Originally published at: Missouri GOP lawmakers use flamethrowers in symbolic book burning (video) | Boing Boing
…
2 Likes
Serious question: has there been any group in history that burned books that turned out to not be bad guys?
31 Likes
This is precisely why humanities studies need to be emphasized: so that we end up with less people who are either ignorant of the moral of Fahrenheit 451, or — worse — interpret it s an instruction manual.
22 Likes
I’ve been saying that for years, as humanities have been under attack by the far right…
27 Likes
15 Likes
But wait wait wait… the left had a handful of Dr Seuss books that nobody on the right ever read and certainly can’t name taken out of publication because they were horribly racist so… both sides?
yes yes I know nobody actually asked for those books to be taken out of circulation. The publisher made the wise decision on their own.
9 Likes
Of course, because the humanities are just there to confuse you. Common sense and Your Gut ™* should be all you need as your guide. You know the answer, search inside you!
*Some servings of Common Sense and “Your Gut™” may contain capitalist propaganda, religious indoctrination, gaslighting by your abuser, Rupert Murdoch, learned racism, zombie myths, etc…
12 Likes
I get that they haven’t read the humanities, but they haven’t seen Indiana Jones?
19 Likes
Correct, but the Katy, Texas ISD just removed a bunch of other Dr. Seuss books, along with a bunch of others, presumably because they were too woke. That article is behind a paywall, and I don’t have a subscription so I haven’t actually read it. I have been trying to find a story on it from some other source but have come up empty so far. My mom has a Chronicle subscription and was telling me about it. Wacky Wednesday was one of the books removed. I don’t know what their formal reason was.
11 Likes
And the people pushing that line of bullshit very often have great liberal arts educations with a good grasp of the humanities…
13 Likes
Apparently my VPN isn’t scared by paywalls. There are only five books named and only one by Seuss: Wacky Wednesday. The other books named in the article are Eric Carle’s “Draw Me a Star”, perennial target Judy Blume’s “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret”, Robert Munsch’s “The Paper Bag Princess” and the only title where a reason is given, “No, David!” by David Shannon. Because the titular David (a toddler) runs around naked at some point. Wacky Wednesday would appear to be the same reason.
10 Likes
Cohen was shocked.
“Bonfires of books?”
“Yes. Horrible, isn’t it?”
“Right,” said Cohen. He thought it was appalling. Someone who spent his life living rough under the sky knew the value of a good thick book, which ought to outlast a season of cooking fires if you were careful how you tore the pages out. Many a life had been saved on a snowy night by a handful of sodden kindling and a really dry book. If you felt like a smoke and couldn’t find a pipe, a book was your man every time.
Cohen realized people wrote things in books. It had always seemed to him to be a frivolous waste of paper.
—Terry Pratchett, The Light Fantastic
24 Likes
Thanks for the info.
2 Likes
As opposed to science and medicine, in which case you should depend on social media to confirm the stupid ideas inside you! 
5 Likes
Thanks. I hate it with every fibre of my being.
5 Likes
Well… About that. This Is NOT a Video of 2 Republican State Senators Burning Books in Missouri | Snopes.com
The Snopes article doesn’t exactly contradict Mark’s description of the event.
From Snopes:
The pictures and video show two Republican state senators incinerating a pile of empty boxes they said symbolized “the woke liberal agenda” at the 2023 St. Charles GOP Freedom Fest.
From Mark’s post:
One of the state senators involved even followed up with a statement promising he would burn books he found objectionable:
But let’s be clear, you bring those woke, pornographic books to Missouri schools to try to brainwash our kids, and I’ll burn those too – on the front lawn of the governor’s mansion.
7 Likes
I am glad they used an effigy in their ritual sacrifice.
10 Likes
So very near to what was reported about TFG’s appearance on NBC.
“Trump said he was listening both to his instincts and ‘different people’ to guide his actions around the election’s results.”
5 Likes
My mom was a primary school teacher who absolutely loved “The Paper Bag Princess”, and read it to her class every year.
8 Likes
