Me and my friend are going to do a debate and we would like to broaden our research and ask Yahoo. Thank you to those who answer truthfully. We also are looking for more facts and pros to banning books. Your opinions are your own and if you think books should be banned then say why, If you think they shouldnt then say how come. Thanks again!
2006-10-05 10:52:02 · 15 answers · asked by Brea G 1 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Books & Authors
book banning is a form of mind control. it is used to control the way people think
2006-10-05 11:00:26 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
I read through the opinions of others and I tend to agree that banning a book just makes it seem forbidden. How many people are going to do a search for banned books now? And your next question is why is it banned? Its human nature. A small group of individuals should not be able to pick and choose who has the right to freedom of speech.
2006-10-07 02:24:46 · answer #2 · answered by Beth G 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Books being banned...it is so stupid. You know "To Kill a Mocking Bird" has been on the banned list forever but has yet to be, because come on! That is a great piece of literature and you are going to throw all the hard work away and not let our children read it? And the whole Harry Potter controversies about faith drives me up a wall. There is nothing good about banning books in my opinion.
2006-10-05 18:52:11 · answer #3 · answered by Norah 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Why do people ban books?
At face value a book is an inert object made of paper, ink and bindings. Why would anyone want to ban (sometimes burn) that?
Books contain ideas and writers can influence and change the way a reader thinks and see the world - Copernicus, Gallileo, Darwin, Einstein all did to such an extent they completely overturned previously accepted beliefs.
Which is wonderful until the values and beliefs of an author completely contradict those of their readers who are likely to feel threatened, angry, indignant, insulted, slandered, misrepresented, misunderstood or discriminated against.
Which is when the banning and burning begins.
We should be our own censors. I am perfectly capable of deciding what I would like to read.
2006-10-05 18:34:38 · answer #4 · answered by kittyfreek 5 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Banning books is a limited--very limited--form of control. For example, a particular library in a particular town may 'ban' a book, but that doesn't mean it is not available to read. Removing one or two copies of a book in a town does not make it inaccessible to those who want to read it. People can always buy it or find it somewhere else. And I know of no cases where a book has been 'banned' (from libraries or bookstores) on a larger scale thus making it impossible for the public to read. It is a nonexistent problem.
In most cases, I would say it's not that a book is 'banned' but it is challenged. Residents or patrons may challenge the librarian and library and ask that a book be removed. The library can either fight to keep the book on the shelf, or be bullied into removing the book. But libraries have support systems to help them handle this issue. This falls under intellectual freedom, and libraries are trained to protect this right. I would suggest you browse the ALA site on intellectual freedom to get more facts about the situation.
http://www.ala.org/Template.cfm?Section=oif
More often I would say this takes place in schools in the libraries and classrooms. A concerned parent wants a book removed from the required reading list or the school library in general because they do not want their child to read it and feel it is inappropriate. Sometimes, teachers (and principals) give into the pressure, somethimes they don't. It is these 'challenged' books that make the "banned book" list that is celebrated every year. Librarians like to use 'banned' books as an incentive to get people to read books.
What happens when a book is banned? It becomes popular and sought after. A book that might have had a long life on the shelf never getting checked out, never being read, suddenly becomes "forbidden fruit" and people suddenly have the urge to read it because someone somewhere said that they shouldn't. It increases the demand for the book and saves it from a life of obscurity.
If I was of such inclination to want NO ONE to read a certain book because I thought it was awful or inappropriate, the last thing I would do would be to draw attention to it and say, "I think this book should be removed because of...." That just guarantees that the book will be read over and over and over again. I would let it die a nice slow death of being ignored. Chances are with no one to draw attention to its offensiveness, it would go unnoticed on the shelves for months or even years.
The whole concept of banned books has been and always will be reverse psychology. Librarians want people--particularly young people to read--so by advertising the fact that there are adults who don't want them to read--and these are the books that are just too offensive, too vulgar, too violent, too inappropriate to be read by someone you're age...they are really saying "check these books out right now and read them. Rebel against authority by reading."
However that being said, I am a strong supporter in intellectual freedom. I do not believe that any one person or group of people should dictate what is or is not appropriate reading material for the rest of us. Every person is in charge of what he/she reads. Parents do have the right to determine what their own child reads...up to a certain point. I do believe that teenagers--particularly late teens--15 or 16 on up--should have control over what they're 'allowed' to read.
2006-10-05 18:41:13 · answer #5 · answered by laney_po 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Who is going to ban a book and why? If a person (or group) bans a book, have they read it first and then come to a decision? And if they have read it and made their judgement, that on what basis would they refuse the right to somebody else to come to their own opinion. Again, WHO are they to make that moral choice for YOU
2006-10-05 18:09:00 · answer #6 · answered by robert43041 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I would dearly love to help you and your friend but the real problem in giving you the pros and cons of banned books is the true fact that since they are banned I haven't been able to read them!!!!
2006-10-05 17:54:13 · answer #7 · answered by white61water 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I tend to be a liberal on the subject of free speech. Banning a book is an effort to stifle discussion and the free flow of information in society. No book can be so destructive in and of itself that it cannot be allowed to see the lightg of day. A book with a controversial point of view or ideas that are off the beaten path need not be banned, because they can stimulate discussion and development of ideas and points of view in support, pro and con, of the concepts. A society that is so fragile that it cannot have free speech is an unstable society and cannot exist for long.
2006-10-05 17:59:00 · answer #8 · answered by Lance U 3 · 3⤊ 0⤋
No book should be banned because of the free exchange of ideas. Then one reads and decides what is worthwhile and what is not--but it's a pretty good bet that any book that has been banned has interest and will challenge you in some way, discard it though you may.
2006-10-06 01:09:06 · answer #9 · answered by bot_parody 3 · 3⤊ 0⤋
who banned the books and why? books of all types should be available whether you agree with the content or not in order to broaden your horizons and learn the ideas and concepts of others. information is a strong power in intelligent minds
2006-10-05 17:58:31 · answer #10 · answered by Theresa 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋