Up to 150 students at a Missouri high school that ordered “Slaughterhouse-Five” pulled from its library shelves can get a free copy of the novel, courtesy of the Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library…
The offer for students at Republic High School comes on the heels of the Republic School Board’s decision to remove Vonnegut’s novel and Sarah Ockler’s “Twenty Boy Summer” from the curriculum and the school library shelves.
“All of these students will be eligible to vote and some may be protecting our country through military service in the next year or two,” Julia Whitehead, the executive director of the Vonnegut library in Indianapolis, said in a statement.
“It is shocking and unfortunate that those young adults and citizens would not be considered mature enough to handle the important topics raised by Kurt Vonnegut, a decorated war veteran. Everyone can learn something from his book.”
Slaughterhouse-Five, considered Vonnegut’s most influential and popular work, is a satirical novel centered around the bombing of the German city of Dresden during World War Two.
The Republic School District took the move at its April 18 meeting following a complaint lodged by local resident Wesley Scroggins in the spring of 2010.
In his complaint, the Missouri State University associate business professor called on district officials to stop using textbooks and other materials “that create false conceptions of American history and government or that teach principles contrary to Biblical morality and truth.”
The school district members immediately rolled over and stuck all four hooves in the air in response to this Christian command.
#17–deowll==I take it you don’t recall any reason then that this novel should be BANNED in a high school? To me, much as you say, its just a fanciful good story. The lessons to be learned are quite general and for each person to evaluate for themselves–not a big message book.
Not enough Jesus.
Ha, ha.
Schools will try to ban or force a biased view on everyone. That’s why it is the parents responsibility to go out and buy that book for our kids. Just like it is a parents duty to properly educate their children. And there isn’t jack shit the school can do about it.
>> # 13 bobbo,
>> Silly to give a christian a break. They are all bastards given half a chance.
Two billion Christians in the world and bobbo won’t give one of them a break because they are all the same!
Clearly, most books are challenged by conservatives, often religious. But not exclusively.
The bible, for example, gets challenged for use in a classroom. Tom Sawyer gets challenged because the “N word” is not PC. A rising trend is animal rights activists challenging books that depict animal cruelty.
But challenges, for whatever motivation, are rarely successful where the School Board is dedicated to progressive education.
Its not the “N-word” the word is nigger. The word only has the power we give it. Removing or editing any book because a group or individual doesn’t agree with the content or language IS censorship. I would like the words god, jesus, christ, and savior removed from the bible I find them offensive. I would like the bible removed from the library and children’s book bags searched every day upon arrival to prevent this text full of sex, death, incest, murder, patricide, matricide, genocide, infanticide, and imbibing of alcohol from causing any more damage to our society and our youth than it already has.
Wait until they find out the bible was written by a bunch of Jews – then there will be trouble !
# 17 deowll said, “I found it rather deranged”
So what? It’s an American classic that many people find to have a strong message. Others just find a fanciful and intriguing story. So leave it in the library. Take it off the curriculum? Sure. I’m not in a position to judge their curriculum and maybe it doesn’t fit in. But a library should be a place to explore and to stimulate forming minds. I remember in the 4th grade, I got into trouble for reading Moby Dick! It was too advanced for my age. Poop. Kids should be allowed to read almost anything that grabs their attention. Even the lingerie section of the Sears catalog. (Does Sears still publish a catalog?)
“I know very little about the other book” Gotta admit I’d never heard of it either. Sounds like something California would put on the reading list. Had to look it up on Amazon. Seems a fairly new publication (2009) and geared for grades 9-11. So not surprising we haven’t heard of it. After reading the review, I’m damned if I can figure out what they were worried about. Teen angst and love. Must be some sex in it.
“stronger supporter of Tom Sawyer/Huck Fin books and “Uncle Remus””
Uncle Remus? More Aesop’s Fables than literature. But I agree with your point. I see nothing wrong with including a preface to such books explaining it was written late in the nineteenth century in a a world of different attitudes and mores. I strongly object to the bastardization/sanitation of Twain’s books. I wouldn’t want my children to read them. These are amongst the first real American classics. Sawyer was even written before Remus. You want to teach kids that some of the things he said are no longer politically correct, fine. But if you change the words and then tell the kids they are reading classic literature, then you are fiddling with history and guilty of Orwellian Newspeak.
Read Slaughterhouse 5 and saw the movie. I do think that it may be a little much for _some_ High School kids, but that’s what parents, teachers, and librarians are for.
I always thought that Vonnegut was a little nuts, but he also caught some great things.
I’m not sure if the thing could have been done in a linear way, but that might make a lot more sense to some people. Montana Wildhack probably puts a few people off, too.
As usual, somebody trying to foist his views off on the rest of us.
> teach principles contrary to Biblical morality and truth.
And the violent genocidal parts of the Bible are what?
#9 and #13
-silly wabbits,
I said “normal” christians, not fundamentalists or any other *ahem* “real” christians (ie: the easily programmed /bible thumping kind)
you know.. christian only in name.
i am of the opinion that all religions are just an extortion tool to kill and/or dumb down and control as many people as possible through the use of fear. (although any means is typically fine by them) -save maybe for those Buddha characters.. they seem to understand the universe at a carnal level, if you will.
anyway.. no need beating this dead horse again. it is a waste of energy.
-like all things, just follow the money if you want to know who the ringleaders to any scam is, “legit” or otherwise.
-s
29
1 Samuel 15:2-3
Thus saith the LORD of hosts … go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.
#5
Die Körper sind bereits brennenden.
#6
Does anyone know how I go about getting a book banned in the US?
I have a python book from a few years ago that never really sold very much – I think a nationwide book burning might help with the publicity
I could claim that the snake in the garden of eden was a python and so I’m encouraging satanism?
I read Slaughterhouse 5 as an assignment in high school, and it didn’t negatively impact me. The movie’s great too, Valerie Perrine looking particularly appealing …
# 31 So what said, “1 Samuel 15:2-3
… go and smite Amalek” etc.
Deuteronomy 4:31 “For the Lord your God is a merciful god. He will not forsake the, neither destroy thee…”
Liberals have been exposed as not caring about free speech. Any examples to the contrary are just opportunities to bash views they don’t like. Liberals were exposed with their calls for a Fairness Doctrine and to take away licenses for Fox News. And before that they passed the anti-free-speech campaign finance reform bill, signed on to by a Republican President who saw it could help him get reelected. Then there’s also the Citizens United case where they took the position that it is OK for the government to ban books.
#36 I guess that flood, plus the Sodom and Gomorrah thing was a mercy killing, or a minor lapse in judgement.
#38 – Not at all. Just an example of his infinite compassion and love.
Conservatives have been exposed as not caring about free speech. Any examples to the contrary are just opportunities to bash views they don’t like. Conservatives were exposed with their calls that corporations (well not the whole corporation actually just the board of directors) were exactly equivalent to living breathing humans and could speak! (Three guesses as to which part of their anatomy corporations will be speaking out of now that blaspheming Republicans have made them human.) Fox News was exposed when they tried to suppress news about the phone tapping scandal in England. Conservative churches have regularly and proudly promoted the destruction of unapproved free speech by multimedia burnings of books and music.
Ergo as I and my esteemed alter ego have unassailably demonstrated both liberals and conservatives hate all forms free speech (excepting their own of course).
So I guess that’s pretty much it for free speech.
Unless of course everyone wants to grow up and actually think for themselves.
LOL
JK