Banning books

[Fran]

Being banned is probably one of the greatest complements that can be paid to a writer/author. After all it is proving how influential & mind altering books can be. In the past banning a book has generally led to increased sales and a thriving "under the counter" market! I have often heard of the extraordinary lengths people went to in the past to get their hands on the so called banned books. In the 21st centuary it is probably a waste of time to try banning any book because it would be all over the internet the next morning!

"Poets are dangerous because their minds are free" ... not sure but I think that quote may be from good old Uncle Joe Stalin - a man who liberally went in for banning not just books but the entire output of authors

[the_wrinkled_mind]

The mere concept of Censorship, used to anger me in the past but in time and with maybe age, I have given up on it.Purely to save my energy.The reason being that, we will forever be told by half brained, old, idiots who we so unfortunately elect, as to what is right and what is wrong.Call me cynic.

The thing about growing up in India(may I say Urban India) is that we get used to small Right Wing Political organisations or even so called Secular groups, banning books, movies, art etc for fun just because they find something not agreeable to their views.

There are two ways to look at this.
One is the concept of craving a censorship--- where I would hold the sole individual responsible for not being tolerant towards other people's likes or his/her inability to keep an open mind.

The second is the act of banning in itself.Where I would hold the ruling govt responsible, for not protecting freedom of speech.It has been observed here at times, people in responsible positions telling the artistes or writers to respect people's 'Sentiments' when they write(albeit subtly) instead of trying to control the tiny mob of hooligans.

For me the second part is most important towards protecting books(which might seem not so pleasant) cause we will perennially have ignorant mop-heads wanting bans, but if we have a firm govt, then freedom of speech will prevail.This is where Europeans are lucky to have a strong support for freedom of speech in books, movies etc.

Ps:--Spanish speakers eh??? Any one for Brasilian Portuguese.

[centaur]

we had a lot of problems with banning in my library, especially when harry potter and the golden compass were popular. all these parents were writing in and demanding that their children not be exposed to "black magic" and the like. personally i think it's rather silly. knowlegde is only harmful when you use it for negative purposes.

[Moe]

I love looking a banned book lists, that's where you find the good stuff!

[Fran]

Exactly Moe .... if someone somewhere wants a book banned then that for me is a good enough reason to go in search of it.

[Eric McClean]

Banning books seems no solution since children are drwan towards those things which are banned or restricted. It is simply a human nature, any comments?

[Avid Reader]

The Nazi's burned books - democracies fight to protect our right to free speech, so anything should be allowed to be printed and we must ensure that people are educated enough not to choose to read the rubbish that a small number of individuals put out.

[Jacob]

I think it's a bit stupid, people enjoy different types of things. If someone feels insulted or threatened by a book, by guess is to stop reading the book. Just because you think it's bad, doesn't mean others will. Contact the publisher or something and complain if you really hate it, otherwise just leave it be.

[kellydouglas]

I am agree with your opinion, books should not be banned.

[CashJames]

I believe book banning to be a bad practice, as I'm sure most rational people do. It annoys me that, for years I have been trying to get my hands on a copy of Mein Kampf, with zero luck. However, John Gray's 'Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus' is readily available at most book stores. I find the latter to be disgusting, disgraceful, sexist, and above all moronic. If I ever get the chance to read Hitler's Mein Kampf, I'll probably have similar feelings toward it, but, who knows when that will be.

[Ben_Robson]

Books shouldn't be banned in my opinion.

It is far more important that people be taught to critically read books, especially those that challenge their own assumptions and beliefs. What good is it, if you spend all your time dealing with ideas and concepts that you will agree on before having dealt with them?!
You only need to ban books if you are afraid of being challenged and/or have serious power issues.
That's what led the Nazis in Germany to burn the books of those they thought to be anti-Germnan.

On the other hand, "Mein Kampf", Hitlers messed up musings, are illegal in Germany (just as giving the Hitler greeting or saying Nazi paroles or denying the Holocaust). Here I tend to agree... who really needs to read that sh*t (unless you are studying on WWII). His ideas really do not need to be readily available.

But then again... where do you draw the line?

[DavidB52]

In general, I am against the idea of banning books. Although, I can understand why some should be controlled. For example, a book that instructs people how to make fertilizer bombs, or some other tools of terrorism, etc, should not be freely available. You wouldn't want somebody who has had a bad day at work to blow up his employer's house in a moment of rage and then, when his emotions have subsided, to regret his actions. Better to make such information harder to get, to slow down people from rash actions. Some years ago, there was a book called "The Poor Man's James Bond" which was well-known. Now it seems to be hard to find.

Or there are simply books that distribute questionable information. For example, some years ago I read a book called "A World Without Cancer". The author looked at various cultures around the world and wondered why some cultures have almost no cancer among them, even though they might get a lot of sunshine or live a lifestyle that conventional wisdom says causes cancer. His proposal was that their diet kept them cancer-free because they ate a lot of apricot seeds and/or bitter almonds. Now, however, that book has disappeared from the local libraries. I suspect the libraries got some complaints from doctors or the AMA asking them to remove that book from their shelves because of the risk it presented uncertified medical information or something. In a situation like this, I disagree. We are adults and should be able to read a book and decide for ourselves whether or not we should act on its information.

Then there are books that border on Black Magic and I suspect they are not widely available for religious reasons. For example, the sixth and seventh books of Moses (Books 1 - 5 are included in the Bible, Books Six and Seven are thought to be fake, and are too much like formulaic witches brews), The Key of Solomon (the Grandaddy of all books of magic), and The Lemegeton (The "Lesser Key" of Solomon, another ancient book, further explains how Solomon gained so much knowledge through his access to the various spirits), etc. all border on the occult. So I am not surprised many groups would be opposed to their wide distribution. But again, I'd prefer to make my own decision about whether I am going to act on its information, or just read it like a work of fiction--interesting to read, but not to try to copy.

-- Sun Oct 30, 2011 3:02 pm --

. . . or denying the Holocaust . . .

If you are interested in the topic, you might want to check out a book called "The Holocaust Industry" by Norman G. Finkelstein. He is Jewish and, because he wrote about such a sensitive topic, he was extremely meticulous in his fact-checking. He questioned whether it was as bad as claimed and, it turns out, it was not.

In fact, when I toured around Europe several years ago, people were quite open about discussing the Holocaust. Most people disagreed with the six million figure. But you can't in North America, or you are likely to get lynched for diminishing the suffering of the Jewish people. So we all go along with the six million figure and click our tongues at the huge wrong done. Tsk, tsk.

[Sari58]

I don't believe there is ever a reason for a book to be banned. If the public doesn't like a book they just won't read it. People should be able to have the freedom to read and/or write whatever they want to.

[Ben_Robson]

. . . or denying the Holocaust . . .

If you are interested in the topic, you might want to check out a book called "The Holocaust Industry" by Norman G. Finkelstein. He is Jewish and, because he wrote about such a sensitive topic, he was extremely meticulous in his fact-checking. He questioned whether it was as bad as claimed and, it turns out, it was not.

I actually wanted to read that book, especially after having read some books by Eli Wiesel (that I found very good, by the way)
In my opinion, the exact figure does not play a role though. Every death during the Holocaust was too much (as in any Genocide for that matter). The Holocaust might not have claimed as many lives as some claim, but it was awful nonetheless (awful isn't the right word though...). The Nazis wanted to eliminate the entire Jewish population and caused a lot of suffering. I can understand that people are sensitive about this subject and I think that it is good that denying the Holocaust is illegal in Germany... I am not talking about fact-checking though. The Holocaust is not a myth that needs to be upheld by pure will. It needs to be researched as exact as possible in order to prevent somthing like this to happen again (no matter where or against whom)

[Fran]

. . . or denying the Holocaust . . .

If you are interested in the topic, you might want to check out a book called "The Holocaust Industry" by Norman G. Finkelstein. He is Jewish and, because he wrote about such a sensitive topic, he was extremely meticulous in his fact-checking. He questioned whether it was as bad as claimed and, it turns out, it was not.

I actually wanted to read that book, especially after having read some books by Eli Wiesel (that I found very good, by the way)
In my opinion, the exact figure does not play a role though. Every death during the Holocaust was too much (as in any Genocide for that matter). The Holocaust might not have claimed as many lives as some claim, but it was awful nonetheless (awful isn't the right word though...). The Nazis wanted to eliminate the entire Jewish population and caused a lot of suffering. I can understand that people are sensitive about this subject and I think that it is good that denying the Holocaust is illegal in Germany... I am not talking about fact-checking though. The Holocaust is not a myth that needs to be upheld by pure will. It needs to be researched as exact as possible in order to prevent somthing like this to happen again (no matter where or against whom)

That is just the point that I wanted to make ..... 1 or 6million isn't the issue. That so called intelligent, civilised people set out with the intention & a plan to exterminate an entire race that is the real issue IMO. Of course I understand why denying the Holocaust is a crime in Germany but in honesty I would prefer if these people were shown up for the deluded charlatans they are rather than being criminalized. But arguing about the actual figure brings to mind the quote from Joseph Stalin, 'One death is a tragedy, a million is a statistic'.