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[paragonpro]

I seriously do not think I can support current public schooling if this goes throughh. Not only are both books excellent they are also history lessons and an ugly look in the mirror that I think this nation especially needs in 2016

 

[anonymous_abc]

Context.... what is it.

 

[MGrant]

I learned English lit without it. You do speak English in America right?

:\

 

[Eumi]

At least on (US) high school they were separate subjects which you could choose to go into either after a general course in the subject as they are two related by divergent literary traditions.

Weird. Even at A level we never really separated it out. My end of year exam was half on Gatsby and half on a British play no one's ever heard of.

That makes this even weirder if it's that specialised. They're important books, what could you even replace them with that wouldn't contain similar themes?

 

[Goro Majima]

If they're worried that their kids only takeaway from these books is that it's okay to say the N-word then I don't know what to fucking tell you because the message is the exact opposite of that.

That'd be an astonishing lack of confidence in their kids ability to understand literature.

 

[HarryHengst]

Perhaps those parents should do their job and talk with their kid about the book and its context and how to interpret it and what it says about American history. But no, better to ban it and pretend things dont exist.

 

[Kinyou]

I'm surprised a teenager was disturbed by it. Was it the first time he encountered media dealing with racism?

 

[Hari Seldon]

Ban all books about Salem because they are all boring as fuck. Watch Monty Python if you want to learn about witches.

 

[Phased]

I think banning books is never ok, but it says a lot about this person that they're afraid kids will walk away from it thinking it's OK to use that kind of language.

If your takeaway from Huck Finn is that racial slurs are okay then you're either a complete moron or your teacher / parent is doing a horrible job providing context.

 

[jroc74]

Idiots, those in the article and those who defend it.

I also fully believe that films like "The Birth of a Nation" should be taught and studied in any and all film classes as well, and that's about as offensive as it gets.

This, Amistad, 12 Years a Slave, Glory, etc, etc.

Even movies that have society aspects to it like many Spike Lee movies. In the context the dialogue is there for a reason.

 

[andthebeatgoeson]

America's really good at "forgetting history"; then turns around and wonders "why we so racist?!"

It's that plus failing to address it. Here we have a biracial student and the family is stuck in a racist system without leadership willing to address it.

I don't believe in censorship but that's not the end to this conversation. It really is addressing systemic racism to give a people a way forward.

 

[Enzom21]

Should've read the full story.

 

[Transhuman]

"Busting up chiffarobe while black."

Sounds like your typical overprotective, overbearing parent.

 

[Angelus Errare]

It's that plus failing to address it. Here we have a biracial student and the family is stuck in a racist system without leadership willing to address it.

I don't believe in censorship but that's not the end to this conversation. It really is addressing systemic racism to give a people a way forward.

By forgetting history you're failing to address it really.

 

[Fuchsdh]

if only there was a person who could provide some context

but since that's impossible burn everything made before 2015.

I dunno, 2015 has some dodgy stuff too. To be safe, let's destroy all media that's older than six months in a rolling bonfire of stupidity.

"Busting up chiffarobe while black."

Sounds like your typical overprotective, overbearing parent.

How else are kids gonna' learn what the hell a chiffarobe is?

I think banning books is never ok, but it says a lot about this person that they're afraid kids will walk away from it thinking it's OK to use that kind of language.

If your takeaway from Huck Finn is that racial slurs are okay then you're either a complete moron or your teacher / parent is doing a horrible job providing context.

You basically would have had to read a copy of the book where everything is blacked out except the racial slurs.

 

[Borgnine]

Seems like every generation has to try to ban Huck Finn at lest once.

 

[Trojita]

This isn't even in the same realm of thought as banning a truly racist piece of work.

Huck Finn and To Kill A Mockingbird are two works that were and still are progressive for their time. They did not shy away from the ugliness of their times. They showed the ugliness of their times with clear focus and make the reader reflect on it.

In a world of censorship, Mark Twain and Harper Lee might have shied away from even giving a glimpse into this side of our history. The world would have been worse off. I fear future artists that might have to deal with this reality.

 

[_Ryo_]

There's no rational defense of banning or censoring the book from our schools. Idiots.

 

[EdibleKnife]

I have no problem buying and/or creating a non-profit to buy and spread those books for free in and around that school if they decide to go through with this. If they want a trigger warning at the beginning of the book, I'd consider that a compromise. Banning them is literally the most fucked thing you can do about it.

 

[superdeluxe]

If you listen to the actual board meeting, she said, its time we no longer have Black literature, or White Literature. Its time we have 'American Literature'/

Da Fuq?

 

[BlackGoku03]

This kind of thing happens every year. Mostly because the parents don't have time or are even willing to understand why the book is in school in the first place.

 

[adj_noun]

I wonder what the school librarians think about getting stuff banned from their shelves because of a parent complaint. This junk is the antithesis of what libraries are about and we never seem to stop fighting it.

 

[Regulus Tera]

america has a very difficult time looking at itself in the mirror

America would rather sweep its racist history under the rug and act like everything is already perfect because black people are no longer enslaved.

 

[Zaraki_Kenpachi]

Banning of books is beyond moronic and possibly one of the stupidest things you can do. At least this one is emotional plea instead of the garbage in NC with invisible man where they said it was difficult to get through and had no actual literary value.


Edit: Of course she's white, sorry but you don't get to decide you want to run from your shitty past.

 

[Fox318]

That parent is an idiot

 

[chrislowe]

Its like Fahrenheit 451 is based on a true story sort of..

 

[Regulus Tera]

Ban all books about Salem because they are all boring as fuck. Watch Monty Python if you want to learn about witches.

The Crucible by Arthur Miller is fucking amazing bruh

Spoiler

i know it's a play but still

 

[Raven117]

For goodness sakes...

First off, I would say Huck Finn is not a book for children (little tikes), so to that one linked article above no you should probably not be reading Huck Finn to your daughter at the foot of the bed at night.

Its an adult book with very adult themes.

Second, yes..Huck Finn should be mandatory reading for high school kids. Its not only appropriate in terms of subject matter itself but an opportunity to teach kids how to approach very sensitive and complex issues in our society with respect and scholarship.

You can't simply NOT address it.

 

[dextran]

You don't ban books.
Is that too hard a concept to understand?

I hate getting older. It's as if no lessons stick.

 

[kirblar]

The parent complaining almost certainly isn't just complaining because of the language. That's just the excuse.

 

[MogCakes]

Good fucking luck to idiots trying to get these books banned, they are cultural icons of our country's literature.

 

[Billy_Pilgrim]

If there is actually a hell it's probably entirely composed of dickheads who ban or burn books.

 

[Beer Monkey]

I already know enough people who think that racism doesn't exist anymore, we don't need more that think it never did.

 

[PHOENIXZERO]

Idiots, those in the article and those who defend it.

I also fully believe that films like "The Birth of a Nation" should be taught and studied in any and all film classes as well, and that's about as offensive as it gets.

I'd go as far as to say it should be shown as part of US History covering the early 20th century and its role in being used as a PR piece that aided in reviving the KKK.

 

[Loxley]

In her remarks to the Accomack school board, Rothstein-Williams said she understands that the works are considered classics, but she worries that they teach students it is okay to use racially charged words.

I mean, yeah, but does she understand why they're considered classics and why they're considered essential reading for young adults? To Kill a Mockingbird in particular should be required reading period as far as I'm concerned. As a suburban white kid, it was the first time I'd been exposed to any media that directly addressed the biases in our justice system against black men. Also I remember my class being stunned at just how many times the the n-word is dropped in Huck Finn (I think it's just over 200 times, if my memory is correct). None of us took away from the book that hey, I guess it's okay to use that word since a book from 1884 used it like a form of punctuation.

 

[B-Dubs]

Literally both these books are about the moral emptiness of racism. Huckleberry Finn is about a boy deciding he would rather go to hell than turn in his escaped slave friend.

Arguably the failure of our schools and media to face up to the moral imperatives of liberalism and equality is why Trump won.

I'd also like to point out that Jim is the moral center of Huck Finn and is more often than not the voice of reason. He's the only reason Huck even makes it to the end of the book without dying, Jim takes the place of Huck's dead father throughout the story. Hell, the entire last act of the book was a satire on the convoluted path the US took to get rid of slavery.

Calling either book racist is literal stupidity of the highest order. If anything both books need to be mandatory reading in every classroom.

 

[HollowCentral]

“I’m not disputing this is great literature,” Rothstein-Williams said. “But there is so much racial slurs in there and offensive wording that you can’t get past that, and right now we are a nation divided as it is.”

I'm rereading TKAM right now, and I actually find the use of racial slurs to actually be handled quite well. Especially because since that book in particular is such a product of the time it's writing about, of course those words would be in it. I'm more surprised she's not offended about the fact that the book centers around rape.

 

[jroc74]

Its like Fahrenheit 451 is based on a true story sort of..

I remember seeing this movie as a kid. And eventually reading the book.

It always stuck with me. And Equilibrium is one of my fav movies. Something about those types of societies and someone going against it always fascinated me.

 

[stilgar]

Idiots, those in the article and those who defend it.

I also fully believe that films like "The Birth of a Nation" should be taught and studied in any and all film classes as well, and that's about as offensive as it gets.

Yes. Teaching context is exactly what school is for, dammit

 

[LiveFromKyoto]

"I’m not disputing this is great literature,” Rothstein-Williams said. “But there is so much racial slurs in there and offensive wording that you can’t get past that"

Everybody has gotten past that forever. If you read To Kill a Mockingbird and can't get out of it that it has a powerful anti-racist message, you didn't actually read it.

Like, your son was upset by the racist villains?

THAT'S THE POINT

 

[Downhome]

I'd go as far as to say it should be shown as part of US History covering the early 20th century and its role in being used as a PR piece that aided in reviving the KKK.

Nope, I fully agree 100% on that as well. It's a highly important film, both in terms of the film medium itself, as well as historical purpose.

 

[Mudcrab]

Literally both these books are about the moral emptiness of racism. Huckleberry Finn is about a boy deciding he would rather go to hell than turn in his escaped slave friend.

Arguably the failure of our schools and media to face up to the moral imperatives of liberalism and equality is why Trump won.

People who dont understand this are the ones that need to go back to grade school. Go sit with the third graders who managed to figure this out before you.

 

[Misha]

Because books that are about how racism is bad have racist words in them, we should ban them 🤔

 

[B-Dubs]

"I’m not disputing this is great literature,” Rothstein-Williams said. “But there is so much racial slurs in there and offensive wording that you can’t get past that"

Everybody has gotten past that forever. If you read To Kill a Mockingbird and can't get out of it that it has a powerful anti-racist message, you didn't actually read it.

Like, your son was upset by the racist villains?

THAT'S THE POINT

Or reading Huck Finn and being upset at the way Jim was treated by other characters. That's the whole fucking point, it's supposed to upset you.

 

[PdotMichael]

Just another crazy case of protecting children against the reality of the world.

 

[LegalEagleMike]

Probably should get rid of Shakespeare as well, it just encourages kids to rebel against authority and want sex.

 

[ghostjoke]

Depicting racism =/= endorsing racism. If someone reads either of these books and their takeaway is leaning towards an endorsement of racism, especially in a school environment that is meant to dissect the piece, then there's something far greater at fault, not the books. The history of racism should not be neutered down. It risks minimising the vile impact it had on people, especially in the current world climate.

 

[Hari Seldon]

The Crucible by Arthur Miller is fucking amazing bruh

Spoiler

i know it's a play but still

The teacher tried to get my class to read that. This was back in the 90s before people gave a shit about education and there weren't' AP classes or anything. The class basically went on strike and when she would call on people to talk about the book everyone would just tell a plot from Saved by the Bell but make it sound like it could be right. The teacher eventually gave up and she tried to make us watch the movie, but I vaguely remember that there was some nudity or sex in it and that caused a shitshow.

 

[Voras]

Yup. Such a silly mindset for the parent to have. Does Macbeth teach children it's OK to kill a visiting king? Does Lord of the Rings teach us that we should throw rings into volcanoes? People, even children, don't blindly mimic whatever they see/read/play.

Wait, is that not the message we were supposed to take from Lord of the Rings? I've been living my life all wrong.

Seriously though, banning these books because they make people uncomfortable? Maybe people should be uncomfortable.

 

[Vital Tundra]

Horrible idea. My highschool didn't allow Huck Finn and it bothered me greatly.