ari_ormstunga (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
ari_ormstunga) wrote2022-02-13 05:54 am
ari_ormstunga) wrote2022-02-13 05:54 am
They Don't Gotta Burn the Books
They Don't Gotta Burn the Books They Just Remove 'Em - Rage Against the Machine
I dropped by Patheos Pagan, as I occasionally do, only to discover that some of the columnists there are concerned about a book burning that was taking place in Tennessee. I didn't read the coverage of the source of their concerns, but I guess the Harry Potter books and tomes on witchcraft and the like were roasted (or will be roasted; I don't know if this event has happened yet).
In somewhat related news, I guess, they also mentioned that a school board removed the graphic novel Maus by Art Spielgelman from it's curriculum recently.
As it happens, I am against book burning. I guess that if people want to burn their private property, so be it, but symbolically at least, I find the practice to be distasteful. As a practitioner of an alternative religion with members who have historically sometimes been burned at the stake for heresy, I'm also not a big fan of religious intolerance. I've known some really cool and groovy Neopagans and some really groovy and cool Christians. I have to acknowledge, however, that some fundies would possibly be happy to throw me on the pyre with my stack of forbidden books, though. Then again, given their public proclivity for demonolatry, curses, and political intolerance, a lot of Neopagans would probably be happy to see me destroyed for my political wrongthink too!
No one ever said being a mage was easy I guess. Maybe I should round out my library with a copy of How to Win Friends and Influence People.
The removal of Maus, a graphic novel depicting the horrors of the Holocaust, from a curriculum for eighth graders, is a little more nuanced than is being reported. As I understand it at least, the book is not going to be taught in school, which is not the same as the book being banned. I read Maus as a young adult around the same time I read "In the Shadow of No Towers" by the same author. They were both good and meaningful books, and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them. Is Maus appropriate for 8th graders? In my opinion yes, but I am not a member of that particular community. It's important for people to learn about the Holocaust; I sincerely believe that if history is forgotten it will be repeated. There are other books that are probably equally able to explain those horrors though.
I do think that parents and communities should have some input into what their kids are learning in public schools. If Maus is still available for people who want to read it, then the book isn't really "banned", it just isn't being actively taught in class. If it was removed outright, I'd find that a bit more concerning. I didn't read Maus in school and I still learned about the Holocaust (and slavery and racism and Jim Crow laws and a lot of other topics that leftists seem to think aren't being taught in schools; I don't think my education was top-notch but we did hit the low points of American history as well as the high ones).
As a certified, genuine bibliophile, I have to admit that, sadly, books are not the preferred method of gathering and presenting information now. As the Net crashes due to our contracting resource base and server farms become increasingly unsustainable energetically, they may return to prominence, but for now, audio, video, and web content are king. And at long last, I arrive at the point of my little Sunday morning missive.
The efforts of some pastor to burn books in his community, or the removal of an easily accessed graphic novel from an 8th grade class, are fine areas of concern for those who have them, but my concerns are far larger. In our society, information on the internet is being censored literally all the time, by virtue of labeling it "misinformation" (that's Trump's "fake news" with a dressed up term for leftists). Our government and Big Tech overlords have decided that this or that view is representative of reality, and anything else must be squashed and removed.
John Stewart, one of the few modern left-wingers for whom I still have a shred of respect and affection, recently made the point that by today's standards, his entire show during the Iraq war could have been censored and labeled as misinformation because he went against the dominant narratives being spouted by the lying mainstream media and government officials. Having lived through that time, the comparison occurred to me as well; in fact, I have no doubt that Stewart's show would have been cancelled quicker than you can say "we live in a totalitarian state" today.
That so many people I thought were brave and wise turned out to be weak shills once their political tribe turned into censorious authoritarians has been one of the most disappointing and disillusioning events of my adult life, but it was a necessary part of my education I guess. They would doubtless sputter about how it's different, there are lives at stake, and any other of a number of weak rationalizations, but it's always different, there are always lives at stake, and either you believe in freedom of speech, freedom of expression, and respect dissenting views, or you don't.
There's isn't that much of a difference between the strident intolerance of the extreme political Left and the strident intolerance of the extreme political Right; someone outside the mainstream like myself has to keep an eye on the bastards on both sides.
Like leftist Zach De La Rocha observed in his song Bulls on Parade, they don't gotta burn the books, they just remove 'em. This is more pertinent now than ever, where alternative narratives just get banished. And for all the Leftists cheering this on, better keep in mind that the people on the other side of the aisle aren't going to forget this precedent you're setting. When your people start having their perspectives removed and "fact checked" into oblivion by hyperpartisan political activists, you won't have anyone but yourselves to blame.
I dropped by Patheos Pagan, as I occasionally do, only to discover that some of the columnists there are concerned about a book burning that was taking place in Tennessee. I didn't read the coverage of the source of their concerns, but I guess the Harry Potter books and tomes on witchcraft and the like were roasted (or will be roasted; I don't know if this event has happened yet).
In somewhat related news, I guess, they also mentioned that a school board removed the graphic novel Maus by Art Spielgelman from it's curriculum recently.
As it happens, I am against book burning. I guess that if people want to burn their private property, so be it, but symbolically at least, I find the practice to be distasteful. As a practitioner of an alternative religion with members who have historically sometimes been burned at the stake for heresy, I'm also not a big fan of religious intolerance. I've known some really cool and groovy Neopagans and some really groovy and cool Christians. I have to acknowledge, however, that some fundies would possibly be happy to throw me on the pyre with my stack of forbidden books, though. Then again, given their public proclivity for demonolatry, curses, and political intolerance, a lot of Neopagans would probably be happy to see me destroyed for my political wrongthink too!
No one ever said being a mage was easy I guess. Maybe I should round out my library with a copy of How to Win Friends and Influence People.
The removal of Maus, a graphic novel depicting the horrors of the Holocaust, from a curriculum for eighth graders, is a little more nuanced than is being reported. As I understand it at least, the book is not going to be taught in school, which is not the same as the book being banned. I read Maus as a young adult around the same time I read "In the Shadow of No Towers" by the same author. They were both good and meaningful books, and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them. Is Maus appropriate for 8th graders? In my opinion yes, but I am not a member of that particular community. It's important for people to learn about the Holocaust; I sincerely believe that if history is forgotten it will be repeated. There are other books that are probably equally able to explain those horrors though.
I do think that parents and communities should have some input into what their kids are learning in public schools. If Maus is still available for people who want to read it, then the book isn't really "banned", it just isn't being actively taught in class. If it was removed outright, I'd find that a bit more concerning. I didn't read Maus in school and I still learned about the Holocaust (and slavery and racism and Jim Crow laws and a lot of other topics that leftists seem to think aren't being taught in schools; I don't think my education was top-notch but we did hit the low points of American history as well as the high ones).
As a certified, genuine bibliophile, I have to admit that, sadly, books are not the preferred method of gathering and presenting information now. As the Net crashes due to our contracting resource base and server farms become increasingly unsustainable energetically, they may return to prominence, but for now, audio, video, and web content are king. And at long last, I arrive at the point of my little Sunday morning missive.
The efforts of some pastor to burn books in his community, or the removal of an easily accessed graphic novel from an 8th grade class, are fine areas of concern for those who have them, but my concerns are far larger. In our society, information on the internet is being censored literally all the time, by virtue of labeling it "misinformation" (that's Trump's "fake news" with a dressed up term for leftists). Our government and Big Tech overlords have decided that this or that view is representative of reality, and anything else must be squashed and removed.
John Stewart, one of the few modern left-wingers for whom I still have a shred of respect and affection, recently made the point that by today's standards, his entire show during the Iraq war could have been censored and labeled as misinformation because he went against the dominant narratives being spouted by the lying mainstream media and government officials. Having lived through that time, the comparison occurred to me as well; in fact, I have no doubt that Stewart's show would have been cancelled quicker than you can say "we live in a totalitarian state" today.
That so many people I thought were brave and wise turned out to be weak shills once their political tribe turned into censorious authoritarians has been one of the most disappointing and disillusioning events of my adult life, but it was a necessary part of my education I guess. They would doubtless sputter about how it's different, there are lives at stake, and any other of a number of weak rationalizations, but it's always different, there are always lives at stake, and either you believe in freedom of speech, freedom of expression, and respect dissenting views, or you don't.
There's isn't that much of a difference between the strident intolerance of the extreme political Left and the strident intolerance of the extreme political Right; someone outside the mainstream like myself has to keep an eye on the bastards on both sides.
Like leftist Zach De La Rocha observed in his song Bulls on Parade, they don't gotta burn the books, they just remove 'em. This is more pertinent now than ever, where alternative narratives just get banished. And for all the Leftists cheering this on, better keep in mind that the people on the other side of the aisle aren't going to forget this precedent you're setting. When your people start having their perspectives removed and "fact checked" into oblivion by hyperpartisan political activists, you won't have anyone but yourselves to blame.