The absurdity of these books being considered banned when they’re extremely popular and sold everywhere is often commented on, but people fail to see just how malicious and subversive it is. The actual determination they use of what makes a book a “banned book” displays this.
A book is only considered banned by these people when it is rejected or removed from public school curriculum. That’s it. That’s the definition they use and why they sell all these “banned books” that are ultra popular.
It is considered a ban when the book is no longer purchased by your tax payer dollars and then distributed and mandated for your children to read and where they must complete assignments on said book in order to get passing grades. To say “no, I don’t think we should pay taxes so my kids can be made to read your gay race communist propaganda” is to, in their minds, ban the book.
Of course, this is absurd, none of these books are remotely banned, they’re widely available everywhere, it’s just saying we aren’t going to pay taxes for them and then force children to read it.
But the people who push this know it is absurd. This is an example of malicious tactics and manipulation. They call it banned to of course draw comparisons to some bonfires some Austrian painter put on in the 1930s, but it’s also to specifically hit the love of liberty which is intrinsic to Anglo-Protestant culture.
Sure, if you’re in the know you’re absurd, but this phrase was deliberately crafted to get those ignorant of it, who would normally say “why should my tax money go to force children to read your propaganda?” To instead say “why would anyone want to ban literature? They must fear what it has to say and be unable to compete against it!”
It really is as ingenious as it is insidious to push this, but you can learn a lot, especially in the importance and value of framing and understanding how to sway people.
Nearly 12,000 book bans took place in public schools over the past year, the highest level ever recorded.
New banned titles include:
- Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
- Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
- Sold by Patricia McCormick