Your Thoughts On Banning

Sadly as someone else already pointed out book banning does happen here in the USA. I know in my own state some counties won't allow certain authors to be placed in the school libraries. One such author is Judy Blume, who in my opinion writes some great young adult books, but some find her offensive. Book banning shouldn't happen. When we allow books to be banned we are allowing others to decide what is allowable. Once we do that they can easily move towards limiting far more. Where do we draw the line, who decides what is acceptable and what isn't? And if we do allow it to happen with books what will be next?

I still am dumbfounded by how many books continue to be banned in the U.S. In a country that boasts freedom, we still try to control many aspects of that very freedom. Most of the control issues are derived out of fear. What exactly people fear kids (and adults) will get out of certain books, I'm not quite sure. But as previously pointed out, it should be up to the parents to direct what their children can and can't read. This extends into every genre and activity including internet access, TV watching, food, and video games. We as parents should be considered lazy if we demand the government (local, state or federal) to pass laws to control what our children encounter.

I think that book banning is absolutely insane..Like someone mentioned if you dont like the book or if you dont want your kids reading then DONT BUY OR BORROW IT..but to ban a book from EVERYONE is IMO WRONG...I know I own and/or have read several books that are "banned" or have been in the past and actually there are some titles that I'd love to buy that are on the ban list.

Books are banned in communities in the US constantly. Check out: http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/bannedbooksweek/bannedbooksweek.cfm . Some of the common 'offending books' are Tom Sawyer, Huck Finn, the Harry Potter series, To Kill a Mocking Bird, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou, and Of Mice and Men. There's a list of 100 frequently challenged books on that site. Books should NEVER be banned or censored, ever. When I looked at the list of challenged & banned books, I was quite proud to realize I had about 75% of the books in question on my shelves.

Unfortunately, we are not that far removed. The banning of books is an atrocity and tramples on our right to freedom of speech. Our once democracy is becoming quite diluted with all the controls and laws being created to disallow more and more. People should be allowed to read whatever they choose to read and then be held accountable for their actions resulting from the reading and ONLY THEN! Reading should never be a crime. Reading is knowledge and a form of history even if it's fictional. Most authors resort to using environmental descriptions of current standards. Just because standards change and certain things become no longer politically correct is no reason to not allow people the knowledge of said things.

I believe that individuals over the age of consent (18 in most of the U.S.) should be allowed to own, read, and loan to other consenting adults any book they choose. There are some books that are not appropriate for children, but I have never run across a book that I thought should be banned altogether. I believe people who are old enough to make their own decisions should be free to do so without any restrictions except where their decisions harm another person or living being. As far as banning books from schools, I believe teachers, administrators, parents, and school librarians should be jointly responsible for choosing what books are acceptable for what age groups.

I certainly hope we are not closeto book banning as once thatis started all books will be banned for one reason or another. What Ihave in my personal library should be nobody's business but my own.I have a wide array of genres and read voraciously. I do not sell my books or give them away as they get read more than once by me if they are any good at all.My loves of authors are eclectic.

well i dont really think so i mean all the books i no of they are great

Lots of books have been banned in the US as well as other countries. I think people should be free to read what they like. Clockwork Orange, Of Mice and Men and many other books were banned at some point. It is interesting that a lot of books which were banned ended up being very successful sellers. I studied Of Mice and Men at school!

I don't have any books that I would deem threatening, but I think it is stupid to ban them, because it isn't as though books are forced on people. An individual has the choice to read a book and put a book down, fair enough threatening books should come with warning.