The Good Old Days Of Book Burning

A book about a young gay man struggling to come to terms with his sexuality has provoked the wrath of a US Christian 'civil liberties' group who say it should be burned.

Yes. Book burning. Where have we seen that before........?

The book is Francesca Lia Block's Baby Be-Bop, in which the protagonist, Dirk, struggles to come to terms with his identity and is beaten up by a group of homophobic men.

A group which calls itself the Christian Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit demanding the right to publicly burn the book. The CCLU--no affiliation, obviously, with the ACLU--say that the book is "explicitly vulgar, racial [sic], and anti-Christian".

Get me a match! Because, when i have the option to read or not read something i find vulgar, I don't choose the option not to read, i search out gasoline and a match.

The CCLU, a group of elderly men from Wisconsin filed a claim against the West Bend Community Library, which had the book on display in which they say that the book, yes, a book, "constitutes a hate crime, and that it degrades the community". The men go on to say that "their mental and emotional well-being was damaged by this book at the library."

They seek damages of $120,000.00. Because they don't like a book. If that's how it works, Stephen King owes me about a half million dollars, and so does Anne Rice.

In a letter to the West Bend Common Council, members of the National Coalition Against Censorship and American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression argued that “The Constitution prohibits a public library from censoring material because some people find it offensive or distasteful”.

Francesca Lia Block says it was her intent in the book to “expose racism and homophobia, not promote it" by including offensive words such as the n-word, and 'faggot.' She also said,

"I'd like to show my support for the librarians....[t]hey're the unsung heroes in our society. My brother works on a hotline for gay youth and every night he's talking people down from suicide because they're gay and they're not accepted by the communities they're in."

The city council insurance company is currently evaluating the Christian Civil Liberties Union claim.

I have a suggestion for the CCLU.

If you find a book offensive, don't read it.

If you find a TV show vulgar, change the channel.

If you have nothing better to do than suggest we go back to the days of book burning, then shut up.