I found that Texas isn’t the only place that had a problem with the dictionary:
In 1978, an Eldon, Missouri library banned the [American Heritage 1969] dictionary because it contained 39 "objectionable" words. And, in 1987, the Anchorage School Board banned the dictionary for similar reasons, i.e., having slang definitions for words such as "bed," "knocker," and "balls."
American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language
PE1628 .A54 2000 SSH Controlled Circulation1976
Removed in school libraries in Anchorage, Alaska, Cedar Lake, Indiana, Eldon, Missouri (1977), and Folsom, California (1982), due to “objectionable language.”1993
Challenged, but retained, in the Churchill County, Nevada, school libraries. The controversy began after another dictionary was removed due to “objectionable language.” It was removed from, and later returned to, classrooms in Washoe County, Nevada.
A couple of my favorite book-banning episodes were :
Venado Middle School in Irvine, California, blacked out the offensive words in Fahrenheit 451, perhaps the most famous book written about book banning and censorship.
And, I am just in awe of the reasoning for banning Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee:
1974
Removed in Wild Rose, Wis. by a district administrator because the book was "slanted" and "if there's a possibility that something might be controversial, then why not eliminate it?"
Why not, indeed?
Trying to run down the status of the dictionaries in Texas schools (which I didn’t manage), I ran across another Texas organization: Censor the Book.
After reading their “about us” page, I learned this: they need to do more reading and less banning. A minimum of a high school education helps when you’re criticizing literature.
We are an organization dedicated to the ban or censoring of books that are indecent, immoral, racist, and unfit for society. Sponsored by Christian organizations and concerned groups that promote anti-deformation in literature and entertainment we seek to stop the production of these kind of books in schools, libraries, and retail stores. These kind of books should not be allowed these places especially when they promote godliness, homosexuality, racism, indecency, and immoral behavior. Books that are share these bad qualities should not be under the mask of great works of art. We are not seeking to burn books or rid the world of books, but to censor or the ban the books that are deemed indecent. They should have their place in the world, but in decent society and they kept out of the hands of our children. We seek to let the world know of the books that are immoral and indecent while not letting them be disguised as normal or good reading material especially in our educational institutions where young minds can be morally corrupted by this kind of literature. We are for a better world where literature does not have to be indecent and immoral.
Anti-deformation. I like my books to be perfectly formed, too.
Did you notice in amongst all the errors the objection to promoting “godliness”? Of course, we know they mean “godlessness”, but they repeat the error on their “Mission” page:
Our Mission is very simple. We are seeking to censor and ban books that promote godliness, homosexuality, racism, indecency, and immoral behavior from our schools, universities, retail stores, and libraries.
I wish they’d said what “place in the world” they would allot these books they want to censor or ban. Underneath the mattress at home, I guess.
They have a page of “Bad Books” and better yet, a page listing “Bad Authors” that “need to be censored” which includes just about any author worth reading, plus Protagoras and Benjamin Franklin.
And they have a page listing “people and organizations that help sponsor our efforts”. The Anti-Defamation League is listed. (The Anti-Deformation League is nowhere to be found.) 60 Minutes is listed. Barnes and Noble. Somehow I’m doubtful. And…the CIA. Joseph McCarthy, U.S. Senator, is listed. Is he still around?!
They have a separate page called “Sponsors for Censoring Indecent Books” that’s essentially an expanded list of the “people and organizations who help sponsor” their efforts. It’s broken down into two groups, the second of which is a list of foreigners, oddly titled: “Groups and Organizations in the United States of America.” Listed among that noble group, which includes “The Canadian Government”, is ironically the Ayatollah Khomeni. “German Communists and Nazis” are listed. There’s no indication of any sense of irony. Frederick William II of Prussia is on the list.
Surely, “Censor the Book” is a parody site. Surely.
But if you’re interested in helping them, they’re here: http://www. censorthebook.info/index.htm. (Of course you won't want the space in the address. I specifically did not make a link, hoping to avoid some of the track-back traffic which unfailingly brings God's defenders to the comments section to remind me that I'm going to Hell. I haven't forgotten.) On their home page, you will get a nice little Christian song and a streaming, lightly steaming, video sponsored by Parents for Christ so that even if you don’t read any sexy books, you can still get a little thrill.
....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.
I wonder if Censor the Book shouldn’t lobby for censoring the King James Bible. Surely we should black out references to Noah sleeping with his sons’ wives, and to Jesus’ changing of water into wine and defense of a prostitute.
Update: Thanks to someone in Walnut Creek, California, who was looking for something about the dictionary ban and landed here, I found that as late as 2002, the aptly named Godley School District in Texas put in a (failed) bid to have Webster's Dictionary banned in the high school due to "profanity" and "inappropriate language". Christ. I'd be willing to bet that the dictionaries in Godley's high school don't get a lot of use anyway. At least they didn't until some censor noted they contained some profane words. But now I wonder, does somebody have the job of reading the entire dictionary to see if it has "inappropriate" words in it?
No comments:
Post a Comment
Comments are moderated. There may be some delay before your comment is published. It all depends on how much time M has in the day. But please comment!