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Comment by Levitz | Hacker News Reader

I find the dishonesty really off-putting. None of these books are "banned". School libraries don't stock them, they might be removed from curricula, but they are not "banned".

It's just so bizarre to make an argument (A very valid one!) about freedom of information by openly lying to the public.

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"Book bans occur when those choices are overridden by school boards, administrators, teachers, or politicians, on the basis of a particular book’s content."

https://pen.org/book-bans/book-bans-frequently-asked-questio...

This feels like the laziest take.

Librarians and teachers choose books, then some external party forces them to be removed. If you don't like the term "banned", choose a term you like better.

You can just buy your child these books if you really want them to read a Clockwork Orange

Would you, as a school librarian, select a book that describes how black people are lesser, and dumber than white people? Is this something you'd want kids to read?

> a book that describes how black people are lesser, and dumber than white people?

Which book was that?

It's the one he's made up in his head to support his strawman argument that he's copying and pasting throughout this thread.

You're saying that you don't think a single book exists that pushes white supremacy? Really?

Nope, I'm saying they're probably not already in school libraries and therefore can't have been recently removed from school libraries thereby qualifying for this list. Can you name one that does qualify, rather than hand waving about something that's only in your imagination?

The Passing of the Great Race Race, Evolution, and Behavior The Bell Curve: Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life

Would you, as a troll, invent something that didn't happen and propose it to strengthen your argument?

>I find the dishonesty really off-putting. None of these books are "banned". School libraries don't stock them, they might be removed from curricula, but they are not "banned"

You can look into it, if you're curious! Some of these books are indeed banned from schools (even if they want to stock it!), by state-level law no less! It's not a curation choice.

In that case it would be better to say "banned from school libraries", because they are not banned in general.

We're talking about an article titled "The Most Banned Books _in U.S. Schools_", I thought the "in U.S. schools" part provided the context, but I suppose not.

> banned from school libraries

So, banned then?

Forget DNRTFA; you did not even read the entire seven-word title.

There's state-level law saying it's illegal to own or read some books on this list? Or just that it's illegal for school libraries to stock it and/or include it in curricula?

>There's state-level law saying it's illegal to own or read some books on this list?

Sorry, I'll edit my comment to be more clear. It is illegal for school libraries to stock it, even if they (teachers, the district, the parents, etc.) want it to be carried.

As a reminder for readers, the title of the article contains "in U.S. schools". It is probably a safe assumption to use that context for the comments in this thread.

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