Yay! I made a difference (hopefully)!

Any little thing like that really can make a difference! Way to go!

 

That's absolutely fantastic.

(plus I didn't even know petitioning to get a book removed from circulation even existed, so I learned something new today )

 

Wish I could agree, but the removal or destruction of any book is a loss to society. Even if everyone agrees that it is damaging, that book may have been a source for someone researching older perspectives on homosexuality.

What is "wrong" is subjective. Just as how you believe your opinion is correct, the author of the book may have truly believed his opinion was correct.

"There is only a perspective seeing, only a perspective 'knowing'; and the more affects we allow to speak about one thing, the more eyes, different eyes, we can use to observe one thing, the more complete will our 'concept' of this thing, our 'objectivity,' be." -Friedrich Nietzsche

 

It will always be possible to research opinions of that sort.

 

Kudos for taking action towards what you felt was right, but I'm gonna have to agree with Prism regarding censorship.

Also, I don't understand the point of your "Hitler comparison." He most definitely did believe his opinion was correct, but what's your point?

 

I seriously doubt that any questioning teen would go into a library, pick up a book (seriously, teens don't read books anymore), and kill him/herself based on an opinion in the book. I really don't see why sexual minorities are so edgy about opinions. I actually have firsthand experience suggesting that removal of the book was helpful at all. I remember that a bunch of protesters were hanging out at some speech to which I went because the speaker was openly gay. That was actually irked me so much that I stopped making gay jokes in school and stuff like that.

 

AllyCat's point is that merely thinking that your opinion is correct doesn't necessarily mean it belongs in the library.

Bad science doesn't belong in the library. Libraries exist to keep information.

Sorry, AllyCat. I appreciate what you did, even if some others disagree.

 

Was less my intention to give you flak, and more simply to disagree with the end result of censorship. I did actually mean it when I said Kudos for taking steps you felt were right. I just don't agree with censorship. So if it helps, take them as two separate things.

1. Kudos for taking steps you felt were right against homophobia.
2. I don't agree with censorship.

As for your second topic; in short, yes. I think people should have free access to information, and not just the information other people think they should have access to (excluding sensitive personal information for obvious reasons). Whether or not the information is correct is irrelevant.

Information is information. Being bad science doesn't change it from being information, it just makes it incorrect information.

 

And you can still buy 'Mein Kampf' despite its obvious offense to the victimized European communities.

My point is, depending on your perspective, any book can be seen as offensive. Who can say anyone's opinion is the right one? You can't, so you have two options: Oblige to every request to have a book taken off the shelves (Say goodbye to Huckleberry Finn), or allow every book to be available.

 

Except that the book AllyCat is talking about is heterosexist propaganda, and Huckleberry Finn is an antiracist novel.

Also, I find the argument that anything can be offensive un-compelling. Sometimes if you're offended, that's because you're wrong.

 

I'm going to support AllyCat on this one. We should be telling her that she did a good job rather than criticise her actions. What is wrong with you guys? Some people are gullible and believe everything that they read and hear (religious fundamentalists) so what AllyCat did deserves praise.

 

I think Chip has said everything I wanted to far more eloquently than I could have. The library is a place to obtain information, which isn't just limited to scientific knowledge. When we start limiting what we make available to the people (and just who should be able to decide this?), it can create problems. In addition, the OP said she found the book in the Social Issues section; the main point of that category is to represent both sides of social issues, which homosexuality is considered. Unless the library only carried anti-gay or even pro-gay literature, they're doing their job.

Another point I'd like to make is that, while it's awful that many teens have attempted/committed suicide due to society's attitutes toward being queer, we can't shelter them from reading every negative view. It's like an overprotective parent telling their kid they can't leave the house, because they might get hurt. What we can do is teach those children how to protect themselves. Eventually, every child is going to deal with some form of opposition, whether it's because of their sexual orientation or another reason. The younger they learn that the world isn't always a nice place, the better, in my opinion. It's not ideal, but homophobia isn't going anywhere for a long time, so until it does, we need to learn how to cope.

 

I'd like to reiterate what vyvance said. Good job for taking a stand against homophobia But it's kind of censoring view points. A certain book came to mind when I saw this. Fahrenheit 451. I can't remember the exact quote, but it was something along the lines of books starting to be burnt because they offended minorities.

 

As someone who works in a public library, I would have to agree that the book should have stayed on the shelf.
Sure, someone might look in it and read the false and offensive information within, but I sincerely doubt anyone seriously researching said topic would stop after one book, taking it at face value, especially since it's such an important subject. All the other books about the subject would be shelved in close proximity, so it wouldn't take much effort to find them.

While what AllyCat did is absolutely wonderful in terms of ethics and the spread of correct information, the eventual removal of the book is still censorship of a negative opinion.

 

I would've moved it to the fiction section.