Censorship Throughout History

@celticeagle (189833)
Boise, Idaho
March 2, 2023 4:29pm CST
With Ron DeSantis' recent banning of books in schools I have gone on a quest for knowledge into the reasons behind censorship now and throughout history. The Diary of Anne Frank is a book that has been censored many times since its publication in 1947. The reason for the censorship was not for the reason many might think. It was supposed to protect children. In 1982 parents of children in Wise County, Virginia demanded this book be taken off the shelves and made unavailable to their children to read. Why? Because they felt it was "sexually offensive". Passages in question were those about her own anatomy, her sexual feelings, and, a homosexual description of her friend. This is a book that sold 30 million copies in six countries and in 70 different languages. Back then I suppose this reasoning can be understood but, to a free thinker such as myself, it brings up some red flags. Just one is that if such writing is censored then where do kids growing into adolescence go for answers they begin having about their own sexuality? If all literature like this is censored then kids just grow up ignorant about some of the most common subjects in their lives. In the 1980s movie "The Meaning of the Rose" Sean Connery portrays a Munk who when asked the question as to why they were trying to censor Aristotle, he told this person that what Aristotle was preaching was wisdom that was not theirs. It may cause men to doubt, and doubt is the enemy of faith. This is basically why religious conservatives want to censor things like the LGBQT, racism, and other cultural subjects now being censored in Florida and around the country. If access to these things is not just cut off from the mainstream then people may begin to doubt the validity of what people like DeSantis are trying to brainwash people into believing. Forbid people to make decisions on their own and squash the fundamental rights that make this country a democratic one. Take away the will of the people but make them think what is being done is for the future of our children. Then what do we have?
12 people like this
10 responses
@marguicha (230350)
• Chile
2 Mar 23
Although my native tongue is not English, there are some books (and some movies) in English that have been part of my life. The wonderful movie "Gone with the Wind" was a movie that on watching it when I was older made me understand more the war between the north and the south. But it seems to me that lately people don´t want to remember their History and they banned the movie. Later on, they banned from schools first and then from everywhere the books written by Laura Ingalls. They put out of context a couple of sentences said by her mother and decided that said books were "politically incorrect". Thanks be given that I live in a country where being mixed is normal. My siblings were blonde and I was "la Negra". I'm glad that my skin color made me stay in the water longer without turning red like my siblings´ skin. I don´t care if my friends are chequered. I don´t mind if they are LGBQT or not or if they just won´t talk about it. I do mind censorship. It annoys me.
6 people like this
@TheHorse (238311)
• Walnut Creek, California
3 Mar 23
We have a lot of "mutts" here in California as well.
5 people like this
@celticeagle (189833)
• Boise, Idaho
3 Mar 23
That movie was a great history teller for sure. I think censorship is wrong. It is the beginning of some very scary stuff I really don't think any of us want in this country.
2 people like this
@RubyHawk (99367)
• Atlanta, Georgia
3 Mar 23
I do not believe in censoring books for reasons other than lying or persecuting people. As long as it's true, print it.
2 people like this
@celticeagle (189833)
• Boise, Idaho
3 Mar 23
Yes, and if it is factual about a period of history too.
1 person likes this
@celticeagle (189833)
• Boise, Idaho
3 Mar 23
@RubyHawk ...........and we need to have access to both side's narratives so we can make a good decision on how we feel about such things. But, we need to have access to them, not have them censored.
1 person likes this
@RubyHawk (99367)
• Atlanta, Georgia
3 Mar 23
@celticeagle It's hard to be sure because different sides have different versions.
1 person likes this
@BarBaraPrz (51819)
• St. Catharines, Ontario
3 Mar 23
What do we have? Small-minded idiots. "I don't like it. Ban it!"
2 people like this
@TheHorse (238311)
• Walnut Creek, California
3 Mar 23
Yep.
2 people like this
@DWDavis (25797)
• United States
2 Mar 23
The right has used the excuse, "But the children," to justify some of their greatest censorship excesses and forward other oppressive goals of their movement.
2 people like this
@celticeagle (189833)
• Boise, Idaho
3 Mar 23
I am so glad you see this for what it truly is.
@RasmaSandra (98004)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
2 Mar 23
I think no books that are considered classics should be censored or banned. Through these books, there is so much that can be learned about history and different perspectives on life can be given,
2 people like this
@celticeagle (189833)
• Boise, Idaho
3 Mar 23
I totally agree. And if they censor those what is next?
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (222417)
• United States
3 Mar 23
For some reason there are those that want to shield our youth from history and what actually happened. Some even want to change history. This is all wrong.
2 people like this
@celticeagle (189833)
• Boise, Idaho
3 Mar 23
It is the beginning of brainwashing us into thinking those times in history don't matter. The Holocaust and slavery did happen.
1 person likes this
@celticeagle (189833)
• Boise, Idaho
29 Mar 23
@LindaOHio .......We need to not allow it. Write congressmen, speak out, etc.
• Eugene, Oregon
2 Mar 23
Exactly right here. DeSantis & his ilk are a terrible danger to education and democracy.
1 person likes this
@celticeagle (189833)
• Boise, Idaho
3 Mar 23
And it is seeping in slowly just like in the Hitler days. Very scary.
1 person likes this
• Eugene, Oregon
3 Mar 23
@celticeagle I agree it is scary.
1 person likes this
@just4him (323168)
• Green Bay, Wisconsin
3 Mar 23
Sometimes I question the wisdom of people who want to censure life in general.
1 person likes this
@celticeagle (189833)
• Boise, Idaho
3 Mar 23
I think we have a right to know what happened in history. How else can we not let it happen again? That's what they want to hide from us.
1 person likes this
@just4him (323168)
• Green Bay, Wisconsin
4 Mar 23
@celticeagle I agree with you.
1 person likes this
@Nakitakona (59987)
• Philippines
29 Mar 23
Why books have to be censured? That's the big question. Since they affect the mind, the emotion, etc. I read somewhere that the Bible was censured too. It was burned to the ground. It is because its teaching is against the wisdom of the monarch or king. Where's the rationale there? The truth couldn't be stopped to spread.
1 person likes this
@celticeagle (189833)
• Boise, Idaho
29 Mar 23
Because they don't say what De Santis, and those like him, want it to say. Selfish, self-gratifying jerk.
1 person likes this
@Nakitakona (59987)
• Philippines
29 Mar 23
@celticeagle That's one of the reasons.
1 person likes this
@MarieCoyle (59216)
2 Mar 23
Reading Anne Frank's book at a young age was an eye opener, and a dose in reality--that a young girl went through that, she was real and had real feelings, and that so many others went through the same or worse, and lost their lives. Hiding books that tell the truth is not the answer.
1 person likes this
@celticeagle (189833)
• Boise, Idaho
3 Mar 23
My daughter loved that book. Hiding books is not the answer. No, indeed.
1 person likes this
@MarieCoyle (59216)
4 Mar 23
@celticeagle I have not been following DeSantis except when he is on the news. It makes me sad that he is banning books, I have 2 very young grandsons in Florida and this will affect them.