Library Censorship Options

[sin]

courtesy of a link on fark.com, i found an article on a man who is suing his hometown $20,000 for having a book in the library about lesbian sex. apparently, earlier this month, the library board voted to have the book removed and replace it with something more 'sensitive' that has a 'clinical approach'. i guess the two teenage sons got quite a kick out of the book, as well as the father, because he claims that they lost 'many nights of sleep' over it. yeah.... im sure they did... jacking off to it.

what kind of bullshit is this? its a fucking public library for fucks sake! i can see it now "OMG!! lesbian sexorz!! eww gross!!" or "tee hee tee hee, girls playing with each other!"

article here: omg! no, not lesbians!

also, im wondering if he happened to look at the rest of that section. i bet theres probably a book on gay sex, and many many titles on heterosexual sex. lets just wipe out that whole section because its 'dirty'.

[maxnmike]

I truly hate people like this and the people that cave in to their demands should not be allowed to have any power at all. They are there for the benefit of the public, the whole public not a select holier than thou few. The people that removed the book should be fired. Fucking idiots, one and all.

[sin]

imagine the uproar he would have caused had it been daughters reading it rather than sons...

it amazes me that people are so hellbent on keeping their 'freedoms' while still trying to censor the rest of society. whats the point of living in a 'free' society if we are forced to be governed by the actions and ideas of others who do not agree with our own ideas?

[sin]

probably the only reason those boys knew about the book in the first place is because someone wanted it removed so the library council had to have a vote - which drew attention to the book in question. had someone else not mentioned it, im sure they wouldnt have even thought about it at all. of course, teenage boys always think about sex in any way/shape/form - but they dont normally go out and raid the library for books on it. $10 says that they probably sneak peaks at their daddy's porn collection stashed out in the garage that his wife doesnt know about.

[maxnmike]

Or on his computer, the internet is for porn after all.

[sin]

of course! that and bitching about stuff.

[robroy]

The only way to be really free is to have enough money to buy your own island. My son was walking home from his girlfriend's house the other evening and got harrassed by some jerk cop who had nohing better to do.
The local library here removed a couple of books some years ago till someone threatened to sue them, then the books came back. I don't even remember what they were but it was something stupid. But I can walk in there and get all the info I need to build a bomb or nuclear reactor. I guess we need to burn all the books just so nobody can be upset by any book. We will go back to the dark ages. Just give up all our liberties, everyone join the military as soon as they get out of school, no exceptions, no excuses, what you are missing a leg you can still man a radar system or communications device.
Ok I agree that some material should be kept away from kids but that is the library's job to do when the books are checked out. All libraries around here have a computerised checkout system so they just need to tag books that have adult subject matter. Anyway enough of my rant. I just have a problem with censorship and overbearing authority

[sin]

I just have a problem with censorship and overbearing authority

me too, though i can be rather overbearing at times. ok... lets be honest, i am often overbearing but usually with good reason. you guys have heard this complaint from me before: censorship is censorshit.

anyway, i know that when you sign up for a library card they take down a ton of information, including license information, or else you have to have an adult sign for you. now, this tells me that if you have an adult signing for you, your card/account should be flagged that you are under a certain age. youre right, the books should be flagged if they are inappropriate for underage reading. how hard is that? if a kid/teen wants to check out a book that could be considered age-inappropriate, then their parent should have to come check it out for them or approve it by some other means, such as written or verbal consent.