Mercedes Schneider writes that it is literally impossible to ban a book that is easily available on the Internet. The school board of McMinn County, Tennessee, voted unanimously to ban a Pulitzer-prize winning graphic novel about the Holocaust called MAUS.
But, she points out, students can find it for free on the Internet.
Furthermore, banning a book is a sure fire way to motivate students to want to read it. They might want to see for themselves the awful words “God Damn” or see nude mice.
Schneider writes:
If parents want to control what their children read, they might consider refocusing their school-district, book-banning attention toward controlling content on their children’s iPhones, iPads, and other electronic devices. As of this writing, three of Art Speigelman’s Maus book series are rated, 2, 3, and 7 on Amazon’s best sellers…
In response to the ban, a Knoxville, Tennessee, comic book store is giving away free copies of Maus to students who wish to read the book.
As it stands, readers can also do what my colleague’s son did with Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-four: Read it online for free. Here’s the first in the series: Maus: A Survivor’s Tale (1986).
(Note that the above text is available on Internet Archive, which is involved in a June 2020 lawsuit brought forth by several publishers. Internet Archive maintains it offers the books under “fair use.”)
Book bans backfire: they increase sales. And they encourage students to seek them out and read them. School boards should not embarrass themselves by acting as censors.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
When I was in (I think) eighth grade, there was talk of removing The Grapes of Wrath from the school library for “obscenity”. I immediately went to the local book store & read it & I still have that copy … the cover gone, all taped together … it’s been one of my very favorite books for almost fifty years now. I still can’t figure out what was obscene about that book.
The obscenities, according to them, are the portrayals of poverty, despair, hunger and so on because they portray the US in a “bad” way. And while some may celebrate the acts described in this post, remember the public policy is still place. They’re fine with the outrage, they have the policy. We’ll learn how important and fundamental that is in a couple of years.
I fully expect the now overtly fascist Republican Party to win it all in the next couple of years. I have only this to say to them: be careful what you wish for. These idiots have no notion how far behind the country they are and how difficult it will be for them to implement their totalitarian vision for our country.
Some kids around the country have taken to organizing reading groups of books banned in their schools. Bless them!!!! More, more, more of that!!!
…still in place…
I’m a Saints fan. A few years ago they were knocked out of a place in the Super Bowl on an egregious non-call of an obvious foul. The events were obvious to everyone, but the rules constrained justice. That’s our future.
reminds me of the “banning it” movement from about a decade ago inside one state School Board where allowing anyone to find out that Ben Franklin was an opportunist was causing outrage
Wonderful, si4lverapplequeen! IMHO, the greatest American novel, alongside Moby Dick.
And here’s what’s happening to Maus sales:
https://www.politico.com/news/2022/01/30/maus-tennessee-sales-books-00003453
Drive-By Truckers even have a song about this, Once They Banned Imagine. “The crime of getting blood on the page”
Off topic a bit: Eva Moskowitz was on Margaret Hoover’s Firing Line. As one commenter put it, it was a puff piece, a platform for Eva to bloviate about how great her schools are and how bad the real public schools are. Of course she said that her schools are public schools, too. Ha, ha, too funny. I could only take about 10 minutes of this propaganda, especially when she asserted several times that the public schools are hamstrung by the unions and the bureaucracy.
Here’s the link, but, WARNING, only for those with a strong gastro-intestinal system:
https://www.pbs.org/wnet/firing-line/video/eva-moskowitz-0mkdaj/
Blurb from the PBS web site: Success Academy CEO Eva Moskowitz makes the case for school choice as her network of charter schools in NYC outperforms schools across the state. She discusses the role of teachers unions, education reform proposals and the impact of the pandemic. end quote
Yes, one reason our country is in so much danger is that the media presents this kind of blatantly misleading right wing propaganda as “truth”.
Here is a PBS episode that presents uncritically right wing pro-charter propaganda. This is typical of education stories all over the supposed “liberal” media — the “fair and balanced” ones include a vague disclaimer that “anti-charter union members disagree”.
Voters hear this propaganda, believe it is true, and vote for candidates that reward charters even more and undermine public schools even more.
Unfortunately, there are some who – instead of calling out the lies – blame the victims (in this case public schools and their teachers) for the lies.
Can you imagine if someone’s reply to this dishonest demonization of unions and teachers and public schools was “what matters is that the public has the perception that all of this is true”? Can you imagine a response on this blog by someone who holds themselves out as a strong supporter of public schools that scapegoats the unions and teachers and public schools as the reason so many voters have a “perception” that is blatantly untrue? Instead of joining in to criticize those lying, that person joins in to blame the people that are being lied about.
And then THOSE are the voices who are held up to be “the other side” to what Eva Moskowitz says: “Here is Eva Moskowitz, and here is someone who strongly supports public schools who says it’s the fault of teachers and unions and public schools that so many parents have the perception that Eva Moskowitz is telling the truth!
And then instead of a discussion of how to focus public criticism on the media that amplifies and legitimizes these lies, and how to focus criticism on the people who blatantly lie and demonize others for their own self-interest, this is what we get:
Today on PBS we present strong public supporters presenting “the other side”.
Today on PBS, two very strong supporters of public schools will discuss why so many voters have the perception that Eva Moskowitz is right. Parent over here says it is the teachers union’s fault and parent over here says it is the fault of bad democrats for not making schools perfect.
That is presented as “the other side” to a program like this.
This country MUST hold people who lie accountable. Instead the media allows their lies to amplify while they present “the other side” – a discussion about whether it was bad unions, bad teachers, or bad democrats that made so many people “perceive” that the lie told by Republicans and public school haters is true.
“The other side” to this is NOT scapegoating the victim for sins committed that undermine punlic education.
It is calling out those who lie, Not gaslighting those who are being lied about – in this case public schools – by making the discussion about which wrong thing that victim did to make someone lie about him.
Take that, McMiniMind County!!! LMAO!!!!
Knoxville’s Nirvana Comics said they would give away copies of the book MAUS because they “believe it is a must-read for everyone.” All students need to do is ask for a copy by calling them or reaching out on social media. However, there is a limited supply of books so there could be a waitlist for anyone interested in reading it.
Nirvana said they had a large order of Maus expected to arrive soon, so they could give away more copies of the book after their initial supply was loaned out or sold.
“We are in discussions with a much larger organization to expand the program. We hope to have news on that soon,” Just Call (865) 200-5067
When my children were growing up at the turn of the century I was extremely concerned with the afternoon teen sit-coms produced by Disney that openly modeled the “mean girl” and bullying behavior I was dealing with as a middle school assistant principal. I used my parental influence to disallow these programs at home, but I didn’t charge into a school board meeting to demonize what teens in Orlando, Florida refer to as the “evil rat.” It is ironic that right wing groups go after books, but are basically mum when it comes to corporate media content on line or on the air. They do rail against social media, but not because of its content, but because it won’t allow vile and false proclamations no matter how putrid the discourse. The recent reclamation of book banning is not about ending access to the books but about creating fear. Republicans understand, along with banning CRT and other myths, that this is their most successful play.
I did a double take on “at the turn of the century”. I never thought of recent history like that! At first I was thinking of contacting Guinness book of records for oldest man.
The mean bullying sit-coms are having an influence on young mind and behaviors. That and all the gratuitous violence. It is not harmless. It is something I wish parents would organize around. (Think Bandura and Bobo doll experiment). It is real and powerful.
Books banned = great advertisement for reading them.
Students will read these books … under their covers. Hahaha … banned books get a lot of readership.
What a riot! A Mississippi mayor is withholding $110,000 from libraries until they ban ‘homosexual materials.’
https://lithub.com/a-mississippi-mayor-is-withholding-110000-from-libraries-until-they-ban-homosexual-materials/
Why kids should read banned books: https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2019/09/27/why-your-kid-should-read-banned-books/
The Banned Books Your Child Should Read:
A Look Back at the History of Banned Books Week: https://ncte.org/blog/2020/09/41588/
The old “word ball ricochet”, deflects attention
away from what is happening on the ground.
A knicker-knotter, panty-buncher tool, to
flag the gullible.
Count the flags, the use of dog-whistle words,
and see if they’re still facinated by putting
the right foot in, putting the right foot out,
and shaking all about. Or, putting the left
foot in, putting the left foot out, and shaking
all about.
Keep the hokey pokey going.
That’s what it’s all about…
LOL! Parents adding apps to their kids iPhones, et al, that will block content the parents do not want their children exposed to probably won’t work all that well.
Those same kids probably know how to get around an app like that and access any content they want, even porn sites that say you can’t enter unless you are 18 or older. All the kid has to do is click on the button that says they are 18, none of these sites check ID.
Even China’s government can’t keep its population from accessing sites outside of China that are blocked by China’s army of censors. Think of China’s internet censorship as a leaky bowl with a thousand holes in it.
The electorate will never hold the book banners responsible for their idiocy because their news outlets are treating this as a bunch of heroes trying to keep the wolf of perversion from your door. 6 out of 10 voters will think of this as a protection form all they fear. And Tennessee is stuck with decades of gerrymandered control by quasi-fascists
There needs to be a nationwide “Read Banned Books Club” movement.
https://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/ ALA does a yearly Banned books week and tracks the banning and challenging of books.
— “… Unless they shut down the internet”
That’s possibly the only solution for those who are putting educational gag order to keep out ‘unwanted’ idea and speech. Tennessee school board’s book banning is simply a bad decision. Are these parents gonna ask Neil Young to censor books on the internet?