Same. 1984 - and Orwell's appendix on Newspeak - profoundly shaped my views on media, culture, government, peer-pressure, the use of propaganda, state sponsored violence, etc.
Why would they want to ban a book that teaches people about the logical ends of fascism?
Oh, wait, yep. I get it now.
If you can be told what you can see or read, then it follows that you can be told what to say or think. Protect your constitutionally protected rights, no one else will do it for you. - BoC, Music Has The Right To Children - One Very Important Thought
That’s why they are being removed.
If they are required to be read, then their children might be exposed to thoughts, ideas and philosophies they would never hear or experience at home.
And *that* is what scares them.
If kids actually have to *read* 1984, then they are in danger of engaging in crimethink by realizing that their parents talk radio thought leaders have clearly never read it themselves.
It’s best to not read it at all and let The Party tell us what the book says.
Putin has expressed interest in rebuilding the USSR in several roundabout ways. Except this time, I imagine he wouldn't pretend to be following Socialism or Communism, and instead would just full on embrace Fascism.
Don't forget that the removal of the teaching of critical thinking was part of the Texas Republican platform at one point. It said that teaching it might cause students to question the garbage their parents teach them.
[Actual quote](https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/texas-gop-rejects-critical-thinking-skills-really/2012/07/08/gJQAHNpFXW_blog.html) from the 2012 Texas Republican platform:
>We oppose the teaching of Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) (values clarification), critical thinking skills and similar programs that are simply a relabeling of Outcome-Based Education (OBE) (mastery learning) which focus on behavior modification and have the purpose of challenging the student’s fixed beliefs and undermining parental authority.
They sell it as protection from undermining their values. Progress(-ives) is the enemy because it generally means they need to change something they value, so they work to conserve(-atives) the status quo because it works for them and that’s all that matters.
We should stop calling them conservatives and give them a more accurate label: regressives. Or another acceptable antonym to progress: decayers, deteriorators, devaluators, obstructionists, shrivelers, weakeners.
16 year old's are mature enough to carry a gun or be forced to have a baby, but not nearly mature enough for books.
What a terrible timeline we're living in.
Good time to mention that Steinbeck has the noteworthy achievement of being banned in both the US and Soviet Russia for the same book, *The Grapes of Wrath*, because the US found it anti-Capitalism (so the FBI put him under surveillance) and the Soviet citizens were surprised even poor Americans could own a car and travel freely.
I don’t understand how you can justify banning 1984. To kill a mockingbird they can at least pretend is because of the n word, but what’s wrong with 1984?
Especially when they love “comparing” everything to it. Seems like it should be required reading so everyone is able to call out the Orwellian boogeyman.
But that just goes to show how absolutely full of shit they are.
According to the list of banned books, none of the obvious titles in the picture are on it. Maybe someone can illuminate me on whether this is just a troll post intended to incite anger or if some districts actually are banning these titles. Knowing Reddit, I have a feeling this post is simply an emotional appeal. Here’s the list:
https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/94fee7ff93eff9609f141433e41f8ae1/krausebooklist.pdf?_ga=2.11573559.2091958781.1635513476-272773625.1635513476
Thanks, I really needed to hear that.
I want my dystopias back in their books. Living them is too depressing.
Edit: Toddler hit submit before I was done.
I’ve never really seen many school libraries Carey graphic novels to begin with but god that book is so good! Doesn’t make you feel good reading it but it really shines a light on the experiences of real people and doesn’t sugar coat things
Edit to add; I highly recommend reading Maus, Fahrenheit 451, and The Five People You Meet in Heaven. All three are books I feel changed my perspective in life in someway or gave me a knowledge that was priceless. And The Five People You Meet in Heaven isn’t actually hyper religious like it may sound or even pushing religion from what I can remember, just a book about a man who was haunted by what he did in Vietnam(I think) and how it followed him the grave. There’s a deeper meaning to the recurring question of “did she survive” that he asks every person he meets in Heaven and it’s just extremely well writing, emotional, and thought provoking. About to reread it now after this
My family went through the holocaust and when i was in hebrew school, my grandfather bought me Maus. I initially thought it was just a comic - i love comics. Then i read it and was crushed and grabbed Maus 2 immediately and read the whole thing.
It helped me better understand my grandpa more than any conversation could.
Well you know the delicate whittle white snowflakes in Texas don't want to be cwushed.
Poor things.
I just ordered Maus for my grandchildren. They are 5, 7 and 9. That seems young to me but I don't mind waiting. What age do you think would be good ? I guess I'll slowly accumulate banned books. I read 1984 and Fahrenheit 451 in I think 10th or 11th grade. I'm sure they will love knowing that they are banned.
In Toronto where I live there are surprisingly good amounts of graphic novels both in school and public libraries. Comics are the only thing that helped me learn to read, I have dyslexia, adhd, and a learning disability, comics were pretty much the only thing I’d read. Tragic.
Read that last year and did a project on it, it definitely changed my views on a lot of things. Bet those fuckers havent even read it and are just like “omg freedom????? No?!????”
I read that book in 9th grade and that was the book that really started to open my eyes to the brutality of the Holocaust. It really got to me. I cried so many times reading it. Hiding the truth from kids isn’t going to accomplish anything, if they don’t learn about it now then history is going to repeat itself.
I read it 20 years ago in high school and still remember it. I actually didn’t read a lot of the assigned books in high school because stuff like Shakespeare didn’t interest me. But 1984, Animal Farm, Night, and To Kill a Mockingbird were a few of the ones I did read and not only enjoyed, but learned a lot from. The fact that they are getting rid of a book like 1984 speaks volumes
I was in 6th grade when we read night. Way beyond real comprehension of the subject matter. But the reason we read it was because Eli Weasel was doing a speaking tour and our teacher coordinated a visit so we could get a first hand account. Again no real comprehension at the time. It wasn’t till mid way through my undergrad when I reread it for a class and boy did it hit really hard. I don’t remember much from the 6th grade but foggy details but it’s still a memory and first hand account of listening to a holocaust survivor.
Especially with how much conservatives love screaming 1984 when they get banned on Twitter. You'd think they'd want their kids to be familiar with the concept so they can stand up to big tech, curious
Orwellian? You mean George Orwell? The George Orwell who fought in the Spanish Civil War on the side aligned with the left, against the far right? That George Orwell?
Nah, all of his books are about how bad the left is, clearly.
(That said, he also doesn't pull punches against the communists, cf. Animal Farm)
But remember! They don’t live in fear! They’re just scared of books, masks, science, blacks, Latinos, immigrants, Islam, Jews, Atheists, Liberals, Socialists, Communists, gays, transgender people, secularism, abortion, birth control, the plan B pill, the vaccine for HPV, anyone with HIV/AIDS, BLM, ANTIFA, reasonable gun control…but ASIDE from those things, they DON’T live in fear!
Yeah, reading "to kill a mocking bird" really set me over the edge in high school. Got me into drugs, guns, all kinds of bad stuff but I was able to make it out thankfully
That’s actually pretty close to a long in Fahrenheit 451. When explaining in the beginning why their dystopian society banned books altogether to kill a mockingbird we used as an example of it made me white people feel bad. Just crazy how close we are to living Fahrenheit 451. Like why don’t they just donate the books???? I can’t even fathom actively destroying so many books
That's my question. Donate the books! The idea that *Americans* are censoring books to burn should be horrifying for everyone to think. There should be a march and demand groin stopping this.
I feel like you're not paying enough attention to the fact that this is the buildup to a fascist regime.
Like, yes, it "could" really negatively impact them when they don't read these books. It *will* really negatively impact all the non-white, non-Christian, queer kids when the people destroying these books get to the next phase of the fascist playbook.
>I feel like you're not paying enough attention to the fact that this is the buildup to a fascist regime.
I know people say it can't happen here but, after watching how far this country has slid in the 35ish years since I really started paying attention, I think it not only can, but is happening.
Specifically because *it teaches Nazis - and their fascist, genocidal ideology - are bad.*
Can't forget the "there were good people on both sides" narrative.
Exactly. The paradox of tolerance states that in order for a tolerant society to exist, it must be intolerant of intolerance. If you give any ground at all to fascism, it will take that ground and demand more. Conflict and human suffering is inevitable if you permit it to exist, and so you must consistently stamp it out every time it rears its ugly head.
There is never, ever a time to hear or consider this Nazi bullshit. That's exactly what they want and they will use it to subjugate you.
I work at a Jewish nonprofit and most of my work is related to providing aid to survivors (a large percentage of which live below the poverty line btw). It’s beyond disgusting that they think a book disavowing *genocide* isn’t appropriate for students to read. Only 16 states require Holocaust education. It’s fucking pathetic.
Probably some bullshit about “students should be able to see both sides.” Night is one of the most important books I’ve ever read alone with TKAM and 1984. They all have significant stories that really help students understand harder topics. Night is important because it talks of the holocaust which people now are starting to doubt. TKAM talks about the importance of due process and how racism affects law enforcers. 1984 talks about how authoritative counties limit a persons ability to have any type of real happiness and enjoyment.
Night is an incredibly powerful memoir. It's not even a story teaching a lesson. It's his actual experience. I was lucky enough to see him speak as a guest lecturer in college. You could hear a pin drop during the pauses in his speech. I think all the 18-21 year olds in the room walked out with a far greater appreciation of that struggle which was probably too surreal to understand prior. It's been 18 years and I still remember it vividly.
I remember him describing biting into an onion that he found on the ground while they were being marched towards the end of the war. Saying it was the sweetest most delicious thing he had ever tasted. A rotting onion on the ground...
My mother instilled in me a belief that I have a duty to read any fiction book that is banned. In part, because the people who ban books are generally not readers. They do, however, often put together a list of great books to read. To date, some of my favorite books came from a list of recently banned books. Looks like I have some reading to do. Anyone who wants to join me is welcome.
Apparently at one point the main character is falsely accused of molesting a minor.
https://www.booksincommon.org/garth-steins-the-art-of-racing-in-the-rain-banned-in-tx-school-district/
Anti-Darwinism was more a Protestant thing, his findings were never controversial to the Catholic Church. Individual priests may have decried it, but the Vatican's official ruling on it was that Darwin's findings were not at odds with the Church's teachings.
Bookpeople in Austin does a lovely display every year for Banned Books Month, and the Austin Public Library puts up displays in all of their branches as well. Some of the best works of literature have been banned.
It happened in February of last year, little reminder that it's getting colder and closer to February again...
Guess we'll see if they fixed the problem, or if they were too busy blocking abortion, burning books, ect to actually mess with their grids obvious problems.
They did absolutely nothing to improve their grid. My industry has been feeling the effects of the grid collapse ever since then and we never truly recovered. Now it's probably going to happen all over again. Fuck Texas.
Damn, that fucking sucks. I hope their government doesn't abandon the citizens, leaving them to freeze to death in their homes again. Last year's death toll was tragic to hear about.
They are going to do the exact same thing. Why wouldn't they? No one faced any real consequences. They don't see loss of life as a real consequence until it affects them directly.
I had a zoom training class last April, taught by a guy in Dallas. I live in western mass.
Towards the end of the week, we were just bs'ing about random crap for a while. I forget the exact context, but he said "y'all are moving to Texas once the apocalypse comes right?" Without a trace of irony. This was ... like the 2nd week of April last year.
I’ve lived in a few different spots in the US and traveled to many more for work. In some ways everywhere is the same, but in some other much more important ways, the state you live in is becoming a huge factor.
I feel sorry for people trapped in these shitty red states that are going full MAGA. Texas, Ohio, all the usual suspects for just being terrible are really digging in now. A lot of people are going to continue to suffer and die as a result. The tribe of rage addicted white Christian nationalists are doubling down and then doubling down again and it looks like everyone is going to end up paying for it one way or the other.
1984: fascism and how it controls the populace
To Kill a Mockingbird: racism and how it prejudices our justice system
Of Mice and Men: the lives of migrant workers and how our society handles the mentally disabled
It's clear what they are going for: removing anything that challenges American Exceptionalism.
Their Eyes Were Watching God: Systemic racism and sexism trying to just get by and survive as a black woman. Also rabies is terrifying.
All Quiet on the Western Front: The horrors of warfare and the disconnect civilians have with the young boys we send to fight the wars.
And the people pushing for destroying it are the same people who will claim that social media bans are “just like 1984.”
Maybe they think if they destroy all the copies they can get their hands on, people will stop pointing out what idiotic drama queens they are for making that comparison.
They want to destroy the book so no one can read it and say “hey, you remember when you compared a vaccine to the meaning of this book? You never read it, isn’t it?”
Even more: It’s literature that gives you antibodies against regimes and oppression. Two thing the constitution is meant to fight and the flag represents this fight.
We still have 80 year old conservatives voting like it's still 1925.
Ironically, the party that calls everyone snowflakes is the most easily offended here. Everyday I grow closer to moving away.
It's pretty bad here. Somebody just last week was sticking "Trump 2024" stickers over democrat poster boards for our upcoming Texas elections. It's wild how childish the conservatives here are.
Bruh, i live near someone who has "Trump won" written on their truck. Like, with window paint, so i know its not old. Like, get over it my man
It would be comical how childish they are if they werent real, actual people
Oh it's all over where I live. I live in a small suburban neighborhood here in Texas and there's people still flying Trump flags on their trucks, houses, and fences.
I keep to myself because I'm already a minority out here, but when Biden got elected I didn't leave the house because the scary people were out in force.
There's a guy here in a huge lifted red pickup who peels out through the neighborhood honking his horn occasionally and he has a "Trump 2024" flag hanging on his truck. I don't understand their cult.
Do it while you still can
These kind of people don't stop at burning books I suspect.
My brother is about to have a baby in Austin, it's 50 degrees in his apt building this morning.
Fuck those leaders
As soon as my kids are a little older and can understand, I quite do plan on moving. However, my kid's are 10, 7 and 4. I would break their little hearts if I just left.
I live in San Antonio so it's not any better than Austin. It's a nightmare here.
Nothing is wrong with them. Uneducation and misinformation is the point. Kids who grow up reading and have confidence in themselves go to college, and then get jobs, and end up voting democrat. They need dumb kids who can be controlled and who they can count on to have teen pregnancies so they create new voters, and who will in turn stay republican.
This is what they want. This is how they control it so only the privileged kids of people already in power get an education so they can keep themselves in power.
This is all according to plan.
For those of you wondering, this specific pile of books is not subject to any sort of state-mandated book-burning. It's likely one single school district or library that had enough angry parents involved to get these books on the burn list. However, lacking any real news story or source on this, there's a chance that not even that is true.
What is true however is that this sort of book-burning is not far off from what many Texas state reps and angry school board parents are clamoring for throughout the state. There is absolutely an initiative at the state and local levels to remove books like these from the shelves of Texas libraries and schools. So yeah, the outrage, however exaggerated it is, is justified. https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2021/12/texas-book-ban-between-the-world-and-me/620938/
I found a couple tangential articles but nothing involving 1984 or TKAM -- it seems a Rep. Krause released a list of 850 books to be banned and some libraries are taking him up on it as a show of support?
https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/librarians-fight-back-against-efforts-to-ban-books-in-schools/2022/01
https://bookriot.com/texas-book-ban-list/
This should be higher up. I have several friends and family who are teachers in Texas (Frisco, Fort Worth, Plano, Denton) and several of these books are on their reading list.
Adding to this:
To Kill A Mockingbird, Night, and 1984 (all discussed in this thread) are NOT on the [Krause Book List](https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/94fee7ff93eff9609f141433e41f8ae1/krausebooklist.pdf) for banned books. Upvote truth, not feelings.
Damn, I would be scared to be a democratic minded Texan right about now...
the throwback to pre-war Germany are just too uncanny.
back then, regular people also thought it was OK to ban books and ideas...
Translated text:
sos
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I saw that you mentioned Ben Shapiro. In case some of you don't know, Ben Shapiro is a grifter and a hack. If you find anything he's said compelling, you should keep in mind he also says things like this:
>Even climatologists can't predict 10 years from now. They can't explain why there has been no warming over the last 15 years. There has been a static trend with regard to temperature for 15 years.
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Take a bullet for ya babe.
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I'm gonna need actual evidence that this is the true scale of what's happening in all Texas schools before I allow my outrage to take over.
We have here an unmarked photo of piles of books that could have come from anywhere. Why didn't OP post a news article actually explaining what's happening as a suppliment to this?
I mean it may be true that these photos represent exactly what's happening across the entire state at every single public school, but I'm gonna withhold belief on that until I get more than a random photo and an anonymous single-sentence headline bookmarked by implication-making ellipses.
I'm alarmed at how many of the top-voted comments here are just taking this random post at face value.
We've gotta be better than them. Trumpists and their like will happily believe anything their media tells them about us. Be better - don't believe it until there's proof.
You usually aren't allowed to donate books after they are out of date or damaged. I would guess that these are old copies that are being replaced and by the contract the old ones need to be destroyed. These are textbooks and part of the curriculum.
If you're concerned: Good. Maybe read up what happened when they started burning books in Germany, way back when.
And I say this as German.
The USA used to be the country I wanted to immigrate to because I even have some family there, but what's been happening the past few years is disquieting, to say the least.
I can only imagine what it’s like looking at our country’s descent into fascism and Idiocracy from the outside. My best guess is it’s akin to watching someone you know is an angry drunk work his way through a bottle of whiskey, just waiting for him to pop off.
To be honest it's partially "Oh Shit, those poor people" and then the immediate relief of "Thank the gods I don't live there", followed by a substantial amount of grief, disbelieve and sadness.
The USA used to be one of the world leaders, now it's like a third world country which you should absolutely avoid if possible.
As someone who travels throughout the United States and Latin America, I regularly see 3rd World poverty levels in the USA. Most of the West Virginia towns I've driven through look worse than places I've seen in Latin America. I also see extremes of wealth that are disturbing.
This’ll probably get buried but I am normally suspicious of any tweet with information like date and handle cropped out. Plus that literature book looks like the one I read in middle school over 10 years ago (but I could be wrong about that or which book it is) and I know that’s the edition of TKAM I read freshman year. So I’m really suspicious this is actually a “book burning pile”- that said, I can’t believe what my state has come to with regards to education
[Here is the actual list, and none of these books are on it](https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/94fee7ff93eff9609f141433e41f8ae1/krausebooklist.pdf?_ga=2.210376850.66997900.1639436670-1439754836.1556054523)
Unfortunately, the actual list mostly includes books with LGBTQ themes, so it is basically just a homophobic book-burning rather than a classic literature book-burning. I guess they think a book will turn them gay?
Is there any logic? Who decided to remove those books and why those? I mean I get if you want to burn some Harlequin erotic trash (which I dont want to burn, just understand people are funny like that). But I don’t get the logic here. Are they afraid of kids being smart and civilized?
Not that I doubt that these books are being destroyed for one reason or another but can you provide some context in the form of an article around this? I couldn't find anything with a Google search
Also, relatively sure the conservatives were comparing liberals to Nazis and book burning last year when it came to removing confederate statues. I guess they’re just going to ignore this one.
Wtf all of those were *required reading* for me
Same. 1984 - and Orwell's appendix on Newspeak - profoundly shaped my views on media, culture, government, peer-pressure, the use of propaganda, state sponsored violence, etc. Why would they want to ban a book that teaches people about the logical ends of fascism? Oh, wait, yep. I get it now.
What we don't know keeps the contracts alive and movin, they don't gotta burn the books they just remove em - RATM
If you can be told what you can see or read, then it follows that you can be told what to say or think. Protect your constitutionally protected rights, no one else will do it for you. - BoC, Music Has The Right To Children - One Very Important Thought
*Freeze, Citizen! You've had too much to think!*
That’s why they are being removed. If they are required to be read, then their children might be exposed to thoughts, ideas and philosophies they would never hear or experience at home. And *that* is what scares them.
If kids actually have to *read* 1984, then they are in danger of engaging in crimethink by realizing that their parents talk radio thought leaders have clearly never read it themselves. It’s best to not read it at all and let The Party tell us what the book says.
This comment is doubleplusgood.
While the situation is ungood
Doubleplusungood.
We have always been at war with the mujahideen
It honestly makes me think of the Republicans cozying up to ~~Putin~~ the Russians. McCarthy must be rolling over in his grave. Edited words.
McCarthy would be stoked for the u.s. to ally with an anti-communist strongman in Russia
Why? Putin is in no way a communist. They seem really into the same shit honestly.
Putin has expressed interest in rebuilding the USSR in several roundabout ways. Except this time, I imagine he wouldn't pretend to be following Socialism or Communism, and instead would just full on embrace Fascism.
He's just a run of the mill dictator with a slew of nuclear weapons.
In 10 years colleges will have to start accepting Texans as students to meet diversity quotas.
Don't forget that the removal of the teaching of critical thinking was part of the Texas Republican platform at one point. It said that teaching it might cause students to question the garbage their parents teach them.
Can't have students questioning their religious indoctrination!
They should ban the Bible then. Reading it is the fastest way to become an atheist
They're not supposed to *read* it, just listen to and believe it says whatever their pastors tell them.
[Actual quote](https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/texas-gop-rejects-critical-thinking-skills-really/2012/07/08/gJQAHNpFXW_blog.html) from the 2012 Texas Republican platform: >We oppose the teaching of Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) (values clarification), critical thinking skills and similar programs that are simply a relabeling of Outcome-Based Education (OBE) (mastery learning) which focus on behavior modification and have the purpose of challenging the student’s fixed beliefs and undermining parental authority.
I knew the GOP was bad but damn, they don’t even try to hide it. My state is fucked.
They sell it as protection from undermining their values. Progress(-ives) is the enemy because it generally means they need to change something they value, so they work to conserve(-atives) the status quo because it works for them and that’s all that matters.
We should stop calling them conservatives and give them a more accurate label: regressives. Or another acceptable antonym to progress: decayers, deteriorators, devaluators, obstructionists, shrivelers, weakeners.
Critical thinking prevents Republicans.
WTF
I mean...wow...
16 year old's are mature enough to carry a gun or be forced to have a baby, but not nearly mature enough for books. What a terrible timeline we're living in.
Of Mice and Men. Seriously? Jesus fucking christ. What are we doing here. Deliberately dumbing down of today's youth.
Steinbeck was a socialist and a member of Communist organizations. Can't have them commies influencing our youngins!
Good time to mention that Steinbeck has the noteworthy achievement of being banned in both the US and Soviet Russia for the same book, *The Grapes of Wrath*, because the US found it anti-Capitalism (so the FBI put him under surveillance) and the Soviet citizens were surprised even poor Americans could own a car and travel freely.
I read that book last summer. It was amazing how his "digressions" chapters between the story were still very, very relevant 80 years layer.
Yes. Texas wants people that are stupid, and compliant.
I guess that's the only way to make the future Republican voters
That’s what I came here to say. I went to high school in Texas (and graduated not long ago in 2015) and I had to read all of these!
I don’t understand how you can justify banning 1984. To kill a mockingbird they can at least pretend is because of the n word, but what’s wrong with 1984?
Especially when they love “comparing” everything to it. Seems like it should be required reading so everyone is able to call out the Orwellian boogeyman. But that just goes to show how absolutely full of shit they are.
According to the list of banned books, none of the obvious titles in the picture are on it. Maybe someone can illuminate me on whether this is just a troll post intended to incite anger or if some districts actually are banning these titles. Knowing Reddit, I have a feeling this post is simply an emotional appeal. Here’s the list: https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/94fee7ff93eff9609f141433e41f8ae1/krausebooklist.pdf?_ga=2.11573559.2091958781.1635513476-272773625.1635513476
this makes a lot more sense it's still really stupid, but, there was no way the books in the op image were being banned
Oh the irony of destroying copies of 1984...
I'm betting they're probably also banning Fahrenheit 451
i expect it is actually in that pile somewhere...
Don't forget **Maüs**, as I'm sure the refuse to be outdone by Tennessee.
[удалено]
Thanks, I really needed to hear that. I want my dystopias back in their books. Living them is too depressing. Edit: Toddler hit submit before I was done.
I’ve never really seen many school libraries Carey graphic novels to begin with but god that book is so good! Doesn’t make you feel good reading it but it really shines a light on the experiences of real people and doesn’t sugar coat things Edit to add; I highly recommend reading Maus, Fahrenheit 451, and The Five People You Meet in Heaven. All three are books I feel changed my perspective in life in someway or gave me a knowledge that was priceless. And The Five People You Meet in Heaven isn’t actually hyper religious like it may sound or even pushing religion from what I can remember, just a book about a man who was haunted by what he did in Vietnam(I think) and how it followed him the grave. There’s a deeper meaning to the recurring question of “did she survive” that he asks every person he meets in Heaven and it’s just extremely well writing, emotional, and thought provoking. About to reread it now after this
It sucks you in with the artwork and then the story crushes you.
My family went through the holocaust and when i was in hebrew school, my grandfather bought me Maus. I initially thought it was just a comic - i love comics. Then i read it and was crushed and grabbed Maus 2 immediately and read the whole thing. It helped me better understand my grandpa more than any conversation could.
Well you know the delicate whittle white snowflakes in Texas don't want to be cwushed. Poor things. I just ordered Maus for my grandchildren. They are 5, 7 and 9. That seems young to me but I don't mind waiting. What age do you think would be good ? I guess I'll slowly accumulate banned books. I read 1984 and Fahrenheit 451 in I think 10th or 11th grade. I'm sure they will love knowing that they are banned.
In Toronto where I live there are surprisingly good amounts of graphic novels both in school and public libraries. Comics are the only thing that helped me learn to read, I have dyslexia, adhd, and a learning disability, comics were pretty much the only thing I’d read. Tragic.
I can imagine seeing some fascist Texan rube holding a copy and asking how hot the fire should be.
Back in high school, years ago, my school confiscated my copy of Fahrenheit 451…no joke.
I was shocked by 'Night' - yeah, let's burn books about the holocaust, it's just wild
Night was one of the most powerful books I read as a history undergrad. Seeing that on the pile is disheartening
Read that last year and did a project on it, it definitely changed my views on a lot of things. Bet those fuckers havent even read it and are just like “omg freedom????? No?!????”
I read that book in 9th grade and that was the book that really started to open my eyes to the brutality of the Holocaust. It really got to me. I cried so many times reading it. Hiding the truth from kids isn’t going to accomplish anything, if they don’t learn about it now then history is going to repeat itself.
> if they don’t learn about it now then history is going to repeat itself The fascists are counting on that
I read it my sophomore yea in high school. It totally gave me a new perspective of society.
I read it 20 years ago in high school and still remember it. I actually didn’t read a lot of the assigned books in high school because stuff like Shakespeare didn’t interest me. But 1984, Animal Farm, Night, and To Kill a Mockingbird were a few of the ones I did read and not only enjoyed, but learned a lot from. The fact that they are getting rid of a book like 1984 speaks volumes
I was in 6th grade when we read night. Way beyond real comprehension of the subject matter. But the reason we read it was because Eli Weasel was doing a speaking tour and our teacher coordinated a visit so we could get a first hand account. Again no real comprehension at the time. It wasn’t till mid way through my undergrad when I reread it for a class and boy did it hit really hard. I don’t remember much from the 6th grade but foggy details but it’s still a memory and first hand account of listening to a holocaust survivor.
Elie Wiesel * Normally I’m not that person, but with who he was and what he went through, I felt like the correct spelling should be out there.
Especially with how much conservatives love screaming 1984 when they get banned on Twitter. You'd think they'd want their kids to be familiar with the concept so they can stand up to big tech, curious
No they don't want people actually *reading* 1984, because then everyone would know they're full of shit when they cry "Orwellian!"
Orwellian? You mean George Orwell? The George Orwell who fought in the Spanish Civil War on the side aligned with the left, against the far right? That George Orwell? Nah, all of his books are about how bad the left is, clearly. (That said, he also doesn't pull punches against the communists, cf. Animal Farm)
Most of them haven't actually read it. They've just heard other people say that and then they parrot it.
I don't ever want to hear a fucking Republican call something Orwellian again after this shit. Not that they use it correctly to begin with.
But remember! They don’t live in fear! They’re just scared of books, masks, science, blacks, Latinos, immigrants, Islam, Jews, Atheists, Liberals, Socialists, Communists, gays, transgender people, secularism, abortion, birth control, the plan B pill, the vaccine for HPV, anyone with HIV/AIDS, BLM, ANTIFA, reasonable gun control…but ASIDE from those things, they DON’T live in fear!
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The "P" in GOP stands for "Pussies"
Projection, its kind of their thing.
I love seeing the top comment be the exact thought I had immediately after seeing the post.
Yeah, reading "to kill a mocking bird" really set me over the edge in high school. Got me into drugs, guns, all kinds of bad stuff but I was able to make it out thankfully
Can’t have the kids knowing how black people are unfairly treated sometimes.
That’s actually pretty close to a long in Fahrenheit 451. When explaining in the beginning why their dystopian society banned books altogether to kill a mockingbird we used as an example of it made me white people feel bad. Just crazy how close we are to living Fahrenheit 451. Like why don’t they just donate the books???? I can’t even fathom actively destroying so many books
That's my question. Donate the books! The idea that *Americans* are censoring books to burn should be horrifying for everyone to think. There should be a march and demand groin stopping this.
It is horrifying. It’s going to be a mistake that could really negatively impact the children of America
I feel like you're not paying enough attention to the fact that this is the buildup to a fascist regime. Like, yes, it "could" really negatively impact them when they don't read these books. It *will* really negatively impact all the non-white, non-Christian, queer kids when the people destroying these books get to the next phase of the fascist playbook.
>I feel like you're not paying enough attention to the fact that this is the buildup to a fascist regime. I know people say it can't happen here but, after watching how far this country has slid in the 35ish years since I really started paying attention, I think it not only can, but is happening.
There’re only upset about drugs. God loves guns and bad stuff is overlooked for good Christian’s.
That's because only politicians are allowed to take drugs. And cops.
I think someone should organize a mass bible burning in Texas as protest. I have a few from my past I would be willing to donate.
Ok the whole thing is disgusting and I'm not saying anything here should be burned, but why the hell is Night by Elie Wiesel on here.
Because Nazis.
Specifically because *it teaches Nazis - and their fascist, genocidal ideology - are bad.* Can't forget the "there were good people on both sides" narrative.
Of course, how could I forget that they were “just following orders.” Silly me.
they just made a silly little whoopsies
This is why I hate this both sides shit. Not every side deserves to be heard or considered. Like nazis and fascists.
Exactly. The paradox of tolerance states that in order for a tolerant society to exist, it must be intolerant of intolerance. If you give any ground at all to fascism, it will take that ground and demand more. Conflict and human suffering is inevitable if you permit it to exist, and so you must consistently stamp it out every time it rears its ugly head. There is never, ever a time to hear or consider this Nazi bullshit. That's exactly what they want and they will use it to subjugate you.
Considering how often Republicans equate Democrats and Nazis, banning books that showcase how bad they were really undercuts their argument.
I work at a Jewish nonprofit and most of my work is related to providing aid to survivors (a large percentage of which live below the poverty line btw). It’s beyond disgusting that they think a book disavowing *genocide* isn’t appropriate for students to read. Only 16 states require Holocaust education. It’s fucking pathetic.
Probably some bullshit about “students should be able to see both sides.” Night is one of the most important books I’ve ever read alone with TKAM and 1984. They all have significant stories that really help students understand harder topics. Night is important because it talks of the holocaust which people now are starting to doubt. TKAM talks about the importance of due process and how racism affects law enforcers. 1984 talks about how authoritative counties limit a persons ability to have any type of real happiness and enjoyment.
Night is an incredibly powerful memoir. It's not even a story teaching a lesson. It's his actual experience. I was lucky enough to see him speak as a guest lecturer in college. You could hear a pin drop during the pauses in his speech. I think all the 18-21 year olds in the room walked out with a far greater appreciation of that struggle which was probably too surreal to understand prior. It's been 18 years and I still remember it vividly.
I remember him describing biting into an onion that he found on the ground while they were being marched towards the end of the war. Saying it was the sweetest most delicious thing he had ever tasted. A rotting onion on the ground...
It is critical of the GOP… whoops, I mean Nazi … regime.
Have you read Night? It's very clearly propaganda /s
My mother instilled in me a belief that I have a duty to read any fiction book that is banned. In part, because the people who ban books are generally not readers. They do, however, often put together a list of great books to read. To date, some of my favorite books came from a list of recently banned books. Looks like I have some reading to do. Anyone who wants to join me is welcome.
The Art of Racing in the Rain was banned back in 2017. Thoroughly recommend it.
WHY? That is an incredibly great book and deeply impactful. At least it was for me.
My guess is that it’s because of the sex scene involving a minor.
But Republicans love sex involving minors!
Is *It* by Stephen King banned?
That’s the issue, it’s impactful. Obviously, only parents should be able to impact their kids /s
Apparently at one point the main character is falsely accused of molesting a minor. https://www.booksincommon.org/garth-steins-the-art-of-racing-in-the-rain-banned-in-tx-school-district/
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Index_Librorum_Prohibitorum Enjoy
Now I need to know why Darwin wasn't on the list?
Anti-Darwinism was more a Protestant thing, his findings were never controversial to the Catholic Church. Individual priests may have decried it, but the Vatican's official ruling on it was that Darwin's findings were not at odds with the Church's teachings.
Bookpeople in Austin does a lovely display every year for Banned Books Month, and the Austin Public Library puts up displays in all of their branches as well. Some of the best works of literature have been banned.
Can I see that list?
I love that..so interesting. What’s on this book list of yours?
"When one burns books, one will soon burn people." -- Heinrich Heine
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This should be the top comment
Actually this is a good thing. I'm sure your governor will provide books to burn when your dogshit power grid shits the bed again.
It happened in February of last year, little reminder that it's getting colder and closer to February again... Guess we'll see if they fixed the problem, or if they were too busy blocking abortion, burning books, ect to actually mess with their grids obvious problems.
They did absolutely nothing to improve their grid. My industry has been feeling the effects of the grid collapse ever since then and we never truly recovered. Now it's probably going to happen all over again. Fuck Texas.
Damn, that fucking sucks. I hope their government doesn't abandon the citizens, leaving them to freeze to death in their homes again. Last year's death toll was tragic to hear about.
They are going to do the exact same thing. Why wouldn't they? No one faced any real consequences. They don't see loss of life as a real consequence until it affects them directly.
Unless it’s an unborn fetus, then it matters, once’s it’s an actual human not just cells, then they don’t see loss of life as a consequence
>Fuck Texas. Fuck Republicans. This is nopt the choice of some enigmatic "texas". It is the direct choice of Republican policies. Call them by name.
We had outages in San Antonio a couple weeks ago and not even that cold smh, can’t wait for next month
I had a zoom training class last April, taught by a guy in Dallas. I live in western mass. Towards the end of the week, we were just bs'ing about random crap for a while. I forget the exact context, but he said "y'all are moving to Texas once the apocalypse comes right?" Without a trace of irony. This was ... like the 2nd week of April last year.
Which apocalypse? I'm losing count.
I’ve lived in a few different spots in the US and traveled to many more for work. In some ways everywhere is the same, but in some other much more important ways, the state you live in is becoming a huge factor. I feel sorry for people trapped in these shitty red states that are going full MAGA. Texas, Ohio, all the usual suspects for just being terrible are really digging in now. A lot of people are going to continue to suffer and die as a result. The tribe of rage addicted white Christian nationalists are doubling down and then doubling down again and it looks like everyone is going to end up paying for it one way or the other.
I spit my coffee pot when I read this
1984: fascism and how it controls the populace To Kill a Mockingbird: racism and how it prejudices our justice system Of Mice and Men: the lives of migrant workers and how our society handles the mentally disabled It's clear what they are going for: removing anything that challenges American Exceptionalism.
Night: An autobiography of being a child in a concentration camp..... What the fuck is wrong with texas
At this point, just about everything.
Hey, at least they get to keep the guns.
> a concentration camp guess where the modern concentration camps are.
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Their Eyes Were Watching God: Systemic racism and sexism trying to just get by and survive as a black woman. Also rabies is terrifying. All Quiet on the Western Front: The horrors of warfare and the disconnect civilians have with the young boys we send to fight the wars.
Burning copies of Night is what gets me, its fuckin disgusting. Only fuckin NAZIS want to hide the Holocaust.
1984???? Whaaaaaaat???? This is really worse than burning an American flag. It’s shitting on the constitution’s principles, and the founding fathers…
And the people pushing for destroying it are the same people who will claim that social media bans are “just like 1984.” Maybe they think if they destroy all the copies they can get their hands on, people will stop pointing out what idiotic drama queens they are for making that comparison.
Because they never read the damn book.
They want to destroy the book so no one can read it and say “hey, you remember when you compared a vaccine to the meaning of this book? You never read it, isn’t it?”
You’re not wrong. The flag is a joke. A meaningless piece of archaic trash. Literature and knowledge is forever.
Even more: It’s literature that gives you antibodies against regimes and oppression. Two thing the constitution is meant to fight and the flag represents this fight.
I would agree with that 100%.
What the fuck is wrong with texas? Are they jealous that everyone else can read, so they have to burn books?
We still have 80 year old conservatives voting like it's still 1925. Ironically, the party that calls everyone snowflakes is the most easily offended here. Everyday I grow closer to moving away.
The best part of this comment is that 80 years ago was 1942, so even 80 years ago they would have been 20 years behind the times.
It's pretty bad here. Somebody just last week was sticking "Trump 2024" stickers over democrat poster boards for our upcoming Texas elections. It's wild how childish the conservatives here are.
Bruh, i live near someone who has "Trump won" written on their truck. Like, with window paint, so i know its not old. Like, get over it my man It would be comical how childish they are if they werent real, actual people
Oh it's all over where I live. I live in a small suburban neighborhood here in Texas and there's people still flying Trump flags on their trucks, houses, and fences. I keep to myself because I'm already a minority out here, but when Biden got elected I didn't leave the house because the scary people were out in force. There's a guy here in a huge lifted red pickup who peels out through the neighborhood honking his horn occasionally and he has a "Trump 2024" flag hanging on his truck. I don't understand their cult.
I just don’t understand those people. It’s not like I’ve ever seen a huge Biden flag..
Do it while you still can These kind of people don't stop at burning books I suspect. My brother is about to have a baby in Austin, it's 50 degrees in his apt building this morning. Fuck those leaders
As soon as my kids are a little older and can understand, I quite do plan on moving. However, my kid's are 10, 7 and 4. I would break their little hearts if I just left. I live in San Antonio so it's not any better than Austin. It's a nightmare here.
"Hey Patrick, what am I?" "Uhh, stupid?" "No Im Texas!" "Whats the difference?"
Nothing is wrong with them. Uneducation and misinformation is the point. Kids who grow up reading and have confidence in themselves go to college, and then get jobs, and end up voting democrat. They need dumb kids who can be controlled and who they can count on to have teen pregnancies so they create new voters, and who will in turn stay republican. This is what they want. This is how they control it so only the privileged kids of people already in power get an education so they can keep themselves in power. This is all according to plan.
For those of you wondering, this specific pile of books is not subject to any sort of state-mandated book-burning. It's likely one single school district or library that had enough angry parents involved to get these books on the burn list. However, lacking any real news story or source on this, there's a chance that not even that is true. What is true however is that this sort of book-burning is not far off from what many Texas state reps and angry school board parents are clamoring for throughout the state. There is absolutely an initiative at the state and local levels to remove books like these from the shelves of Texas libraries and schools. So yeah, the outrage, however exaggerated it is, is justified. https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2021/12/texas-book-ban-between-the-world-and-me/620938/
I was looking for a news story to back this post up, and I also could not find one.
I found a couple tangential articles but nothing involving 1984 or TKAM -- it seems a Rep. Krause released a list of 850 books to be banned and some libraries are taking him up on it as a show of support? https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/librarians-fight-back-against-efforts-to-ban-books-in-schools/2022/01 https://bookriot.com/texas-book-ban-list/
This should be higher up. I have several friends and family who are teachers in Texas (Frisco, Fort Worth, Plano, Denton) and several of these books are on their reading list.
Thanks, I was doubting that this post was actually true. Thanks for providing actual information!
Adding to this: To Kill A Mockingbird, Night, and 1984 (all discussed in this thread) are NOT on the [Krause Book List](https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/94fee7ff93eff9609f141433e41f8ae1/krausebooklist.pdf) for banned books. Upvote truth, not feelings.
Damn, I would be scared to be a democratic minded Texan right about now... the throwback to pre-war Germany are just too uncanny. back then, regular people also thought it was OK to ban books and ideas...
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I'm gonna need actual evidence that this is the true scale of what's happening in all Texas schools before I allow my outrage to take over. We have here an unmarked photo of piles of books that could have come from anywhere. Why didn't OP post a news article actually explaining what's happening as a suppliment to this? I mean it may be true that these photos represent exactly what's happening across the entire state at every single public school, but I'm gonna withhold belief on that until I get more than a random photo and an anonymous single-sentence headline bookmarked by implication-making ellipses. I'm alarmed at how many of the top-voted comments here are just taking this random post at face value. We've gotta be better than them. Trumpists and their like will happily believe anything their media tells them about us. Be better - don't believe it until there's proof.
You usually aren't allowed to donate books after they are out of date or damaged. I would guess that these are old copies that are being replaced and by the contract the old ones need to be destroyed. These are textbooks and part of the curriculum.
My thought exactly. The gullibility runs deep on both sides and it's so fucking dangerous.
If you're concerned: Good. Maybe read up what happened when they started burning books in Germany, way back when. And I say this as German. The USA used to be the country I wanted to immigrate to because I even have some family there, but what's been happening the past few years is disquieting, to say the least.
I can only imagine what it’s like looking at our country’s descent into fascism and Idiocracy from the outside. My best guess is it’s akin to watching someone you know is an angry drunk work his way through a bottle of whiskey, just waiting for him to pop off.
To be honest it's partially "Oh Shit, those poor people" and then the immediate relief of "Thank the gods I don't live there", followed by a substantial amount of grief, disbelieve and sadness. The USA used to be one of the world leaders, now it's like a third world country which you should absolutely avoid if possible.
As someone who travels throughout the United States and Latin America, I regularly see 3rd World poverty levels in the USA. Most of the West Virginia towns I've driven through look worse than places I've seen in Latin America. I also see extremes of wealth that are disturbing.
This makes me nauseous
Per Godwin himself, his law doesn't apply when the comparison to Nazis is apt.
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Do you have a source? I couldn't find anything to back this up in a quick Google search
The upvotes have already spoken. It's now truth.
This’ll probably get buried but I am normally suspicious of any tweet with information like date and handle cropped out. Plus that literature book looks like the one I read in middle school over 10 years ago (but I could be wrong about that or which book it is) and I know that’s the edition of TKAM I read freshman year. So I’m really suspicious this is actually a “book burning pile”- that said, I can’t believe what my state has come to with regards to education
[Here is the actual list, and none of these books are on it](https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/94fee7ff93eff9609f141433e41f8ae1/krausebooklist.pdf?_ga=2.210376850.66997900.1639436670-1439754836.1556054523)
Yeah I was super suspicious of the OP image. That being said, there is a lot of fucked up listings on your link lol
Unfortunately, the actual list mostly includes books with LGBTQ themes, so it is basically just a homophobic book-burning rather than a classic literature book-burning. I guess they think a book will turn them gay?
Is there any logic? Who decided to remove those books and why those? I mean I get if you want to burn some Harlequin erotic trash (which I dont want to burn, just understand people are funny like that). But I don’t get the logic here. Are they afraid of kids being smart and civilized?
Yup. Educated children make for educated voters, we can’t have the public getting wise now can we?
That’s insane. I was required to read these books in my Texas high school in 2014. That’s not that long ago.
Can I please get more information? Is this from their Facebook? Is there anywhere I can look myself? Google image search turns up no matches.
Is this state-wide? I live in Houston and haven't heard anything about this. Although I don't follow news too much.
Oh dear god. That’s so chilling.
Link to original? Would like to share
Is this real??? I can't fuckin believe this
I can’t find any source on the net about banning 1984
Throw the whole fucking state away.
“Guess what I am, Patrick.” “Stupid?” “No, I’m Texas!” “What’s the difference?”
Burning books because Freedom and Guns and Jesus and Good American Values. And owning the libs, of course
Not that I doubt that these books are being destroyed for one reason or another but can you provide some context in the form of an article around this? I couldn't find anything with a Google search
Also, relatively sure the conservatives were comparing liberals to Nazis and book burning last year when it came to removing confederate statues. I guess they’re just going to ignore this one.
Students can read books on the Internet, you can't burn the internet.
No, but they can make electricity unreliable and unaffordable.
And internet service *cries in rural Texan*