I’ve been trying all week to come up with something witty to say for banned books week, but it’s all been said so much better by so many other people. However, it continues to fluster me that one or two people can manage to have a book removed from a school library and/or curriculum even if they haven’t read it. And sometimes the complaints seem a bit uninformed. For example, we have the mother who wants Catcher in the Rye taken out of the school , but she is very happy with her son’s alternative assignment — Huckleberry Finn. Both books are on the frequently banned list for bad language. Apparently 200+ uses of the “n-word” are not as bad as a few “f-words” and “taking the Lord’s name in vain.” You’d think if one was objected to, the other would be. And then you have the case of the father who wants Fahrenheit 451 banned . Now how ironic is that?

Hmmmm. I think before the school board even considers removing the book, the complainant needs to prove he/she READ the book — the whole THING — not just the smutty parts –(we all tend to fast forward to those anyway). And how would one prove that? How about one of those pesky A.R. (Accelerated Reader) tests or a book report complete with poster and diorama? A skit? A mini-movie on YouTube? Any of those things we require our kids to do to prove they’ve read a book. And while I’m at it .. it is unfair for one person to have a say-so over what an entire student body reads. Books should only be removed if it can be proven that over half of the community/school/whatever objects to the book. That burden of proof should be on the person who wants it removed.

I think many times it’s just easier to remove the book then to put up with the publicity and the lawsuits. That seems to be the chicken way out.

And this isn’t as half as witty or eloquent as I hoped it would be, but those are my two cents – tongue in cheek – don’t swallow the penny.