This week is Banned Book Week -- a week celebrating all of the books that the Uptight Citizens of America have deemed UNWORTHY in some way ... racist, pro-communist, anti-God, anti-Christian (ahem, there IS a difference, there's more than one God thankyouverymuch), pro-free-thinking, etc.
Now, I'm going to just turn my soapbox on the tall side so that y'all can see me for a sec. Banned books have been a sore spot for me since I learned what they were and discovered there were people on this planet trying to tell me what I should and should not read. A book should never be burned, NEVER. No matter what it's content. NEVER EVER. The only time it's okay to burn a book is if you're penniless and starving and freezing and a book is the only form of kindling you have near you and there's no chance of finding anything else around. And even then, you should feel really bad about it. If you don't agree with what the book says, here's the thing: DON'T FUCKING READ IT. People are going to think differently than you, and they have every right to put their thoughts down on paper, JUST LIKE YOU. Write your own stupid book so that other people can burn your thoughts! Jerk! If you don't like it, get over it -- burning, banning, and condemning books because you disagree with the content is a basic form of ignorance and intolerance and not a far cry from racism (literacism?). (And please let me take this moment to state the irony of Farenheit 451 being a banned book. There. Irony stated. But seriously?!?! WINNIE-THE-POOH???)
So -- here's the link to the American Library Association's list of Banned and/or Challenged Books. This is not the entire list, but there are some serious classics on here. I've only read a handful of these, and there were even a few that I read I didn't enjoy (personally, I thought The Catcher in the Rye was boring. Dude needed to get over himself). Take a look. Educate yourself. Or don't. That's your right as an American citizen. But please don't burn them. Because that's just dumb.
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