give it to my child to read.

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