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2 years ago
How right you are. But you left out that the books haven't been banned because they changed the name to "Challenging" a book instead of "banning" it.
ReplyDeleteThankx to the ALA and partners! They work year round to defeat the hundreds of "challenges" from becoming "banned." And we use Banned Books Week to thanks them profusely and hope to gather more to aid in putting a stop to the on-going censorship in the USA.
But we welcome and respect every other opinion, as you respect ours. So please join us for the live interview with Angela Maycock of the ALA Sept 23 at 1:00 pm Mountain Time. The call in number is: (646) 595-4756. Hope to see you there.
Check out this response, who says it all better than I ever could: http://www.oif.ala.org/oif/?p=319
I do respect your opinion. Please respect that I believe it may be misguided--by the ALA.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the Angela Maycock invite. I may do that. In the meantime, here are my concerns with the ALA and so-called Banned Books Week.
I happen to oppose book banning and censorship. Serious instances, real instances. I support authors saying anything they wish.
Efforts to keep children from material inappropriate for children is not censorship, as the US Supreme Court has noted, no matter how dramatic or loud mouthed such efforts may be. One ALA Councilor (Jessamyn West) said:
"It also highlights the thing we know about Banned Books Week that we don't talk about much — the bulk of these books are challenged by parents for being age-inappropriate for children. While I think this is still a formidable thing for librarians to deal with, it's totally different from people trying to block a book from being sold at all."
Totally different. I agree, and that is essentially my point as well.
Now true censorship, true book burnings, true persecution of librarians, that really happens. I oppose this. And I know you and your readers oppose this.
The ALA does not oppose this, however. You read that right. The ALA does NOT oppose that. Read, by way of just one example, "American Library Association Shamed," by Nat Hentoff, Laurel Leader-Call, 2 March 2007.
Please explain why the ALA views book burnings, bannings, and jailed librarians in Cuba as NOT censorship, and why people legally keeping children from inappropriate material IS censorship.
If I speak with Angela Maycock, I'll be asking questions along these lines. Politely, of course, but firmly nevertheless. I'll be surprised if I get a response, like when the ALA backed out of a Banned Books Week debate with me on Fox News a while back.
Set aside any bias in favor of the ALA and Banned Books Week. Set aside any disagreement with Thomas Sowell speaking about National Hogwash Week.
Ask yourselves, why does the ALA not only refuse to assist jailed Cuban librarians, but go further and actually thwart efforts by others to assist them? I want Angela Maycock to answer that.
Then go further. Why should members of the public consider the ALA to be authoritative on the definition of what is censorship in local public libraries?
Indeed, why should local libraries care one whit about an organization actively blocking efforts to assist jailed and beaten Cuban librarians and associated censorship and book burnings?
These are legitimate questions. Honest answers may be revealing. The question is, are people willing to be honest with themselves or to speak truth to power?
The ALA blog you linked does not answer these questions. Indeed the author complains about people having "chutzpah" for attempting to use legal means to keep children from inappropriate material. He even uses the word four times--it must be a significant argument--ad hominem, but significant, at least to him.
The ALA's OIF supposedly upholds freedom of speech and intellectual freedom. Did you ever wonder why the "OIF Blog" does not allow comments? Now that's chutzpah. Maybe I'll ask Angela Maycock about that. I'm not being fresh. I really want to know why the blog of the OIF does not allow comments, and why, when it did for a day or so and I commented, the free speech OIF removed the comment.
Dear SafeLibraries, please know that you are welcome. I do hope you will bring your sincere questions to the interview. I look forward to meeting you there: The call in number is: (646) 595-4756.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to hear questions from all of you reading this too. Everyone welcome.
The link to more info: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/grandmamosessw/2009/09/23/Banned-Books-Week
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