Viva Book Talk!
Over the last year, the children’s book Discovering Cultures: Cuba has become quite popular in Florida. Unfortunately it’s not because of any awards; it’s because it has become the center of an ongoing dispute with one party crying “Propaganda!” and the other party crying “Censorship!”
...The book first gained popularity last April when some Cubans wanted the book pulled from the shelves of Bossard Elementary School, after they claimed that the book makes Cuban dictator Fidel Castro look much nicer than what his documented tyrannical history has shown.
...A few weeks ago, mother Dalila Rodriguez checked the book out and never returned it, hoping to “protect” other students from the book’s “lies.” Critics have labeled Rodriguez’s action not only theft but censorship; supporters have said that the book is propaganda and doesn’t belong in a school library.
...I haven’t had the opportunity to read Discovering Cultures: Cuba, but the purpose of this post isn’t to defend the theft of library books for any reason. The purpose of this post is to question if those who are ready to all but hang Rodriguez are vehemently opposed to her actions because her move is a form of censorship, or if they’re opposed because they’re angry that someone might question a potentially propagandized book about Fidel Castro.
...I pose such a question because it’s no secret that Castro is embraced by many self-professed progressives, most of whom claim to oppose censorship and any limitations on book access. Moreover, many are in the field of education, where such issues need to be discussed as often as possible.
...What if this book were nothing more than a piece of propaganda that was used to paint a rosy image of a person whose ideological bent is that of the far-right? What if, for instance, a children’s book were published to do nothing but offer a polished image of someone such as George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, or Donald Rumsfeld? Would those who want Dalila Rodriguez’s head brought to them on a silver platter be as opposed to a librarian or parent trying to pull a pro-conservative book from the shelves? I won’t answer that with certainty, but I have my gut feelings because I’m not sold on the idea that liberals are as anti-censorship as they claim to be. I’ll get to that in a moment.
...While researching this topic, I found one blogger who wants the police to “throw [Rodriguez’s] sorry ass in jail” for having taken the book (he didn’t say if he wanted all patrons with overdue books to have their sorry asses thrown in jail, too, or just Rodriguez). Syndicated columnist Leonard Pitts, Jr. has vowed to replace Discovering Cultures: Cuba at his own expense whenever someone signs it out and keeps it.
...Would that blogger want a patron who stole a pro-Bush or pro-Cheney to have their “sorry ass” thrown in prison, too? Would Pitts be willing to replace stolen books if they painted a pretty picture of Bush or Cheney?
...My concern is that many people who claim to be adamantly opposed to censorship and book bans are actually more talk than substance. Columnist Nat Hentoff recently pointed out that the American Library Association, which supposedly fights against censorship, has routinely refused to call for the release of imprisoned Cuban librarians who have criticized Fidel Castro—librarians who have been deemed “prisoners of conscience” by Amnesty International.
...Hentoff points out that the ALA has actually gone so far as to refuse to make any mention of the farcical trials which put these librarians in prison in the first place. The judges of these trials ordered that books from Martin Luther King, Jr. and George Orwell be burned. As if that weren’t bad enough, Judith Krug, who is the chief goon at the ALA’s Office of Intellectual Freedom, went so far as to say that she “dug in [her] heels” against the supporters of the imprisoned librarians because they have “an agenda” (damn them for wanting to see political prisoners set free). Krug then wished that she could “drown” the entire issue because it “wouldn’t die.” Imagine that: A fight against tyranny not dying.
...My position on book selection is just that: selection. Librarians owe it to their patrons to provide nonfiction books if they’re indeed offering them under the guise of being nonfiction. Otherwise, they should be identified as fiction and offered as such.
...As I’ve said before, I haven’t read Discovering Cultures: Cuba, and as such I can’t call it either propaganda or quality nonfiction. I do, however, long for the day when censorship is a one-way street. Until that day comes, I have a feeling that I’ll have to get used to having people view some censors as fascists and other censors as heroes.
References
▪ Peoria Pundit
▪ Leonard Pitts, Jr.
▪ Nat Hentoff
...The book first gained popularity last April when some Cubans wanted the book pulled from the shelves of Bossard Elementary School, after they claimed that the book makes Cuban dictator Fidel Castro look much nicer than what his documented tyrannical history has shown.
...A few weeks ago, mother Dalila Rodriguez checked the book out and never returned it, hoping to “protect” other students from the book’s “lies.” Critics have labeled Rodriguez’s action not only theft but censorship; supporters have said that the book is propaganda and doesn’t belong in a school library.
...I haven’t had the opportunity to read Discovering Cultures: Cuba, but the purpose of this post isn’t to defend the theft of library books for any reason. The purpose of this post is to question if those who are ready to all but hang Rodriguez are vehemently opposed to her actions because her move is a form of censorship, or if they’re opposed because they’re angry that someone might question a potentially propagandized book about Fidel Castro.
...I pose such a question because it’s no secret that Castro is embraced by many self-professed progressives, most of whom claim to oppose censorship and any limitations on book access. Moreover, many are in the field of education, where such issues need to be discussed as often as possible.
...What if this book were nothing more than a piece of propaganda that was used to paint a rosy image of a person whose ideological bent is that of the far-right? What if, for instance, a children’s book were published to do nothing but offer a polished image of someone such as George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, or Donald Rumsfeld? Would those who want Dalila Rodriguez’s head brought to them on a silver platter be as opposed to a librarian or parent trying to pull a pro-conservative book from the shelves? I won’t answer that with certainty, but I have my gut feelings because I’m not sold on the idea that liberals are as anti-censorship as they claim to be. I’ll get to that in a moment.
...While researching this topic, I found one blogger who wants the police to “throw [Rodriguez’s] sorry ass in jail” for having taken the book (he didn’t say if he wanted all patrons with overdue books to have their sorry asses thrown in jail, too, or just Rodriguez). Syndicated columnist Leonard Pitts, Jr. has vowed to replace Discovering Cultures: Cuba at his own expense whenever someone signs it out and keeps it.
...Would that blogger want a patron who stole a pro-Bush or pro-Cheney to have their “sorry ass” thrown in prison, too? Would Pitts be willing to replace stolen books if they painted a pretty picture of Bush or Cheney?
...My concern is that many people who claim to be adamantly opposed to censorship and book bans are actually more talk than substance. Columnist Nat Hentoff recently pointed out that the American Library Association, which supposedly fights against censorship, has routinely refused to call for the release of imprisoned Cuban librarians who have criticized Fidel Castro—librarians who have been deemed “prisoners of conscience” by Amnesty International.
...Hentoff points out that the ALA has actually gone so far as to refuse to make any mention of the farcical trials which put these librarians in prison in the first place. The judges of these trials ordered that books from Martin Luther King, Jr. and George Orwell be burned. As if that weren’t bad enough, Judith Krug, who is the chief goon at the ALA’s Office of Intellectual Freedom, went so far as to say that she “dug in [her] heels” against the supporters of the imprisoned librarians because they have “an agenda” (damn them for wanting to see political prisoners set free). Krug then wished that she could “drown” the entire issue because it “wouldn’t die.” Imagine that: A fight against tyranny not dying.
...My position on book selection is just that: selection. Librarians owe it to their patrons to provide nonfiction books if they’re indeed offering them under the guise of being nonfiction. Otherwise, they should be identified as fiction and offered as such.
...As I’ve said before, I haven’t read Discovering Cultures: Cuba, and as such I can’t call it either propaganda or quality nonfiction. I do, however, long for the day when censorship is a one-way street. Until that day comes, I have a feeling that I’ll have to get used to having people view some censors as fascists and other censors as heroes.
References
▪ Peoria Pundit
▪ Leonard Pitts, Jr.
▪ Nat Hentoff
