Quote:
Originally Posted by RougeUnderoos
The line is drawn, most of the time, by a trained librarian. If she deems something inappropriate and doesn't put it on the shelves, none of us ever hear about it and tend to trust the decision. It's not banning books, it is common sense.
It becomes book banning when some nimrod like this Texas politician gets involved in the process and starts barking about he Filthy Commie she found.
Anyway, if I was a parent in Texas, I'd be a hell of a lot more worried about my kid's future stupidity than I would be about the Red Menace.
Even if I agreed with the foolish notion that the kid's book has to be banned simply because a Communist wrote it, I'd be really worried about the fact that someone capable of making such a foolish gaffe is deciding how my child will be educated.
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I understand your point, and I agree that common sense has to play a role. I think librarians usually get it right.
At the same time - to steal a cheesy cliche - "common sense isn't always common." My point is that subjectivity plays a role, and trained librarians may or may not let their own biases get in the way or doing their job appropriately. I'm not sure it's best to let this whole discretionary business land on the shoulders of school librarians, generally speaking. Others will disagree.
That said, someone has to make the decision at some level, so perfection isn't a possibility.
I honestly don't know where I'd draw the line. It would obviously vary by age level, but it isn't an easy question.