You are engaging in semantic pedanticism. You are against banning, but if you call it restriction then it is okay. The simple fact is that those so-called restricted books are still banned for a certain group of people who fall into a certain status. Even if they are permitted to read them with parental permission it is not the person who is doing the reading who decides what to read. Think about other groups of people who might be restricted because of their status. Can you imagine being prevented from reading a book because you are a woman? Would you think it was perfectly alright if you could have access if you got permission from your husband or, if you were unmarried, from your parents, uh, father? That exact situation has been reality in the past and is still reality in some parts of the world. How about this? Imagine being prevented from reading or even learning how to read because you are Black. That has been reality in this country too. Would it be justified if it was allowed on the condition that your owner gave permission? Okay, the Bookshare system works, but what does it work to do? It works to restrict the rights of people simply because of what they are. The fact that it works is reprehensible itself.
_ _ _ "As a woman I have no country. As a woman my country is the world" Virginia Woolf The Militant: http://www.themilitant.com Pathfinder Press: http://www.pathfinderpress.com Granma International: http://www.granma.cu/ingles/index.html----- Original Message ----- From: "Ann Parsons" <akp@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Sunday, March 28, 2010 8:33 AMSubject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: Comments about "strong language" or "violence".
Hi all,Actually, Roger, you're confusing the issue somewhat. The method used by Bookshare makes sense. What it does is restrict books rather than to ban them. If you are under eighteen your access to adult content is blocked. the block can be resinded if the child's parent or guardian agrees. For adults what this rating does is merely place adult content behind a gate, if you will. It is tabu, not banned.I agree that those who want to ban books are wrong. Banning books makes them unavailable to anyone. Deliberately destroying or removing books from libraries is anathema to me. Restricting them is a different story.What bothers me most are those who decide that certain books are evil or bad and they have not read them. This, I feel, is prejudice and the beginning of totalitarianism. When a church or a government tells its members or citizens they can't read X or Y, that's restricting knowledge and therefore restricting the power of the People. The whole Harry Potter hoodoo is a great example of ignorant idiotic people making a judgment about a series of books without reading them. Nowhere have I found a clearer statement of morals and ethics and what is right than I have in the books by J.K. Rowling. <smiling> I dunnow how other books can be accepted without question as Young Adult. Frankly, I think the whole rating system stands on its head sometimes. However, the Bookshare method seems to be working, even though we proofers sometimes have to fiddle with the rating because the computer isn't smart enough to make decisions of this kind.BTW, I don't think we need to resort to name-calling in order to make a point. It retracts from the argument, frankly.]Ann P. -- Ann K. Parsons Portal Tutoring EMAIL: akp@xxxxxxxxxxxx web site: http://www.portaltutoring.info Skype: Putertutor "All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost."Email services provided by the System Access Mobile Network. Visit www.serotek.com to learn more about accessibility anywhere.To unsubscribe from this list send a blank Email to bksvol-discuss-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxxput the word 'unsubscribe' by itself in the subject line. To get a list of available commands, put the word 'help' by itself in the subject line.
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