# Are some parents really that DENSE! Stupid ass book banning Parents! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 14, 2005, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-some-parents-really-that-dense-stupid-ass-book-banning-parents/321677 "2005-09-14T22:27:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2005, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-some-parents-really-that-dense-stupid-ass-book-banning-parents/321677/41 "2005-09-15T05:32:14Z")
> [@Otto](#): > > note that it’s been two decades since I read any of the LOTR books and didn’t see the last two movies, so if Tom Bombadil isn’t in that Shire scene and this joke actually makes no sense, I apologize. Ah, it works just fine. ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2005, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-some-parents-really-that-dense-stupid-ass-book-banning-parents/321677/42 "2005-09-15T07:48:23Z")
> [@Otto](#): > > Don’t you remember all the howls of outrage from the fanboys when they found out the Blowing of the Shire scene was cut from the movies? Hey, merry! Down, derry! Sucking hobbit dicks Don’t tell Goldberry Tom’s a-turning tricks {It probably sounds better in Elvish} ---
**Author:** ![Siege](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@Siege](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siege)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2005, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-some-parents-really-that-dense-stupid-ass-book-banning-parents/321677/43 "2005-09-15T09:26:36Z")
All I want to know is does this woman read romance novels or watch soap operas? CJ ---
**Author:** ![hildea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ebca7d/32.png) [@hildea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hildea)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2005, 9:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-some-parents-really-that-dense-stupid-ass-book-banning-parents/321677/44 "2005-09-15T09:53:46Z")
> [@The depraved pornographic novel in question](#): > > “You’ve got to suck out the honey.” Cousin arches his back and maneuvers his penis to my mouth. > “Suck it yourself!” I say, standing up. Shock! Horror! A story where a girl _refuses_ to provide sexual favours to a boy asking for it! :eek: [insert obligatory “I’m no prude but…” disclaimer] After having my 37-year-old ears and sensitivites blistered by overhearing a conversation between some 15-year-olds on the bus, I strongly feel that stories which give the message that it’s OK to say no if you don’t feel like having sex are a Very Good Thing. Oh, and I strongly disagree with those who say that parents should be able to shelter their children from parts of the school curriculum. I may not be overjoyed that my children learn stories about horrible mass murders at age 7, but there’s no doubt that these stories are an important part of our cultural heritage. And while I feel revulsion at the moral in some of those stories, I’m confident that the upbringing given at home will be a good ballast against excesses. (Aided by an occasional comment to the specific stories learnt at school, such as “Do you think it was fair of God to kill the Egyptians’ firstborn children? What wrong had the children done?”) ---
**Author:** ![Madd\_Maxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Madd\_Maxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Madd_Maxx)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2005, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-some-parents-really-that-dense-stupid-ass-book-banning-parents/321677/45 "2005-09-15T11:13:35Z")
My school (Penn State) has a list hanging up of the books that have the most attempted bannings. I see it as a personal challenge to read some of the one’s I haven’t read. I’m not really interested in reading some of the books more geared to children, but there were a few that looked like something I would be interested in. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2005, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-some-parents-really-that-dense-stupid-ass-book-banning-parents/321677/46 "2005-09-15T11:39:27Z")
> [@Bippy the Beardless](#): > > After hearing no actual sex is discribed in the book in question, I take back any minor support I may have had for the womans case. Still I think alternative books should be available on general principal. Yes sure. Especialy when the issue is a couple sentence on page 243 mentionning sex. Can you imagine the mess if each pair of parents was requiring an alternative book on such a basis? -God is mentionned in the book. That’s proselytism. I don’t want my kid to read that. -All the characters are straight. That’s homophobic. I demand another book. -The main character is a democrat. That’s political propaganda. Another book, please. - Why is the brand of the car mentionned? Hidden advertisement. I want another book. -The female characters aren’t very pleasant. The book must have been written by a sexist pig. I want an alternate otpion. -On page 46, the guy is punched in the face. I don’t want my son to be exposed to violence. -I don’t like the book. My kid doesn’t need to waste his time readind this crap. Give him a good book to read. Here’s the list of the 7 books I wouldn’t mind him reading. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2005, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-some-parents-really-that-dense-stupid-ass-book-banning-parents/321677/47 "2005-09-15T11:48:17Z")
> [@even sven](#): > > In India, cousins are considered to be acceptable marriage partners in certain circumstances, although it gets [a little complicated](http://www.vepachedu.org/manasanskriti/menarikam.html). Actually, it would be interesting to know in which countries exactly marriage between cousins is frowned upon. I’d guess it’s a small minority. I personnally never had an “eek factor” related to cousins having sex or marrying and don’t remember anybody mentionning they’re finding this distasteful (of course, I rarely discussed this issue, but I still don’t think it’s perceived in a particularily negative way over here). ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2005, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-some-parents-really-that-dense-stupid-ass-book-banning-parents/321677/48 "2005-09-15T11:56:21Z")
> [@Case Sensitive](#): > > Tom Bombadil sucked dick? I just spit on my monitor while laughing…thank you. ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2005, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-some-parents-really-that-dense-stupid-ass-book-banning-parents/321677/49 "2005-09-15T11:57:37Z")
> [@Madd Maxx](#): > > My school (Penn State) has a list hanging up of the books that have the most attempted bannings. I see it as a personal challenge to read some of the one’s I haven’t read. I’m not really interested in reading some of the books more geared to children, but there were a few that looked like something I would be interested in. Is that list publicly available? ---
**Author:** ![Arwin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/51bf81/32.png) [@Arwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arwin)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2005, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-some-parents-really-that-dense-stupid-ass-book-banning-parents/321677/50 "2005-09-15T12:24:43Z")
She is seventeen. _Seventeen_. She’ll be pregnant within 2 years. The mother should be arrested for incompetent parenting. ---
**Author:** ![cowgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@cowgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cowgirl)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2005, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-some-parents-really-that-dense-stupid-ass-book-banning-parents/321677/51 "2005-09-15T12:25:07Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > Actually, it would be interesting to know in which countries exactly marriage between cousins is frowned upon. I’d guess it’s a small minority. I personnally never had an “eek factor” related to cousins having sex or marrying and don’t remember anybody mentionning they’re finding this distasteful (of course, I rarely discussed this issue, but I still don’t think it’s perceived in a particularily negative way over here). I’ve always percieved an “eek” factor here in Canada although the subject doesn’t come up very often. Come to think of it I had always assumed that “cousin” was listed in the [Table of Kindred and Affinity](http://www.eskimo.com/~lhowell/bcp1662/misc/kindred.html) (which I read for kicks a lot while stuck in church), but now I see that it isn’t. But it’s interesting to see your location in the context of the question. A (French) friend of mine once slept with her cousin. Later, she was courting a(n English) fellow who, when he found out about it, was absolutely horrified and refused to have anything to do with her. ---
**Author:** ![Homebrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Homebrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homebrew)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2005, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-some-parents-really-that-dense-stupid-ass-book-banning-parents/321677/52 "2005-09-15T13:58:48Z")
> [@Otto](#): > > Don’t you remember all the howls of outrage from the fanboys when they found out the Blowing of the Shire scene was cut from the movies? You must be thinking of the **Lord of the G-Strings**. And they’re called Throbbits. ---
**Author:** ![Homebrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Homebrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homebrew)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2005, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-some-parents-really-that-dense-stupid-ass-book-banning-parents/321677/53 "2005-09-15T14:00:15Z")
(Yes, that’s a real porn movie.) ---
**Author:** ![tnetennba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2005, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-some-parents-really-that-dense-stupid-ass-book-banning-parents/321677/54 "2005-09-15T14:01:38Z")
> [@SusanStoHelit](#): > > That and the girl had no alternate book offered to her. While book banning is of course wrong, I think a parent has the right to choose what books her own child is required to read while in school. Every parent has the right to customize the curriculum for their child? ---
**Author:** ![tnetennba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2005, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-some-parents-really-that-dense-stupid-ass-book-banning-parents/321677/55 "2005-09-15T14:04:44Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > Can we ban The Scarlett Letter? Please? Ban Hawthorne? (draws sword) ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2005, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-some-parents-really-that-dense-stupid-ass-book-banning-parents/321677/56 "2005-09-15T14:40:33Z")
> [@Bippy the Beardless](#): > > Yeah I read the article more that the Mom wanted a different book assigned, the school tried all it could do to avoid doing so. Now mom is just being as awkward as possible to get revenge. > It seems rediculous that the school coul;dn’t provide alternative literature, I’m sure plenty of people of Indian subcontinent herritage would be upset about such a book if it disagreed with their own views/experiences of the India/Pakistan breakup. > Imagine having a novelised book about life during Israel’s formation, it may be great literature bout it is bound to be offensive to some. > Or imagine having to read “Satanic Verses” or “The Red Tent” with no alternative non-religious options. Yes, imagine being confronted with ideas and expressions of feeling with which you do not agree. It is so unreasonable to make kids think and understand things. No part of the learning process, that! ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2005, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-some-parents-really-that-dense-stupid-ass-book-banning-parents/321677/57 "2005-09-15T14:42:38Z")
> [@cowgirl](#): > > But it’s interesting to see your location in the context of the question. A (French) friend of mine once slept with her cousin. Later, she was courting a(n English) fellow who, when he found out about it, was absolutely horrified and refused to have anything to do with her. Heh, you reminded me of a time i was talknig with a friend of mine (we’ll call her Jen (n ot real name)) Me: What are you up to tonight? Jen: Nothing. I’m not going out, cause both Carrie and Leslie are gone. Me: Oh. Jen: Yeah, Carrie is working, and Leslie is in Georgia fucking her cousin. Me: :eek: She’s what? Jen: Having sex with her cousin Me:…:eek: Jen: No no, it’s OK, because she’s adopted. So just cousin by law, not by blood. Me: Well…that’s less icky…but still! Her cousin! Eww! 😛 So yeah, count me in on the “cousin=icky” crowd. But getting back to the OP Seriously, this women is just an idiot. An alternate book? Hello, McFly! Think for a minute. So the girl reads a different book. How can she aprticiapte in class discussions? She can’t realyl get credit for that, and she doesn’t get anything out of it. A teacher assigning a book to read usually wants the student to do more than just read the book,. they want them to think about it, talk about it, and hear other people talking about it so they can see different viewpoints, see how others saw a certain passage, and so forth, ESPECIALLY in an advanced class like an IB or AP. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2005, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-some-parents-really-that-dense-stupid-ass-book-banning-parents/321677/58 "2005-09-15T15:08:31Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > Oh my God! I graduated from that high school! In 19(mumble mumble.) 1900s! How YOU doin, Ivylass? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2005, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-some-parents-really-that-dense-stupid-ass-book-banning-parents/321677/59 "2005-09-15T15:09:33Z")
> [@Bippy the Beardless](#): > > Get the Kate Bush version and an extra large box of kleenex. So THAT’S what the stuff about the “burning bush” was about. Got it … ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2005, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-some-parents-really-that-dense-stupid-ass-book-banning-parents/321677/60 "2005-09-15T15:13:21Z")
> [@Thudlow Boink](#): > > Thank you for posting this. Although, according to the article, there’s also another passage being objected to. > > In my opinion, all of you who were pouring contempt on this woman _without knowing the content of what she was objecting to_ were out of line. If the passages were, in fact, frankly pornographic, I think she’d have a right to complain about her high-schooler being _required_ to read these passages. It’s appropriate for a line to be drawn _somewhere_ before _Farmyard Family Sado-Sex Orgy_ becomes assigned reading for second-graders. But if that happens, the kids will just go out and practice farmyard family sado-sex orgies … unsafely. However you do that. In any event, your argument is a big fat red herring. Show me some real porn assigned as reading to high school students and I’ll bother to raise and eyebrow. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-some-parents-really-that-dense-stupid-ass-book-banning-parents/321677.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-some-parents-really-that-dense-stupid-ass-book-banning-parents/321677.md?page=4)