N = Nonsense
I'm going to start by saying I don't believe in book bans. I mean, I know they aren't mythical, they exist. But I don't believe you have the right to tell me what I can and cannot read just because you don't find it appropriate for you. And when books get stripped from school libraries, I don't believe you should have the right to tell someone else's child what they can and cannot read, that's really between that child and their parents.
Technically speaking, book banning is still illegal. There are certainly people who want specific books banned from public consumption, and there are people who have advocated successfully for certain books to be pulled from library shelves, but you can't actually prevent people from reading these books. In the United States, there's a little thing called the 1st Amendment and I tried to detail what it means on this post from September 28, 2025. One of the things the 1st Amendment supports is free media, that is the freedom to write something and the freedom to consume what was written. It supports books.
Why might a book be challenged you ask? For any number of themes like race, mental health, LGBTQA+, sexual content, violence, feminism and/or any combination there of. As stated in my October 5, 2025 post celebrating Banned Books Week, I remember when Harry Potter was challenged for teaching kids the occult.
Books that have been challenged include classics like Fahrenheit 451 and 1984, contemporary works like Thirteen Reasons Why and Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, and children's literature like Curious George and Tango Makes Three. (I had to look up what Curious George did wrong... apparently it represents white authority and racial stereotypes. I don't think it does, but it's been a very long time since I've read it.)
The majority of the themes listed above, fall under the Trump Administration's definition of 'woke'. Which is to say, they promote critical thinking about society as it is, not as the Conservative Party wants it to be. But it would be hugely unfair of me to say the Conservative party is the only one to challenge books... That Curious George-thing has 'liberal agenda' written all over it. (The current Administration would never pull a book for being too racist. Ba-dum-dum-tish) The Democrats want to ban books for the same base reason that Republicans do: They're threatening the 1st Amendment because the 1st Amendment makes them feel threatened.
To be clear here, I don't support either side in their zest for dominance over the 1st Amendment. There's no good excuse as to why I can't legally read a book.
My overall thoughts on 'banned books' is go out and read one. Heck, read them all. If there's something in a book that your neighbor (or your government) doesn't want you to know... Learn it. If you're afraid your rights are being violated, protest (peacefully) and fight for what you believe in because 'the other guys' are absolutely going to fight for what they believe in.
I'm sure there are people out there who disagree with my opinion, but all I'm going to say to those folks is this: Mind your own bookshelves.
Have you read any banned or challenged books? Why was it challenged?
I have read Fahrenheit 451, 1984, Lolita, The Catcher in the Rye, and a bunch of the Curious George books (not that I remember those). Sometimes when I hear that a book is upsetting people, it makes me more inclined to read it!
ReplyDeleteI like your phrase, "Mind Your Own Bookshelf". I think many of the books banned are from adults not wanting children to learn about values that are different than their own. Of course, the right way to do that is to let your child read what they want, but know what it is, and then discuss. However, I will say that I think some books are not developmentally appropriate for all kids and parents should know what their kids are reading to maybe steer them, if need be, to another book until they are older.
ReplyDeleteBook banners are never on the right side of history.
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