Quote:
Originally Posted by Paperbackstash
Let's all remember some of the ludicrous motions to ban popular books for kids based on the oddest reasons from school groups before. That's why I don't like the idea of this.
On one hand someone may say it's a good thing to restrict kids from "harmful books" - but what is harmful? It's too subjective. The top 11 books american groups tried to ban last year is an example of this - most of these books aren't harmful for children unless a person has an odd viewpoint or is missing the point of the books entirely.
I was an advanced reader and my parents let me read adult fiction in middle school. Not every parent would agree with that - I met someone whose parents wouldn't let her read Judy Blume at any age. Having the parents decide for their children, and the children decide for themselves, versus a 5 person committee is what should take place. |
1, 2, 3, 5, 10 and 11 on that list were all challenged for LGBT content. Not for harmful depictions thereof - just for containing it. As an adult who was in the closet during my teens, this sort of ban is devastating to kids who want to see themselves somewhere that isn't coming from the place of "you're going to hell." Granted, my parents would never have let me read them, but my parents didn't monitor my reading - I read too much for them to keep up with.
I also love that what started this was the age-old "gay=child predator" nonsense that many of us have been dealing with for decades.