The other day I ran into one of my dance girls at a coffee shop. I was on my way to another rehearsal (I had to slurp my coffee down out of a sense of residual guilt) and she was meeting some friends. One of the first things I noticed was that she was holding a book; I, of course, asked her what she was reading. It happened to be a book that I've had on my list for a little while after seeing it on some "banned books" lists. She too mentioned that one of the reasons she'd picked it up to read is because it is banned in high schools. We spent the next few minutes discussing the idea of banning books. She confirmed that the book in question does contain strong teen sexuality themes but that it didn't make her want to go out and throw her sexuality around. (not what she actually said but...I don't feel like typing out whole conversations.)
I don't understand he concept of banning books. I can't believe it still happens. I can't believe the smallness of some of the minds out there.
If you are an adult and you don't like the message in a book then here's a novel idea: don't read it. And if you're a parent and you're concerned about what your child is reading then make sure you act like a parent and stay involved.
And another thing about banning books is that really all it does is give that book more attention. I mean take this interaction as one tiny example; here are two girls who might not have read this book otherwise. The exact opposite result the banning was aiming for I'm sure.
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