reasons for books burning?

Question

can someone please give me some reasons for books burning? and what's your opinion or attitude toward book burning? thank you

Answer 1

Book burning results from a leader's attempt to control what his people think or read. Every oppressive group (government or other) needs control over ideas and information. Governments must also control transportation (movement of people).

The Taliban closed schools for girls because they didn't want girls educated and they made it impossible for women to work because women with money were a problem. They destroyed televisions and radios and shut down all but their own approved newspaper. They shut down the borders. These were all aimed at controlling the people AND the ideas that their people were exposed to.

North Korea has a firm grip on the education system in their country and they absolutely control information and transportation, too. Although a few have escaped, they've mostly been starving teenagers.

If Hitler had stayed in power, the same state of affairs would have developed. He took the first step in burning the books, forming the Hitler Youth, and requiring people to have passes for anywhere they wanted to go. He had absolute control over the media in Germany and German-occupied lands.

This is why Americans need to resist any efforts at federal control of the school systems, the banning of books by either government or religious groups, and the restriction of the press.
We can go there.

Answer 2

Less than destroying ideas, I'd say book burning wishes to stop their spreading. I may be mistaken, but I believe it was most popular when printing was't as widespread, and it was therefore physically possible to anihilate all editions of a certain book... otheriwise, it is interesting to note that the books most likely to get burned were the ones that ideologically challenged the doctrine of the authority - ezotherical writings or Jewish religious books which were outside the Catholic dogma and so on. I also remember that during a peasant uprising in Romania in the 18th century, the codex that contained the titles of each noble and their rank was burned - so I guess there always a demonstrative aspect to book burning, as well as a ritual side, in many cases...

Answer 3

The only reason for burning books is to suppress the ideas and thoughts of other people. My thoughts toward book burnings are

1. It's a barbarous thing to do
2. It will never succeed in killing the idea, only the vessels that held the idea for a while
3. The burning of books is not the tragedy. The tragedy is when people stop reading them.

If you'd like to read more, I'd recommend "Fahrenheit 451" by Ray Bradbury. It's a very compelling read.

Answer 4

I am unalterably opposed to book burning, no matter how distasteful the book.

The main reason for book burning is mind control. Someone (often fundamentalist religious groups) is trying to kill ideas, and they feel they can do it by killing books. But you can't kill ideas, and all you do is draw attention to the book you burned.

The same is true of book banning. Let a school library decide to ban a particular book and the local bookstores had better order extra stock: everyone will want to see what made it worth banning.

Freedom of the press means freedom of thought. We must not let the control freaks narrow our vision!

Answer 5

To keep people ignorant! I'm not sure of which you are talking about but I can remember when the Church burned books. I think the Bible, because they wanted to dictate Deity and divinity. So they burned all the books that gave any other ideas.
I hope I helped.

Answer 6

I can't give you a good reason for book burning because is not going to go away. I think people do it because they still have not learned any better from the mid evil days of burning witches. I think small minded people burn books because what is written in the books scare them and it show to the wrest of the world symbolically that they are "better and stronger" than the book. Usually angry mobs http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobbing of stupid people...it's hard to identify with them.

Answer 7

I think the only time it is okay to burn a book is if you are freezing to death and that's all you have around you to burn.

Otherwise, it's violence towards art (even if its a badly written book) and eligible for seventh ring punishment.

Answer 8

Only narrow minded, spineless, fascist, followers burn books. There is NEVER a reason to burn a book.

Answer 9

Fear of ideas and control. A lot of people burned Salmon Rushdie's Satanic Verses for fear of the ideas and to prevent others from reading it.

Answer 10

One reason for book burnings, is prejudice. Example: the Nazis. They showed prejudiced towards Jewish people, and they burned books that Jewish peope wrote.