Florida education officials report hundreds of books removed from schools

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: The Guardian

Tue 12 Nov 2024 23.10 EST
Last modified on Tue 12 Nov 2024 23.13 EST


Florida’s department of education has released a list of more than 700 books that were “removed or discontinued” from schools across the state after changes to a state law last year that allows parents and residents to challenge the content of library books. This year’s list, which has doubled in size from last year, includes titles such as Beloved by Toni Morrison, Normal People by Sally Rooney, and Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut.

The list comes after House Bill 1069 went into effect last July, requiring school districts to set up a mechanism for parents to object to anything they consider pornographic or inappropriate. Since then hundreds of titles have been removed from elementary, middle and high school libraries. In Florida, 33 out of about 70 school districts banned books.

American classics such as Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain are among those that have been pulled. Contemporary novels by bestselling authors such as Margaret Atwood and Stephen King have also been removed.

Members of the Florida Freedom to Read Project, a group comprised of public school parents, said the measure has led to an unprecedented rise in censorship, mostly driven by conservative interest groups, and has limited students’ access to diverse literature. “We believe in a fair, thorough, and public objection process that ensures decisions reflect the needs of each school community - not the broad, district-wide censorship we see today that’s inspired by the vague language in HB 1069 and ‘bad book’ lists like this one,” the group said in a statement.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/nov/13/florida-book-bans-removals-education-department-list

[Irish_Dem]

1. The American people will only know what the government wants them to know.

And have a very narrow view of the world.
The only things they will know are govt propaganda.

[The Unmitigated Gall]

2. Ahh...the Florida desert. nt

[Ocelot II]

3. Sweet whistling Jesus on a moped, I was *assigned* Brave New World

by my sixth-grade teacher! In 19-fucking-60! Tom Sawyer, FFS? What the actual nickel-plated fuck is wrong with these people?

[Prof. Toru Tanaka]

4. Stpudity, gullibility and arrogance.

I am so grateful to live in a blue state.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

10. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Adventures_of_Tom_Sawyer#Criticism

[Ocelot II]

13. I'm aware of those criticisms. I just can't figure out why right-wingers

would see any problem with a book that contains the N-word or negative stereotypes of Native people.

[Magoo48]

5. At this point, here in the California Republic, we are working to be the antithesis of Florida.

I’m proud to live in a State which is fighting back.

[tonekat]

6. Floridians should burn down their Capital

Really - they are being de-evolved by the pigs.

[otchmoson]

7. I don't have school-age children, but

if I had a child who WAS school-age, I would be petitioning to remove the Bible from all schools. Has anyone checked out the murder, rape, genocide, child abuse, etc that goes on in that book?

[exboyfil]

8. Probably a good thing that Lucky was pulled

by the school district though.

[iluvtennis]

9. If I had school age children and lived in Florida, we would move. This book banning is RIDICULOUS. n/t

[GusBob]

11. For Whom The Bell Tolls?

I guess for the love-making depictions

But maybe because Robert Jordan was a commie?

Speculating here, but I'd bet Hemingway would be a Trumper. They macho stuff

Maybe a stretch, I dont think he trusted men who didnt drink

[Zorro]

12. The dumbing down of America continues apace

Last edited Wed Nov 13, 2024, 11:31 AM - Edit history (1)

It began in the 60s with Republican attacks on public education, and here we are now.

An ignorant population is one easily manipulated.

1984 is destined to be on that list if it isn't there already.

[ZonkerHarris]

14. Floridistan

[Timeflyer]

15. Pay attention to school board elections. That's where MAGAs infiltrate US gov't. Book banning is about power

and politics, not protection. Locals activists have to get involved, like Sarasota groups SEE Alliance, Support our Schools, Voices of Florida. Young people, who are the actual school students impacted, understand the issue because they're on the front lines. Once they're motivated, they can make a big difference in opposing the thought police dictators.

[Blackjackdavey]

16. Vonnegut?

Depriving high schoolers of one of, if not THE, best work of American literature? Easy to read, entertaining, perfect for turning people on to serious reading. Are they trying to hide the Dresden bombing? Slaughterhouses? Dissociation? Oh, I bet it's the alien sex. That's funny, Vonnegut would see the irony in that given Florida seems to be obliviously making the point of his sex in a glass bubble for him.

And of course, they're making M. Atwood's point for her as well. Who needs fiction I guess?

[murielm99]

17. I always brought home the banned books and made sure

my kids read them.

[ificandream]

18. Florida is the State of Stupid.