This week is banned books week, according to the American Library Association (all info and pix via Bibliobibuli). Malaysia loves to ban books – even harmless ones like a book on Chinese teapots or Bob Squarepants (see here) with an utter lack of any kind of rationale. So we should mark this week as special – and celebrate all banned books.
![[palin.jpg]](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PddQ8xLinAc/SOQfEv1QMRI/AAAAAAAAFiM/hi9yIXF-BJo/s1600/palin.jpg)
“The struggle between free thought and government is an endless one, but when someone bans a book, the book has won …” –Nicholas Lezard, The Guardian blog.
Rather frightening !
I always feel unarmed for such events, it makes me wanting draw even more ^^
I didn’t know Palin wanted to ban books. I guess banning isn’t as bad as burning, but its all bad. It is the suppression of knowledge and information which is frightening.
Jo, AAP has this to say:
“Taylor Griffin, a spokesman for the McCain campaign, said Thursday that Palin asked the head librarian, Mary Ellen Emmons,” (in Wasilla when she was mayor) “on three occasions how she would react to attempts at banning books. He said the questions, in the fall of 1996, were hypothetical and entirely appropriate. He said a patron had asked the library to remove a title the year before and the mayor wanted to understand how such disputes were handled.
“Records on the city’s Web site, however, do not show any books were challenged in Wasilla in the 10 years before Palin took office.
“Palin notified Emmons she would be fired in January 1997 because the mayor didn’t feel she had the librarian’s ‘full support.’ Emmons was reinstated the next day after public outcry, according to newspaper reports at the time.”
Nice.
No one knows what book(s) she had in mind, but I believe there was some trouble in her town over a book written by a gay pastor. At least we hope it wasn’t something for teenagers on sex education and alternatives to abstinance as a form of birth control…
P.S. Here is the URL for that quote and the full AAP article:
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5it8KyOqY5ZF4nQaF8rc4tX5tLvCgD9353AQ82
Thanks Glenda. Sounds bad. I will have to read the whole thing.
Oops says the article is not available. But I believe what you say anyway.
Hmm…the link works for me.
Gynie – I know what you mean. I want to write a banned book *g*
I’ll try it again
Nope, can’t get it to work.