I must admit, I had never heard of pianist Joyce Hatto before this, but Neil Gaiman is right — it’s a fascinating case.
Gaiman has also been making some very good points about the whole recent The Higher Power of Lucky controversy, including at the top of that post above.
I’ve been a little distressed and surprised to hear some of the people I know come out in favor of the book being pulled from schools lately. I understand the good intentions that often lay behind that impulse, I think, the belief that parents should decide what books their kids should, or should not, be exposed to. But denying that right to other parents is still censorship, and I’m actually a little offended by the idea that that’s somehow okay, just so long as that’s what the majority wants.
Removing one book from a public school library doesn’t simply keep it out of the hands of a kid whose parents object. It keeps the book out of the hands of all the kids at that school, regardless of what their parents think or prefer. I think there are much better, and more effective, options available to parents than having a book pulled from the school library. I think there are better options than trying to police every stray idea that a child might accidentally be exposed to.
Reading the book with your kids, for one. Or talking to them about why you object to it.
And, really…how is this any worse (or different?) than what kids are exposed to on tv? It’s not like the book is sexualizing the incident.
Well, I don’t agree with the objections over this particular book, but I will respect any parent’s right to deem it inappropriate for his or her child. What I won’t respect is the decision to deem it inappropriate for all the children and pull the book from the shelf.
Obviously, there are some books that are inapporpriate for children. (Pornography, for instance.) And yes, librarians and the community should have some say in determining that. But if we start pulling every book because someone finds (or, worse, might find) its content objectionable, we’re going to be left with awfully few books of value pretty quick.
What’s most upset me in recent discussions I’ve had and read about this, I think, is that the argument against censorship has often been framed as somehow esoteric — as if to say, “yes, it’s nice to have lofty ideals of freedom and democracy, but of course we throw those out the window when children are involved.” As if banning a book was okay because the intentions are noble, or the majority agrees.
I find that a fairly disturbing point of view, I’ve got to say.
Yeh, but when was the last time things like constitutional rights applied to our public school system? Search and seasure? Freedom of speak and expression? Hohoho.