• scripthook@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Parental rights start and stop within the household. I don’t get why we need to have such a wide ban in schools and libraries. If you don’t want your child to read something that’s fine. But don’t spoil the diversity of books and resources because you’re so narrow minded…

    • surewhynotlem@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      If they’re trying to protect children, these actions don’t make sense. So it’s possible these people are idiots. But I have trouble believing they’re simply idiots, because idiots don’t have a focused drive to act. They wouldn’t bother to do this.

      So if they’re not idiots, then our first assumption is wrong. It’s not about protecting children.

      It’s about hurting specific people. If you consider they’re just trying to hurt specific groups of people they don’t like, then all their actions become logical, and the focused drive to act is explained.

    • dragonflyteaparty@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Just to add to the conversation and be clear, this is book they want banned from children.

      "-the novel tells the tragic story of Pecola Breedlove, an African American girl from an abusive home. Eleven-year-old Pecola equates beauty and social acceptance with whiteness; she therefore longs to have “the bluest eye.” "

      A book about racism, written in the 1970’s and set in the 1940’s. It examines how white people and black people’s lives were during those times and was inspired by the author’s friend who, according to the author, loathed being black and wanted to be white. That’s exactly why Arkansas wants it banned for children. They’re terrified of people remembering the truth of our history and knowing how people are still racist today.

      https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Bluest-Eye

  • TheShadowKnows@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    I just want to throw this out for anyone who doesn’t know:

    LIBBY APP allows you to utilize multiple library cards to check out digital books and audiobooks from around the country. Many books that are not in circulation in certain places are easily accessible in others. I have two cards from within my state and find just about every book I need.

    https://libbyapp.com/

    For books that are harder to find go to:

    https://annas-archive.org/

    Just about anything you could ever want to read is seeded on this site by peer-to-peer sharing. Do not let anyone take away your ability to learn.

    • CoffeeDart@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      But keep fighting … these websites and library apps are not safe. Don’t forget Z-library and even the Internet Archive lost a huge case which makes theri archiving/digitising of books illegal … They are attacking on all fronts. We can’t become complacent thinking we have options. Soon, we won’t.

      • TheShadowKnows@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        I agree with your sentiment, but would ask that you reflect on how you are fighting it.

        Vote, confront the opposition, protest… These are all options for fighting on a micro-scale. They all affect very little.

        Run for office, get elected, write legislation. These are other ways to fight. But they are time consuming and a single platform candidate rarely gets elected. Still small scale.

        So how do we fight?

        We have to fight in the same way we fought reddits attempt to control its userbase. We have to jump ship and create a network of federated library databases which serve to make book bans impossible.

        That in part is what Anna’s archive is. It’s a search engine of these databases.

        The last refuge of this knowledge is within ourselves. You may or may not be a big reader. Idk. But you should begin reading in ernest to become a repository and deceminator of knowledge. Many people that say they are fighting, really mean complaining on the Internet void. They hardley read the books they say they are protecting. Do more than these people. Read, retain, disseminate, and fight in ways the people who want to take away your freedom don’t understand. I guarantee you the people who want this are not computer litterate. Use their illiteracy against them. Fight on the macro scale with technology and reading.

    • kent_eh@lemmy.ca
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      1 year ago

      That’s all well and good, but we shouldn’t get complacent about them trying to take books out of local places where access isn’t limited to people with computers/smartphones.

      • Yeah, that’s good info. But these people know they can’t take the information from people that already know about it. They’re trying to keep new people from learning about it.

  • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    The only book they want people to have on their shelves is the Bible and they don’t want them opening it.

  • someguy3@lemmy.ca
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    1 year ago

    No kidding huh.

    Btw this is why they call everything a slippery slope. Because that’s what they want to do. They slid right from banning books in libraries to banning books in stores. Pure projection.

  • PeleSpirit@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    I think this whole banning thing is to keep them riled up and the flames still going so they don’t lose them during the downtime before the election. Roe was won, so what do they do now?

  • TheOneAndOnly@lemm.ee
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    1 year ago

    Good grief…I had no idea this monstrosity had become governor of a state. It makes sense that it’s Arkansas… But still. Who the fuck takes one look at that beast and thinks, “There… That’s the person I want in charge of the lives of those around me!”. Honestly…If I saw this thing at dusk walking towards me on some street, I’d immediately cross both myself and said street out of fear of the eldritch horror streaming forth from it’s eyes. Look at that face! Tell me it doesn’t scream, “I eat souls and shit demons”. Every day, I want so badly to buy a ship and sail into international waters, to avoid fuckwit shit bags like this douchecanoe having any say whatsoever in how I live my life. Fuck “her”, and everyone who voted “her” into office. May the beyond accept you into it’s dark and torturous embrace.

  • spider@lemmy.nz
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    1 year ago

    From Should I See by Frozen Ghost:

    cover my eyes and ears

    till it all disappears

    how can you judge for me

    what i should hear and see

    you take away freedom of choice

    take away the right to voice

    my beliefs and and all my views

    you take away my right to choose

  • TokenBoomer@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    This isn’t new, just more obviously in the open. Go to your local library or bookstore and try to find Lenin’s “State and Revolution.” I tried. It’s not in stock. You may find a couple of books critical of capitalism, but that’s it. Meanwhile, Fucker Carlton and D’nice D’Souza are everywhere. It’s sad.

    • Stovetop@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      My public library has it. Both in print and a rentable eBook. We actually analyzed the writings of Lenin when I was in (public) grad school, too.

      Maybe the difference is that my state isn’t a conservative shithole?

      • TokenBoomer@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Strange how you get used to the smell 👃. Then, someone like Stovetop comes along and reminds you that your neighbors probably would kill you if given the chance. It’s okay, there’s always Marxists.org.

    • crackrocksloppy@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      For those that don’t know, most libraries also offer an interlibrary loan option where a book that’s not available at your location can be requested and mailed from anywhere in the country. The library pays for the postage. You may have to speak to a librarian to do so.

      • TokenBoomer@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Thanks for the info. I just thought it was odd that they had so few books available about a political economy that represented half the world for 70 years.

        • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          Libraries cannot keep a copy of every book in existence. Not even vast libraries like the British Library or the Library of Congress can attempt that. I would guess that, in the U.S., State and Revolution is not especially widely read, so keeping it on the shelves makes no more sense than the time my librarian wife showed me a weeded book called something like “Getting Along with Jewish Neighbors” from the 1950s. It’s well-meaning, it could teach ignorant people a lot, but no one in the 21st century is going to read it except as a curiosity.

          • TokenBoomer@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            It wasn’t just Lenin. It was recent authors too. Anything vaguely socialist/communist. I’m not saying it’s a conspiracy. I’m sure it has to do with interest. But if I was doing a research paper on that subject, it would be difficult.

            • snooggums@kbin.social
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              1 year ago

              I’m not saying it’s a conspiracy.

              You did though.

              You: This isn’t new, just more obviously in the open. Go to your local library or bookstore and try to find Lenin’s “State and Revolution.” I tried. It’s not in stock. You may find a couple of books critical of capitalism, but that’s it.

              Me: Is it banned or just not in circulation because nobody reads it?

              You: Probably because nobody reads it at the bookstore. At the library though, that’s by design.

              • TokenBoomer@lemmy.world
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                1 year ago

                Geez dude, I implied it. Drink some water. Maybe it is. Do you know? Give me evidence that it’s not, with citations please? Does it matter? Maybe worry about this instead of some guy on the internet making spurious claims. Pedantry is prosaic.

          • orclev@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            Yeah, libraries have limited shelf space so their inventory is at least partially driven by demand. They generally try to keep a mix of popular and scholarly works on hand. I can guarantee that if you’re looking for a particular book and they don’t have it that they can order it for you, it just might take a little while to be shipped from one of the locations that actually has a copy.

            • Hello_there@kbin.social
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              1 year ago

              Libraries by me have plenty of shelves but not enough on the shelves. They wind up selling used books to try to make money for the library.
              It’s disappointing to go to a library and not see shelves filled and filled with books

              • Bibliotectress@lemmy.world
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                1 year ago

                I work in a library, and we’re actually doing that on purpose. It turns out that circulation improves significantly if you weed out the copies that look dated and old. When people come to browse for books (not diehard readers, but more casual readers), they have a hard time finding books that peak their interest when they’re surrounded by “junk,” so they just don’t get anything. It took me a bit to get used to, but I can’t argue with the results. We’ve heavily weeded, got updated covers of classics, and keep up with current popular books, and they’re flying off the shelves. As much as we say, “Don’t judge a book by its cover,” it’s something most people do.

                • Hello_there@kbin.social
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                  1 year ago

                  I mean, ok, but it sucks when the scifi section is one half of an aisle, and each shelf is only half full. I’m sure I could order it and have it show up later but thats inconvenient

          • TokenBoomer@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            I cited myself and my anecdotal evidence. I went to the library to find books on socialism. Even looked on the database for the county. Their holdings were sparse or nonexistent. But don’t take my word. See for yourself. Maybe in larger urban areas you’ll have more luck. I live near an urban area and was unsuccessful.

            • snooggums@kbin.social
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              1 year ago

              You said it was by design as opposed to people just not reading it enough to keep it on the shelves.

              Did you speak with the librarian to see about getting some in for you? Were you only looking for old titles instead of something newer? Do you just assume some kind of malice because you didn’t find what you were looking for?

              • TokenBoomer@lemmy.world
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                1 year ago

                I did assume malice. Because it conformed to my preconceived notions. And you know what, it made me feel justified in my self-righteousness . Then I went home and had a sandwich.

  • GreenAlex@kbin.social
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    1 year ago

    I think if they were sincere in their ‘protect the kids’ narrative they would be pushing for an age-rating system instead of outright bans. To be clear, they still wouldn’t use such a system in good faith, but it certainly wouldn’t be as blatant.

      • lingh0e@lemmy.film
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        1 year ago

        Uncle Ruckus: Now thats one sharp, sexy white woman. She looks just like Helen of Troy. I dont care how big her adams apple is, shes still all woman!