Reader: Should we ban all upsetting books -- starting with the Bible?

We recently posted about Adams County parents petitioning the school board to remove Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye and "inappropriate" books from the high school reading list. The parents say they're not promoting censorship, but many readers weren't so sure, including this one, who expanded on what he sees as...

By Michael Roberts

July 22, 2013

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We recently posted about Adams County parents petitioning the school board to remove Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye and "inappropriate" books from the high school reading list. The parents say they're not promoting censorship, but many readers weren't so sure, including this one, who expanded on what he sees as the petition's theme.

BackOffImStarving writes:

Uh oh, a book with something unpleasant in it. Might as well ban The Pearl, Native Son, Red Badge of Courage, Great Gatsby, Scarlet Letter, Brave New World, To Kill a Mockingbird, Of Mice and Men, Flowers for Algernon, Lord of the Flies, Animal Farm, Huck Finn, Tom Sawyer, 20,000 Leagues, The Crucible, The Glass Menagerie, etc. Actually, the Bible, to which some of these overly-sensitive pukes probably cling, has more rape, torture, infanticide, war, and witchcraft than the majority of the books I just listed. Ban it. Come to think of it, I think there might some scary images in one or two of the Bernstein Bears books. We should probably ban them, too. Maybe a good old-fashioned book burning would save us some time and money. I'll get the marshmallows.

For more memorable takes, visit our Comment of the Day archive.

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Michael Roberts began his career with Westword in 1990 as music editor. In 1999, he took on a new role, full-time media reporter, as author of a column called The Message. In 2008, he became the lead writer for Westword's news blog, The Latest Word, a position he held until January 2023. Michael continues to freelance for Westword, covering everything from business to sports and the media; he also contributes to Jazziz, a national music magazine. He holds a bachelor's degree from what is now Colorado Mesa University and master's degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles, and Northwestern University.

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