To say I'm disgusted right now would be an understatement. You may well have caught sight of this on Twitter already, but I'm bringing it up here as well.
It's September and those who would ban books are at it. One guy, Wesley Scroggins, has called to have Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson banned (as well as others, but having not read them I can't comment on them specifically). He has an article here, in which he calls two rape scenes 'soft core porn'. There is nothing, nothing, sexually stimulating about rape scenes. And for him to think so raises serious, awful questions.
For those who don't know, here's a short, spoiler full description:
Speak is about a girl who was raped at a party, called 911 but couldn't talk to the police. It's about her coming to terms with it, the isolation, fear, memories she has to deal with and face. And the ability to learn to stand up. To speak out. To say that rape is not okay. That saying no, means no. It's a brave and very good book which should help teens in those situations to speak out. To not suffer in silence. To begin discussion on what is often a subject turned away from when it should be talked about. For healing, for information, for support.
Banning it can, in my mind, only hurt. It's ignorance like this that makes subjects that should be open and disscussed, stay hidden in the shadows. It's dangerous. To use some of the words and phrases this guy did to justify it? Like I said, disgusted doesn't cover it.
Here's a link to Laurie's post on the subject. And if you agree, don't stay quiet. Speak Loudly. [EDIT] Check out the comments for links to other posts about the subject. Some really great posts.
This is one such post which brought me to tears. A very heartfelt, gutsy post on Christianity, faith, Speak and Speaking Loudly. Read it here. I completely agree with it all, and as a Christian myself, I am in awe of the strength it takes to be that open and honest about faith.
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