Now they're burning library books in Colorado?

[JohnnyRingo]

“Censorship reflects a society’s lack of confidence in itself. It is a hallmark of an authoritarian regime.” Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart-1966.

Recently a book that was being used as part of an English assignment was confiscated from freshmen at Norwood High School due to references of paganism and an alleged magnitude of profanity.

Here in Norwood, a small group of parents sent letters to Superintendent Bob Conder, expressing their concern over, "Bless Me, Ultima," a book being used in the classroom as a literature book. Conder said the books, about 2 dozen in total costing $6.99 each, were pulled from the classroom, and designated to be destroyed. The parents approached the superintendent and asked that they be able to burn the books instead of the school janitor destroying them.

Conder granted them their request, as he has the right to dispose of them. Conder informed the School Board in a letter after the fact. He further stated, “I can’t dictate morality, but my job is to protect the kids. The books should have never been purchased, and were not properly disclosed for approval.”

Entire Article Here:
http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/bannedbooksweek/bbwlinks/norwoodhighschool.htm

[mark414]

1. crazy self righteous motherfuckers

[FreedomAngel82]

3. Isn't that against

freedom of religion? And the first ammendment? Doesn't the first ammendment say that the government isn't aloud to promote one religion over the other? So this is basically that, correct?

[NuttyFluffers]

10. dunno, is "Bless Me, Ultima" canon of a religious dogma?

probably not. ;)

if it's just a work of fiction from what i gather. it'd be like banning a book for characters exclaiming "Jesus fucking Christ! Oh my God, no!" *tsk, tsk* that's religion indoctrination! ... no. don't think so.

but we'll all just have to read the banned book now to find out, won't we? ;) as the saying goes, "no such thing as negative publicity."

[karlrschneider]

47. Check out the Amazon reviews.......

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0446600253/102-2113393-8844966

"supersticious"......
:eyes:

[Swamp Rat]

2. I'll bet even MORE kids will read the book now!

:D

The people that WANT to burn the books are psychos. x(

[Blue Gardener]

40. I'll buy them a copy if they want one

How would these nutjobs feel if there was a mass bible burning?

[Celeborn Skywalker]

4. What the hell is so offensive about "Bless Me, Ultima"?

I read it in sixth grade reading class and it was a good read. A few cuss words here and there, but nothing else I can think of that would be worthy of a book burning.

[neweurope]

7. No book is worthy of burning - not even "Mein Kampf".

And especially after the book burning of the Nazis nobody should ever burn a book again. It makes me sick. And they weren't content with the janitor destroying the books (can't understand why they should be destroyed in the first place even if not used in this school anymore) - no, the parents specifically requested that they could burn them. AND the director lets them go ahead. For me that's saying loud and clear "We agree with the deeds of the Nazis."

After what I've been reading on DU the last few months school directors are among the worst and most dangerous people in your country.


----------

Remember Fallujah

Bush to The Hague!

[Celeborn Skywalker]

25. You're right, of course

No book should be burned, I'm just wondering why they chose this one.

[mark414]

59. here is a plot overview

http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/ultima/summary.html

[janx]

81. It's a gorgeous book--Anaya's finest.

Required reading!

[trogdor]

72. OTOH, somebody should set up a public burning of Bibles.

Just to see how long it takes for these bozos to start screaming. You don't actually have to burn anything, just put an ad in the paper, stick flyers on telephone poles, or whatever saying your group is meeting in such-and-such place on, say, March 20th. Let hilarity ensue.

[fishwax]

27. Apparently it's also been challenged in NY, TX, and CA

states which (I can't help notice) all have high concentrations of latinos. Bless Me Ultima is a great book, considered the centerpiece of the Chicano Renaissance movement in literature. I guess the empowerment it provides to an indigenous worldview is threatening to some.

[blondeatlast]

31. I'm puzzled as well.

It touches a bit on Santeria, but that isn't exactly un-Christian.

It's a wonderful book.

[mistertrickster]

42. Here's the synopsis--

Here's the synopsis.

http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/ultima/summary.html

Set in New Mexico among Hispanics, it has witches casting spells and people questioning Catholicism.

[Celeborn Skywalker]

51. So that's their objection? How idiotic!

The Hispanics in New Mexico share many traits with Native Americans, both genetically and culturally. The religion that many practice, which is a mixture of traditional "pagan" native beliefs and traditional Catholicism, has been around for 400 years. These stupid fundies need to get over it.

[mistertrickster]

74. Yup, it's like "don't confuse us with the facts. we don't want to know."

I read Carlos Castenada but that doesn't mean I believe it.

Next they'll burn Shakespeare because of the witches in "Macbeth."

[Ready4Change]

55. As far as I can tell the problem with it is...

The kid doesn't find salvation in Jesus.

Really, from the reviews and synopsis I've foudn on it, that's about it. The kid has some troubles, doesn't find answers in the catholic church, and instead finds them in a visiting wise woman.

Sounds like the work of Lucifer to me. Better throw all the kids who managed to read a few pages on the bonfire as well. Don't want them to taint the holy gene pool.

:eyes:

[Ready4Change]

56. I gotta say more.

You know, a guy objects to the words "Under God" in the pledge of alliegance and which were added in the 50's during a spate of fear over godless communism, and he can't get anywhere and is declared a nutjob. But some parents raise a fuss over a book that shows paganism as something other than a bloody sacrificial cult and everyone steps all over themselves to help the parents out.

Throwing out the books not good enough? Wanna burn em? Sure, why not. Hey, here's "Catcher in the Rye", its got foul language, go ahead and burn them too. Howabout "Romeo and Juliet?" Underage sex and the promotion of gang violence. Burn them! Burn them!

I
Am
Nearly
Ready
to
SCREAM
AGAINST
IGNORANT
AMERICANS!

[BiggJawn]

66. Today, "Bless me Ultima". Tomorrow, "The Origin of species".

Next month, YOU!!

"Where they have burned books, they will end in burning Human Beings."-Heinrich Heine

[mordarlar]

5. I am going to get that one for my 12 yr old so she can read it and ...

review to her friends. Hell with them.

[undergroundpanther]

6. hmmm

Maybe a bible burning?

There are bibles everywhere nobody's banning them,

So why not burn a few bibles as an anti censorship protest to show fundies how it feels to have their literature disregarded and to illustrate why book burning is undemocratic by burning something they value? I know the bible burning would cause a fuss. The protesters could say they are burning bibles because they are sick of censorship by Christians,and Christians censors.. Christians ban books they don't like so others can't read them AND they burn them..In America nobody is banning the bible,No Pagans in America are banning bibles.... bibles can be bought anywhere,read everywhere...Christians burnt books and people before..So why not let them know how it feels to be burnt,they are burning our rights,democracy and constitution...when they censor others.
Being burnt censored and disregarded hurts.Christians have dominated for so long they have forgotten how to be democratic and that individuals have a right to disagree,sometimes strongly but not CENSOR books so others can't read them. Call the bibles a sacrifice for all the burnt books of other beliefs.
Just an idea.

[Chipper Chat]

8. I know where you can get over a million bibles for the fire.

There's one in every hotel room in the USA - and easy to put in your luggage when you leave. Where do we send them for this fire? Be sure to pick a red state! YEA - a 1-up on those smug, self-righteous so-called fundie xtians.
Great pulicity BUT: would MSM even cover it?

[mordarlar]

9. No PLEASE i read the Bible too. NO books burned. My kids have bookmarks

that say read banned books. Every time they try to get rid of a book READ it. Books are so precious. ALL BOOKS.

[Tux]

12. Agreed

They're complaining of the pagan themes in the book. Christianity always hated pagans and will do anything to shut them down once and for all. Then turn to other religions and then to denominations.

Book burning is the same as yelling ignorance is bliss.

[undergroundpanther]

13. Yes they are

But the bible is EVERYWHERE.It's not going to EVER be banned.
Besides it's too useful for meglomaniacs to exploit the masses with.
The bible is dangerously fucking with people's sanity right now because it's propagandic side is being exploited by "brand Jesus " people posing as chritians who are really sociopaths,assholes and scam artists dressing up fascism as "christian"..That bible is being made into a warped dominionism law of the land by alot of"true believer"loonies supported by bible verse spewing dumb as rocks ignoramuses..who think belief entitles them to be assholes.

And if America becomes a theocracy,I will be very pissed..because of that fucking book..and the dumbasses obsessed with it I;ll have to vent somehow.. I'll use a bible as toilet paper because that fucking book has killed hurt and ruined so many innocent people I can't stand it..Because the book is"spiritualized" propaganda. I hate the bible.

BUT rest assured I'll NEVER advocate censoring it as a policy.Censoship is fascist and I will not censor what other people read..No matter how much it disgusts me,unless it took a crime like child abuse to create it( child porn).


But I'll destroy every copy I have thrust in my face,by fundie assholes looking to convert me because I dispise the vengeful hateful perverse god depicted in it..(because rome edited the good OUT of it) and I hate the way it is used by bully fuckheads to justify censorship,abuse,world domination among other things... I can vent my anger on a book I own and I hate for MYSELF,for my own sanity can't I? Why should my anger be censored if it's MY damn book? .I have a right to destroy my own property,even publically..even if it pisses everyone off.

Doing this is NOT censorship. It's my own expression of my rightious anger at people using a sick text to justify atrocity. It's damning Christian facists by burning thier precious idol,one I happen to own.

BUT I have no right to censor a book I hate personally for"the good" anyone else...Because that is wrong.

Understand the difference here??

I wouldn't ban the bible EVER. If other people want to read shit,they have a right to read shit. My bad opinion of the shit they read does not give me the right to prohibit them from reading thier chosen shit.But I ain't gonna pretend,and call bad shit good or respect it when I own it or it's given to me..Ok
I don't respect the bible,myself.I hate it.I'll burn every copy of that infernal text I am given with glee.And that is my right.
Just as much as it is the right of other people who like the bible want to preserve and read it to do so when it's thier bibles.I have no right to burn YOUR bible. Being in a democracy means we have a right to dissagree even if I torch my own damn books,and you save books I would never read again..That is what makes our country free.

[mordarlar]

16. I have no issue with what you do with your personal property...

While i do not usually believe with "fighting fire with fire" i have no issue if this is how someone else chooses to handle things. But if anyone were to suggest that Bibles as a whole be destroyed i would fight them just as long and fiercely as i would someone who suggests ANY other book be destroyed as a whole. Not more and not less.

They are burning a FEW books, you will burn a few books. I will read both. We all have our choices and options. We should all enjoy them while they last.

[ashmanonar]

34. i think the key is that we wouldn't be banning the bible

just burning a few copies, to make a point.

[The Doctor.]

36. I agree that the bible is being used in a dangerous fashion

by powermongers and ignoramuses.

To illustrate the danger this book can represent, I wrote a little piece which, I hope, explains what kind of memes we are dealing with in our society. I am convinced that the 'End of the World' mindset has taken on a life of it's own.

See what you think of this;
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=2974953#2975051

[ashmanonar]

39. that's amazing.

i love how it transcends "religion". the universe has nothing to do with some invisible sky man, and everything to do with the collective consciousness of all living things that inhabit it.

[The Doctor.]

87. I never believed in an "invisible man in the sky"...

Even as a kid I thought that was kind of childish.

But I do believe in the divinity of guys who dress up like Shreck.

:crazy:

So, do you think humanity will outgrow this dangerous and potentially suicidal adolescence we are going through?

[ashmanonar]

88. :/

i think it's even odds as to if we'll survive. remember, everyone thought that we were all gonna die in the 60's, during the nuclear scare. we're still here.

as for dressing up like shrek, that's a photoshopped image. lol

i did, however, actually look like an ogre in that pic. i just needed to add the ears.

[CrispyQ]

71. Have you read

Isaac Asimov's "The Last Question"? It is a short story & I think you would enjoy it. It was the first Asimov I read & I loved it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Question
*spoiler warning if you go to this site.

"The Last Question is a short story by science fiction author Isaac Asimov. It is one of a loosely connected series of such stories concerning a fictional computer called Multivac. In conceiving Multivac, Asimov was extrapolating the trend towards centralisation that characterised computation technology planning in the 1950s to an ultimate centrally managed global computer. Asimov considered this story to be the best he wrote . . ."

Thank you for posting your Human Omega. Very interesting! I read about 1/3 of it & will print it out at work to finish this evening.

[The Doctor.]

85. Thanks for the reference!

I've read Asimov since I was a kid... but not that one.

Thank you!

[mordarlar]

79. INCREDIBLE Writing. Thank you...

If i am off in my observations of your work, as they factor into my own, please correct me. I have long believed in human divinity. I have also been aware, since very young, that there is a disease in our make-up that seeks to destroy this divinity. I have always seen it as a fear as it relates to death. Fear of death and the pain that causes it.

I believe in and have experienced a connection to a sort of collective awareness. I perceive this as God (whatever the name). The divinity of ourselves as individual and as a collective are part of higher divinity.

I believe the concept of a higher divinity, by my understanding, is misunderstood by many. I do not see it as an "exclusive" necessarily, but as an advancement of the collective,of which we are a part. Outside of the human understanding, there exists timelessness, unbound matter, infinite in all forms. Higher divinity exists in this limitlessness.

As humans we see things as progressive in nature. I think this is a limitation, which serves to guide us to the place where limitlessness is obtainable. In "life" everything we experience is "progressive"(follows a pattern), and this serves to limit our understanding to "progressiveness". We cannot fathom anything as being outside of this framework.

Without time, boundaries, and containment the disease of the human nature would also know no limitations. It is as if humanity is in a period of quarantine from the limitless infinite. Will the disease pass? Or will it destroy us. We can only enter into the realm of higher divinity, that is rightly ours, if the disease that humanity perpetuates in contained and destroyed. The disease is, in itself, a disease that feeds off of the divine in us and would feast off of higher divinity.

We are facing a time where the divinity which is in us will overcome the disease or succumb to it. It is only at this point that we will freely join the collective, which is limitless and already advanced beyond any disease.

I see the Bible as potentially dangerous also. But i do not see the danger in the book itself. The danger is in the way people "use" it to explain away their actions. (I went into a Christian bookstore over the holidays a few years back to find a gift for my mother. On one shelf was a book decrying Harry Potter, while right next to it was a copy of Lord of the Rings. I asked about this and was told that LOTR to some Christians mirrors the struggles of Christianity. I suggested this was hypocritical, as Potter is offensive to many because it contains the very same practice of magic that is in the LOTR's books.) This could be done with any writing. But not all writings seek to advocate divine right. This is where the value of "divine" writings serve as the best weapons. This problem is not limited to Christianity. It is a fault of all human "religion".

I read the Bible. What it says to me is that we are to do nothing to perpetuate the human disease in others while seeking to destroy it in ourselves. Plain and simply.

[The Doctor.]

84. I love that idea!

There is a queer kind of logic to it for sure.

But the notion of 'quarantine' of the human sickness is quite fantastic. (Which I do mean in the literal sense that it cannot be logically argued)
Intuitively, it would seem that it is those very despotic memes which are holding us back and the key to divinity is to shed them.
A 'self-imposed quarantine', if you will.

Can I keep your work on my hard drive so I might reference it?

It is a brilliant piece of introspection.

I could go into wrought detail over my theories on Human Superconscious Mechanics... but it's about to be a busy day.

If I may PM you at some point, I'm fascinated by your take on this.

[mordarlar]

86. Yes i welcome discussion on it. Thank you.

[ashmanonar]

89. lotr was written with a christian background/theology in mind.

tolkien was pretty christian. he just didn't let it too heavily affect his work.

the whole harry potter thing is ridiculous. those people need to read the satanic bible or something, give them something to actually vent at. harry potter is just a series of books, less about the magic than growing up different and facing the tribulations of life. they just pick on the magic bc it's easy to pick on as "evil."

[The Doctor.]

92. Actually, the "Satanic Bible" isn't so 'evil' either...

It's definitely self-absorbed, but it's more about self-sufficiency than evil.

[ashmanonar]

94. lol.

i've actually never read it. just giving them something else to worry about, sorta a distraction from harry potter.

[ima_sinnic]

44. oh, this is such an excellent rant!

going out in several e-mails a little later

:toast:

[SmokingJacket]

23. If someone is frightened enough by a book to try and ban it...

or even burn it, it's very likely got some pretty powerful stuff in, and is worth looking into.

But I disagree that all books are precious. Some are badly written crap. Ann Coulter's books are not precious. I wouldn't burn them -- because the symbology of book burning is horrifying -- but if a copy of her book ended up at my house I wouldn't bring it to the library book sale. Into the trash, baby!

[fishwax]

28. Exactly. Bless Me Ultima is a classic of Chicano Literature

Widely considered (along with Rivera's The Earth Did Not Devour Him) to be seminal works in the Chicano Renaissance movement. As I mentioned elsewhere, the book has apparently been challenged in NY, TX, and CA as well, all of which have high latino populations. It rejects east-west/dominion over earth/european worldview in favor of north-south/communion with the earth/indigenous worldview.

[klyon]

38. Thank you

KL

[The Doctor.]

29. It's a great idea... although....

I would first make the case in my town that there existed a book in the library whose content was so inflammatory and talked about things like a father letting all the men in a town rape his own daughter, killing every man, woman, and child in a war, and stoning women to death.

I would wait for a number of gasps and an all-around consensus while asking if anyone though such imagery was appropriate for our children.

Eventually, after I got people into the idea of burning this piece of obscene material, and dodged giving out the title a few times, I'd produce a copy and slap it down on the table and say, "who's got a match?".

[blondeatlast]

37. NONONIf it's okay to burn the Bible, it's okay to burn "Bless Me, Ultima."

I'm a librarian. I'm offended by many, many books. But you let one book burn, who's to stop your favorite from being next?

This isn't an eithor/or situation.

No book should be burned, no idea left unchallenged.

[CrispyQ]

68. Great idea!

I would love to join, but I tossed my 2 Bibles in the trash years ago. Hopefully they are rotting in a landfill.

Would you mind if I propose your idea in a LTTE? I live in Colorado & am outraged by this.

[TreasonousBastard]

11. They hate profanity?

Well, fuck 'em then.

Back in high school, "The Nigger of the Narcissus" was on the otional reading list in junior English lit. (The teacher, btw, was an avowed anti-racist, and gave us almost daily spiels about the evils of slavery, Jim Crow, and believed firmly that race was only an artificial construct to give us more reasons to hate each other)

Conrad was a brilliant writer, and that was a fascinating book, but I can't imagine it being read in any high school today.

[rodeodance]

14. here a couple of customer reviews.

I recall Harry Potter was not liked much either because of the Paganism.


http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0446600253/103-1281463-9464602
.......This is the coming of age story of Antonio, a young boy lost in his search for religion and torn between his parents' expectations of him. I was required to read this book for school and did not enjoy it as much as some of the other books that I have read. The plot is somewhat dry and not very exciting. What was interesting was the character development throughout the book and what each character represented in Antonio's life. I'm not sure I would recommend this book to others but you may want to read it if you are interested in culture and religion.



.......I liked this book for many different reasons. The story had many different sub-plots and ideas that I really liked. Religion was one of the big ones. The mix of Catholicism and Pagan ritual was a great description of the melting pot that was New Mexico. The story of a young boy finding himself and making choices that would effect his life was another great story. I found out after reading the book that the story is based on Anaya's life. So in a wasy its a autobiography. The story is really interesting and I recomend it to anyone. Especially people looking to find themselves.

[SmokingJacket]

22. Sounds like what they didn't like was the mixing of Christianity and

Paganism. They hate that sort of thing -- when you point out the pagan origins of some of the Christian rituals, or when you claim that Paganism deserves as much respect as Christianity.

To imagine that *their* particular belief system is not superior to all other belief systems is DANGEROUS! Hence the burning.

People only get out the fire and start burning crap when they're scared and threatened.

[laylah]

15. Norwood

is but a few miles from Telluride. Talk about different worlds!

The Colorado I lived in for 28 years (until 2002) appears to be morphing into a place I do not recognize. Of course, when Owens first took office, I knew it wouldn't be long. He's subscribes to the "Promise Keepers" and "Focus on your own damn family" values. :puke:

Jenn

[LSK]

32. Yeah, I never heard of it and I used to vacation in colorado a lot

I look at the map, and its a tiny spec of a town.

[G_j]

17. Bless Me, Ultima on Laura Bush's Recommended Reading list

http://www.whitehouse.gov/firstlady/initiatives/education/recommendedreading.html

Laura Bush's Recommended Reading


Katherine Anne Porter, Ship of Fools; The Collected Stories of Katherine Anne Porter

Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Brothers Karamazov

Toni Morrison, Beloved

Truman Capote, Music for Chameleons

John Graves, Goodbye to a River

David McCullough, Mornings on Horseback; and other biographies

Rudolfo A. Anaya, Bless Me, Ultima

Willa Cather, My Antonia; Death Comes to the Archbishop

Cormac McCarthy, All the Pretty Horses

[Danmel]

18. That's pretty funny

Think she reads Doestoyevsky to George? I think he'd have trouble with the names.

This is not isolated to Red States. About 20 years ago, the Island Trees School district here on Long Island
banned a bunch of books including "The Fixer" by Bernard Malamud, "Soul On Ice" by Eldridge Cleaver, Slaughterhouse Five by Vonnegut and others. The case went all the way to the Supreme Court and the students prevailed in a 5-4 decision in the case of "Island trees vs. Pico" The decision was written by William Brennan.

Here is a link to an article about it:
http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/speech/libraries/topic.aspx?topic=banned_books

I can't imagine how this court would vote and God save us how a Bush Supreme Court will vote. We are just so screwed.

[ulysses]

65. LOL!

That's hilarious! :D

[sam sarrha]

19. burning liberals is next...

[LWolf]

20. Book banning goes on all the time.

There are always parents protesting books used in classrooms. It's a fine line to walk, to find literature worth reading that can survive attack from the banners.

This case has some obvious eye-opening differences.

The burning of the books; not just "winning" the effort to have them removed, but destroying them. Not just destroying them, but burning them. Do you think this is an isolated event, or the beginning of a new right-wing propaganda war? The right-wing answer to F911? The right-wing strategy of embracing and legitimizing the most shameful of American attitudes? Somehow I don't believe that Bradbury, Republican though he may be, intended Fahrenheit 451 to be a manual for good conservatives of the future.

And then, there is the Superintendent's response; he publicly sided with these people. He didn't go to bat for intellectual freedom, or for the rights of his students, teachers, or district; he sided with these people. He made an executive decision based on his own personal opinion about the book. He didn't just say he didn't think the book was appropriate for use in the district's classrooms, he said,

“I would not feel comfortable with those books possibly falling into another child’s hands, and the return would not be more than 50 cents to a dollar a piece”.

And notice that he allowed the parents to burn the books before he informed the school board:

The parents approached the superintendent and asked that they be able to burn the books instead of the school janitor destroying them.

Conder granted them their request, as he has the right to dispose of them. Conder informed the School Board in a letter after the fact. He further stated, “I can’t dictate morality, but my job is to protect the kids. The books should have never been purchased, and were not properly disclosed for approval.”

It sounds like he was dictating morality to me.

It's not the only example of book burning in the 21st century; but it's the first I've heard of sanctioned by the superintendent of a public school district.


"Where one burns books, one will soon burn people."
--Heinrich Heine

[atommom]

24. You hit the nail on the head. It's not just that he caved to the parents'

request to remove the books .... it's that he had no compunction about publicly burning them. I find that incredibly creepy.

[LWolf]

48. Creepy is right.

The hairs are still standing on the back of my neck.

[G_j]

26. allowed the parents to burn the books

"allowed the parents to burn the books before he informed the school board"

It would seem burning books is a purely emotional act,
Conder does not sound at all qualified for his job.

[LWolf]

46. No, he doesn't.

I've worked under several superintendents, some good and some not so good, and the worst wouldn't have pulled something like this.

[Canuckistanian]

21. We must burn dangerous ideas. Long Live Our Leader!

[Stop_the_War]

30. I will check this book out. It may turn out to be a good read...

[RevolutionaryActs]

33. No! Leave the poor innocent books alone!

Those big doody heads. :(

[ulysses]

35. and yet we blame the schools

for turning out intellectually bland kids.

[struggle4progress]

41. This was in LBN last week:

Norwood bans internationally acclaimed book
... President George Bush awarded Anaya the National Medal of Arts in 2002, and First Lady Laura Bush has listed "Bless Me, Ultima" as ninth on a list of 12 books that she highly recommends...
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=1209006

Award-winning book bound for landfill
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=1211548

Superintendent apologizes for pulling book (students staged protest!)
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=1214771

[purduejake]

43. So how many signs of fascism...

is it going to take before we leave or do more than write letters and complain about it? I haven't done much else either, except at my local level but the warning signs for something really bad are all over.

[gatorboy]

45. The link seems to have disappeared.

EOM

[JohnnyRingo]

58. Oddly enough...The link has been replaced since this post

By an expanded article on the same topic. (?)

New title with sublinks and credit.

[d_b]

49. I'll pick this book up the next time I am out and about

[bobthedrummer]

50. "FREEDOM IS ON THE MARCH."

They'd burn the authors too if given the chance.

[Greylyn58]

52. Can anyone say Fahrenheit 451 ? n/t

[LeahD]

53. Curanderas

This is a remarkable book, and the banning makes my blood boil.
In addition to this being a coming of age story, and the search for spiritual truth, the reader learns about hispanic culture/history in NM. NM is a tri-cultural state...hispanics of Spanish ancestry, Native American, and Anglo. This from the new Introduction in the book:

"There were women like Ultima in the traditional New Mexico villages. When there were no doctors in the villages there were the midwives (parteras). They gave massages (sobadoras), sometimes they had to set broken bones, and they knew and used a variety of herbs from the land to cure various ailments. Some of these healers conducted intensive cleansing ceremonies to cure the ill effects of the curses set by witches. Today you may go to a psychiatrist to cure mental distress, but for over four hundred years in New Mexico we had only our home-grown healers, those curanderas I call women warriors who helped restore harmony to the fragmented soul.

Curanderas still practice today. There is renewed interest in traditional medicine. Holistic healers are practicing in some of the areas the old curanderas treated. We all know people who seem to have special abilities to make, not only our bodies, but our spirits feel better. Ultima has such knowledge."

And.....
"The beliefs of my traditional New Mexican culture are grounded in the Catholic religion and Spanish folktales from the Iberian world. These beliefs are influenced by cultural borrowings from the Pueblo Indian way of life. This culture is the backdrop for the novel. It is the way of life of the Nuevos Mexicanos that inspires my creativity."

[Bridget Burke]

76. Some people would find the whole book "un-Christian"....

It presents Catholicism along with the non-Christian beliefs. And we know that many of the extremists don't really regard Catholics as "Christian". (The Catholic Church, for all its problems, has reached a better understanding with pre-Christian beliefs that most Protestant sects.)

And I believe that quite a bit of Spanish appears in the book. You just know that will offend the "English only" crowd.

I'll check by my neighborhood shop that carries Mexican folk art & books on Mexico / Chicano pride.

[entanglement]

54. Book burning shows the

extreme hatred people can have for ideas. These people believe that the (physical) destruction of the book will somehow also destroy the ideas they contain. Similar to killing someone you don't agree with. Of course, burning books is *way* easier than refuting ideas intelligently.

By the way, the ala website has a list of the most frequently banned / challenged books. The diversity is quite amazing. Here's the link
http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/bannedbooksweek/bbwlinks/100mostfrequently.htm

[mark414]

60. that list makes me shake my head

i read a lot of those books when i was a kid (i came of age in the 90's), hell my parents BOUGHT me a lot of those books

what the hell is so threatening about any of them? i don't understand people...

[newyawker99]

67. Hi entanglement!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[ashmanonar]

95. by the gods...

that list scares me. a few on there, well, i can understand it..."sex" by madonna is likely to be banned...

but huck finn? brave new world? lord of the flies?

these people ought to read the book first and see what they're actually burning...oh, no, they couldn't do that, they might inadvertently get knowledge.

[Codeblue]

57. Urgh

is all I can really say. It frustrates me beyond belief. That list of the 100 most banned books is also pretty frustrating and rediculously stupid.

Banning Where's Waldo? Please. What is so offensive about Where's Waldo?

Frankly, I'm tired of being associated with these people in Colorado. I've lived here all my life and I have thouroughly enjoyed my time in the state, but I think it's definetely time to move on. I was going to move to Vancouver this summer, but I'm settling for Seattle.

Washington is a blue state and Seattle is still very close to Vancouver, so if I need to tun I won't have to run as far.

Ugh...disgusting.

[MountainLaurel]

69. Where's Waldo

For some reason, I recall hearing that the reason WW was banned was because somewhere in those jumbled-up pictures, there was something that might have been construed as a breast (kinda like the uproar over penises in the clouds of Disney films), and the fundies just couldn't abide that. Of course, they probably caused every kid who read the book to whip out mama's magnifying glass to see if they could find the boobie.

[phusion]

77. LMAO

I love your signature...

That is great. SO true!

[ultraist]

61. It must be burned! Burn it at the cross!

It doesn't promote the white, patriarchial, male dominated, Christian paradigm. We can't have our children being exposed to anything but that worldview, now can we?

It doesn't meet the propaganda standards.

[LeahD]

90. Exactly n/t

[Dr Fate]

62. Bless Me, Ultima

Buy it here:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Bless+Me%2C+Ultima+&btnG=Google+Search

[baron j]

63. Books are regularly destroyed.

I used to work for one of those evil corporate book store chains. Mass market paperbacks are thrown away frequently. They strip the covers off to send back to the publishers, for a refund. The body of the book has to be quartered or shredded, and then tossed in the garbage--they are rarely recycled--according to the deal. The same happens to magazines and periodicals.

Despite our requests, they would never relent and let us have them on the sly--too worried we wouldn't spend money at the store.

Most independent bookstores will allow their employees to take the stripped books home.

Odd that they don't consider selling them for a dollar or less. Would be a better way of clearing overstock without having to mangle books. I find this just as reprehensible as book burning. Though not as scary.

[Occulus]

83. that's not scary at all; it's for a neutral reason

They need to clear their shelf space somehow, after all. I'd prefer they donated them to a library or did as you said, though...

[theresistance]

64. Brings to mind Reverand Lovejoy from The Simpsons and

his "Book Burning Mobile" with the raging fire in the back.

[tom_paine]

70. Totalitarian Evil is on the rise in Imperial Amerika

Everywhere, really. One of the ONLY ways Bushevik "trickle down" works.

This is unsurprising and expect more and more audacious Totalitarian moves from the Imperial Followers as Law Enforcement is transformed to Mississippi 1938 (non racial this time, just Enemies of the State and not just African-Americans this time around) and Amerika finishes transitioning to Orwellian Tyranny.

[phusion]

73. Such a wonderful book...

I'm glad I had the opportunity to read it in my high school English class here in Albuquerque. No one even questioned it here. But that was 1995/1996 -- the good ole days. :crazy:

Anaya is a good man, too. These idiotic, self-righteous assholes need to open their eyes...

I did notice that BMU is now #1215 in the Amazon sales ranking. That's pretty good for a 30 year old book! :)

[yella_dawg]

75. I burned a book once...

I lived waaaay out in the country where there was no garbage service. The only way to dispose of refuse was to burn it and bury the remains. The book was a 1987 copy of "Using Lotus 123" and provided instruction on a DOS version of a defunct software product. That was two years ago, and I still get the willies thinking about it. I was raised to believe that books are something almost holy, and intentionally destroying one is hard for me to even think about.

What the hell is wrong with these people???

[UCLA Dem]

78. thats a fairly common book for high schoolers to read.

such intolerence. it makes me so sad and disheartened.

[janx]

80. That's Rudolfo's book!

Rudolfo Anaya! What the hell are these people thinking?! I'm going to get in touch with them. I'll find them, I SWEAR!

I'm in Colorado. I'm forwarding this info. to New Mexico RIGHT AWAY.

[phusion]

93. It's ok...

We already know you guys to the north (not referring to you, of course) are in a quick, lethal spin into radical conservatism.

'Cept for Telluride :)

But, really, what happened?

Scott in Albuquirky

[ArkDem]

82. In Vino Veritas

[Locut0s]

91. If they hated that book they'd really hate The Golden Compass..

Based loosely on Paradise Lost, or inspired by it. One of the main elements in the story is an extremely negative portrayal of the church, or what is supposed to be the church in the story. My father read it a while back, he tutors some kids, and was extremely impressed.