A Modest Proposal And A Sincere Invitation
By Mitch Berg
To: Jana Shortal, KARE TV
CC: KARE TV
From: Mitch Berg, Obstreporous Peasant
Re: Books
Ms. Shortal,
Yesterday, you tweeted this, about a controversy currently being manufactured (indeed, wose manufacture you appear to be closely involved in) in Carver County:
I know – it’s 2023, and even the most trivial parts of civic governance can and do get blown far out of proportion. My father was on a library board during a fracas over the book “A History of Pornography”; The Battle of the Somme didn’t have more-entrenched sides to the debate than that one. And this was in the late 1980s, in a small town, where there was both the spirit and imperative toward civic compromise.
Now, I’m pretty much a free speech absolutist. I think the adult wing of the library can and should have access to pretty much everything.
For adults.
Including Mein Kampf. Not sure if you’re advocating removing Mein Kampf from libraries. Having read it in English and German, I think every high school senior should be required to read it. It’s a bad book, even if you leave out the message – Hitler was a terrible writer – but people reading it won’t trivialize the term “Fascist” anymore. Which means half of Generation Z’s political vocabulary disappears overnight. Still, Ms. Shortal, if you want Mein Kampf removed, take it up with the library board. That’s how it’s done. And the Carver County library board pretty much agreed.
Now – as far as kids go?
Tell you what: KARE should have Ms. Shortal read Gender Queer, with the book’s illustrations, on the air.
“But Mitch – why not offer the NARN’s time slot?”
Because the book would violate FCC standards for broadcast. On radio, and on TV. For adult listeners.
KARE’s management won’t allow Ms. Shortal to read it on the air. Forget about the illustrations.
Sat what you will about FCC regulations – that’s a conversation I’d love to have. But if the FCC won’t let the book on the air, is it really something a city library should be providing to children without parental approval?
That, as always, is all.
September 13th, 2023 at 11:49 am
So they left both books on the shelves. Nothing wrong with that – assuming somebody is there to police access to the shelves. If not . . .
Dear Library Board:
Some questions – is there such a thing as Hard Core Porn? What distinguishes it from Soft Porn or Not Porn At All?
Does your library contain any Porn at all? Is Porn appropriate for readers of all ages? If not, how do you ensure only age-appropriate readers access the Porn?
Now, let’s talk about “Gender Queer – a Memoir,” the comic book which is causing so much controversy. Is it Porn (does it pass the Miller test)? Is it appropriate for readers of all ages? If not, how do you ensure only age-appropriate readers access it?
September 13th, 2023 at 12:05 pm
Just another Moms for Liberty assault on liberty…
That book may be for you and your family, or maybe it isn’t, but that doesn’t mean you get to decide whether it is appropriate for other people in your community. Whether you read those books is up to you. Whether the rest of us read those books is not.
You might visit a library and spend some time looking at a catalogue of book titles and subjects. The Chaska public library has Mein Kampf available for readers. There are any number of books that include racism, sexism and heterosexuality. You might even check out a book that supports the values that you hold.
September 13th, 2023 at 12:19 pm
^ whoosh! the sound of the point rushing right past Fluffy without him catching it.
September 13th, 2023 at 12:24 pm
^ whoosh! the sound of the point rushing right past Fluffy without him catching it.
GMTA, jdm.
The great thing about Emery’s talking points is that they don’t have to make logical sense to Emery before reposting. Nuanced thought just isn’t his thing.
September 13th, 2023 at 12:30 pm
The individual who made the complaint didn’t read the book and apparently didn’t show to support his request, nor did anyone else who supported the ban. Anyone who assumes that books should be banned needs to make the case. Someone who doesn’t live in Carver County should not presume to suggest what people there need to do.
Some of us are old enough to remember the ridiculous record burnings of the 1970s. I remember some parents with a straight face declaring that KISS stood for “Knights in Satan’s Service.” History repeats.
September 13th, 2023 at 1:21 pm
Unless you are in favor of putting hard core porno and The Turner Diaries on school book shelves, you are in favor of banning books.
Since the people on both sides of this issue want to ban books, the issue is not book banning. It is who will decide what books are banned, or who will choose which books will appear on public school library shelves.
Since the parents can be assumed to love their child, since the parents pay for the books, pay for the school, pay for the teachers, and pay for the librarian, it’s an obvious choice, isn’t it.
I do have this amazing ability to cut through the bull shit, don’t I?
September 13th, 2023 at 1:37 pm
Instead of the usual “children” and “adult” sections of the library, maybe they should establish different sections based logical thinking and ability to understand the material.
Of course, under that scheme, the “adult” section would be off-limits to Liberals. “Adolescent” or perhaps “Sophomore” is as far as they’d be allowed.
September 13th, 2023 at 2:03 pm
Here is a story about 4 liberal parents who got the books To Kill a Mockingbird, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Of Mice and Men, The Cay, and Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry banned from Burbank middle and high schools: https://www.newsweek.com/kill-mockingbird-other-books-banned-california-schools-over-racism-concerns-1547241
September 13th, 2023 at 2:18 pm
Treat it like Sudafed. Keep the books in the library, behind the counter. If a student wants to check the book out, notify the parent. If the parent okays the request, give the book out.
September 13th, 2023 at 2:36 pm
Huck Finn contains the greatest line in all of American literature. Why deprive children of it?
September 13th, 2023 at 2:51 pm
The troll, on the wrong thread, adds:
If ever there was something that needed to be available to all, it is the written word.
Books, newspapers, magazines.
I haven’t run across any of them yet which isn’t the choice of the person picking it up to read it, and the choice of those who aren’t interested or afraid of it, to leave it alone.
Control of others, one of the mainstays of those who are insecure and threatened.
So much of this frothing is based on the mistaken idea that if a kid sees something like another kid with two same sex parents, or a friend who is homosexual that the kid will run out and become one from mere association. A complete lack of knowledge (which could be gained through reading) accounts for this hysteria.
To paraphrase mr d — If you don’t like the book, don’t check it out. The same goes for your kids; and educate them.
Of course, the troll is not paraphrasing what I wrote. What I am saying is that a parent has a right to know if a student is asking to read what is clearly adult material. There’s a strong propensity among our, ahem, educators to conceal their activities in this realm. My kids are grown now and can make their own decisions, but when they were still children I paid attention to such things.
September 13th, 2023 at 4:21 pm
I wonder if that queer bitch (in your face, normie!) would read Mein Kampf on the air?
September 13th, 2023 at 5:14 pm
They go after the wrong target. “Nigger Jim” from Huck Finn was a full human being. His status was a result of what had been done to him. He wasn’t a mere instance of black man. You gotta go ahead in time to the turn of the 20th century through about 1930 before you start getting stories that describe characters as being representatives of their race.
September 13th, 2023 at 5:57 pm
One thing that’s struck me for a while is that, led in part by the educrats, the libraries I’m familiar with, even in small conservative towns, are abandoning long term truths and the canon of literature in favor of the “flavor of the month”. For example, a lot of libraries I’ve seen have videos up front, not books, and that’s an issue.
And along those lines, that’s the key issue with “Gender Queer”. Yes, it’s obscene, and some illustrations border on child porn, I read, but the bigger issue is that as the flavor of the month, it tends to the solipsystic, and hence real educators will discourage young people from reading it simply because….they already have all the fashion advice they need from YouTube and TikTok.
But that said, yes, library space is limited, and I’m entirely in favor of limiting it such that smut does not gain shelf space. Like this.
September 13th, 2023 at 7:14 pm
If you want pure racism, where characters are representatives of their race, and the races have nothing in common and are seen as competitors, you need to read H.P. Lovecraft or Robert Howard. If you don’t fantasy and horror, read Joseph Conrad or Jack London. In Conrad and London, the entire life of a character emerges from the kind of person he is, and that depends on the person’s race.
Mark Twain did not write that way. Twain looked at us as sharing a common human identity that was twisted and shaped, for good or bad, by other people.
September 13th, 2023 at 8:18 pm
The book banners reveal themselves:
“‘Empty shelves with absolutely no books’: Students, parents question school board’s library weeding process”
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/peel-school-board-library-book-weeding-1.6964332
Every Saturday, my local library has a book sale, because they get new books and need to remove old books to make space on the shelves for the new arrivals. Never thought of them as “book banners.”
September 14th, 2023 at 12:33 am
[…] Tank: Despite Bipartisan Effort, NCAA Denies FSU Player’s Waiver Appeal Shot In The Dark: A Modest Proposal & A Sincere Invitation, also, Insult To Hundreds Of Injuries The Political Hat: Politics As Faith This Ain’t Hell: […]
September 14th, 2023 at 9:36 am
The old book sales are one of the things I like least; libraries, especially those built with Carnegie’s money, had classical architecture that conveyed to those visiting that there was a sense of permanence about knowledge. Getting rid of old books to get new fluff undermines that message.
And yes, as UMMP notes, getting rid of good old books for fluff does amount to book banning. Yes, librarians sometimes need to stand against public opinion, but that should start with standing for long term values instead of short term fluff.
September 14th, 2023 at 10:05 am
If you find a book in the library that makes you uncomfortable, remember, the library is not for you — it’s for everyone. Put the book back on the shelf and go find something else more to your taste.
September 14th, 2023 at 10:12 am
If you don’t want to read the book, don’t read it.
If you don’t want an abortion, don’t get one.
Very Libertarian. I like it.
If you don’t want the vaxx . . . tough rocks, get it or be excluded from society.
If you don’t want to be robbed . . . tough rocks, hand it over or be imprisoned.
Hmmm – not so Libertarian anymore, much more Authoritarian.
Is there a consistent guiding principle governing these admonitions?
I cannot discern one.
September 14th, 2023 at 1:06 pm
Here is a story about 4 liberal parents who got the books To Kill a Mockingbird, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Of Mice and Men, The Cay, and Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry banned from Burbank middle and high schools: https://www.newsweek.com/kill-mockingbird-other-books-banned-california-schools-over-racism-concerns-1547241
Excellent point. You want me to shut up about Gender Queer? Bring back Song Of The South from Disney’s “never again” vault.
September 14th, 2023 at 6:13 pm
Emery haunts libraries at elementary, middle, and high schools?
What a creep.
September 15th, 2023 at 8:51 am
^ Childless married man — telling families what to do ….