My brother in Austin made me see why people burn books they don't agree with

Last Saturday my brother brought up the whole "Fahrenheit 451" thing while we were grilling. He said the real reason people ban books isn't because they hate ideas, it's because they love their own ideas too much. That got me thinking about how I used to just call anyone who wanted a book removed a close-minded fool. He pointed out that even I have lines, like when I complained about that kids book with graphic violence at the school library. So now I'm stuck wondering where the line really is between protecting kids and censorship. Makes me feel like I don't have this figured out as clearly as I thought. Anyone else ever change their mind about a book ban after talking to family?

2 comments

2 Comments

robin48922d ago

Oh come ON, that's a total false equivalency. A kid's book with graphic violence in a school library isn't the same as banning "Huckleberry Finn" because it makes people uncomfortable. We're talking about protecting children from actual harm, not shutting down ideas we don't like. If your brother can't see the difference between keeping mature content away from 8-year-olds and burning books to silence grown adults, he's just playing word games.

kai_bennett22d ago

Grilling siblings and sacred cows, sounds like a real page-turner of a family gathering.