Off the Mark by Mark Parisi for September 06, 2023

Well, if you want to encourage something most people have no issue with, ban it.

Read anything you want to read!!! Vote BLUE!!!

It’s subversive and wrong to read this comment.

I Would gladly read banned books. If I could find them.

I see a teacher soon to be in search of a new job.

I can remember when Tropic of Cancer was unavailable in the Los Angeles area. Mom brought home a copy for us that she purchased in San Francisco.

I would have been just as glad to not have had to read “Catch 22.” But I’m sure that’s pretty mild by today’s standards (or, should I say, lack of standards?)

And all this time I thought they were talking about band books.

Looks like a plan.

If the self-appointed censors gave her a list of books they approved of, she’d only need a post-it note.

Is it possible that some of the books/materials that one side wants to ban may really not be appropriate for and should not be used/promoted in schools/class (especially with very young children)?

Is it possible that some of the books/materials that one side wants to ban could be appropriate for if used in a responsible way (especially with older children)?

One million likes!

Nice one Mark.

We only had one book banned while I was in school. The book was Xavier Hollander “The Happy Hooker” Just about everybody was reading it at the time. We could still read it, just not bring it to school. We also found out that one of our teachers was an “associate” of Ms Hollander. That created a larger stir than the banning of the book!

Books are not being banned in America. There is no book that is prevented from being published or sold. HOWEVER pornographic books are being moved away from being accessible to minors. That is as it should be.

In a perfect country, that would be every teacher.

I use this same technique when I go to vote. I take all the Republican and Christian fliers into the booth with me so I know who NOT to vote for.

Like “To Kill a Mockingbird”, several Dr Seuss titles, books by Roald and other books Democrats do not like.

Not just with books. Have you noticed that when a group tries to ban a film and stop people from watching it, there’s a sudden surge in everyone wanted to go and see it to find out why others want it banned. So basically doing to opposite of what they wanted. They’d be better off just keeping quiet.

Perfect

There are some things which are not age appropriate for children, but otherwise, I really dislike censorship.

I read Mein Kamph in high school,(60’s) because it was talked about but not explored. 1984 was a better read. Beats me how people followed his ideas, but then again, Mein Kemph is now a reality show, staring a cast of thousands, mostly unpaid lawyers and a can of spray tan.

Huh??

Go teach! Go!

Now THIS comic is going on the fridge! :-D.

Off The Mark hits the Mark

So that’s how they pick them.

No book should be banned…just guide your kids…that’s all it takes…

Absolutely love this!!

Banned book week is Oct 1-7 this year. ALA (little round thing) org

Best advice I’ve received, read the book cover to cover and don’t let anyone else tell you what it said.

Nice one, Mark! Keep it up!

Remember when media outlets and social media dites silenced people with opinions that ran apostate to the then-narrative, including credentialed medical professionals? I don’t remember a lot of outrage then. I guess being against banned books is a safe position.

If you are afraid that reading a book might change someone’s way of thinking, then you are not afraid of books, you’re afraid of thinking.

Love it!

She’s a REAL educator. Thanks, Mark – I stand with you.

As soon as a book was banned I went out and bought a copy for the nieces and nephews. They loved them! I still have my favorites from reading the now banned books in junior and senior high school.

Banning is the only reason I read “The Satanic Verses.” Eh, it was OK.

Banning books is self-defeating. People go looking for the books and wind up finding the real, horrifying sleaze.

This is the reality:

NO library of ANY sort, not even a public library, is under any obligation to acquire and shelve ANY AND EVERY book, not even ones requested, if for no other reasons than space, finances, and logistics. Thus, a refusal of a particular library to stock a desired book IS NOT a “book ban.” You can still go out and get it elsewhere. This even applies to commercial bookstores as well. If you want to see what a book ban REALLY looks like, go try selling the Holy Bible or Rushdie’s “The Satanic Verses” in Saudi Arabia, Iran, etc. Or, better yet, print a book of Mohammad cartoons.

Indeed, every time a library or bookstore sets up a display of “Banned Books!,” they explicitly prove by doing so that the books AREN’T “banned”!!!!!!!!

Most book removal requests are made by self-righteous agitators that wish to ban acknowledgement of a viewpoint that conflicts with their worldview. Say, fundamentalist Christians opposing LGBTQ views, or leftists opposing Limbaugh/Hannity/Carlson. (Yes, this works more than one way.) Most librarians will reflexively OPPOSE any such book removal. However, just because someone opposes such a book doesn’t mean there isn’t sometimes a valid point to the request—like the removal of two financial “planning” book where the author was imprisoned for fraud and tax evasion preached in the books….. and temporarily removing some books “for review” doesn’t always mean they were “banned” either.

If I asked my local library to acquire for me a book on Yugoslavian steam locomotive technology, a Portuguese sex manual, or some racy Japanese hentai, I would be told to go pound sand. Would that mean they “banned” those publications?

Thanks, Mark.

I’m sure Amazon has a Banned Books section. Used to have to wait for Banned in Boston to get a good read

As a kid, I stole books from my parents’ room when they weren’t looking. After they caught me reading both a book on risque jokes and the dictionary, they told me to stop reading because it was an expensive and annoying habit.

Excellent strip, Mark! It’s going into my saved comics!

If you want to know more about banned or challenged books, you can get more information from the American Library Association’s website where you will find the list of Banned & Challenged Books. Most of the classics listed here that were published by the time I was in high school in the 70s were being taught in my school. Some of the greatest works of literature are on this list!

Perfect!

As Stephen King says “when they ban a book, run – don’t walk – to your nearest library”.

Can we at least agree on some sort of age-appropriate reading lists?

Skroo the censors.

When I was young the banned book was Fear of Flying — anyone who read this get corrupted ! ?!?

The publishers should thank the cranks wanting to ban books. It helps boost the number of readers every time.

See also: Streisand effect.