September 10, 2001
Fight Censorship

I'm a firm believer on putting my money where my mouth is.


I don't much like censorship of books.  I especially don't like censorship of books that teenagers like because some adults are uncomfortable with the ideas presented.  I recently read an article on plastic (actually the original charleston.net article) about a guy that wanted Catcher in the Rye removed from the high school library because it was a "a filthy, filthy book".


Mr. Scared of Teenagers is on the school board and tried to ban the book.  He was voted down 6-1 and the book remained on the shelves. That would not stop him.  It seems Mr. Closed Mind checked out the copies of Catcher in the Rye from the high school library and now plans to keep them, in a ridiculous plan to stop teenagers from reading this novel.


Now, I'm not saying you need to like the book.  Conservative blowhards like George Will don't like it either.  But at least he isn't calling for it to be banned.


I thought to myself, "Self, that is a load of crap.  Someone should do something."


So I did.  


Thanks to the wonders of the internet, I have the ability to reach out an affect things from a great distance.  I sent four copies of Catcher in the Rye to the high school in the story to replace those taken by Mr. Filthy Filthy.  It's simple, it's easy, and YOU should do it right now.  Send a message, do something real rather simply thinking in your head that censorship is wrong.


Most everyone reading this site has some money.  You all certainly have $10.  In fact some of you have plenty of money to spend on something like this.  That's all it takes to send a message. 


Go to Amazon.com and ship a copy of Catcher in the Rye to one of the high schools affected by Mr. Censor Jackass.  You can send a paperback or a hardcover, it's up to you, but DO IT NOW.


Don't be one of those people that sits at their computers and just thinks they should do something.  DO SOMETHING NOW.


Send the books as a gift to the following high schools:


Summerville High School Library
1101 Boone Hill Rd
Summerville, SC 29483


Fort Dorchester High School Library
8500 Lincoln Blvd
Charleston, SC 29420


Posted by michael at September 10, 2001 08:23 AM