Sunday, April 15, 2012

Ban books by Pete Klein

Ban books by me, Pete Klein

? No, not really. I am not suggesting my books be banned nor am I suggesting any books, movies or records be banned.
But I was reading this morning in a local Sunday paper where "The Hunger Games" and other books have come under attack and attempts to ban them because of, and I quote, "nudity, sexually explicit, violent, offensive language, occult/satanic, etc."
Based on those objection, my books, except for the hiking guide, could face a day when some people would want them banned.
Being a parent and a grandfather, I totally agree my works of fiction are not suitable for all ages. But this is a job for parents, not book sellers or libraries. Certainly, it is not the job for anyone in government.
Maybe there are two questions that should be asked. One, why write or produce anything that someone might find offensive? Two, why buy, read, watch of listen to what you might find offensive? And if you do, why complain about it?
Freedom is the right to say both yes and no. But only for yourself unless we are talking about actual real life murder, rape and robbery. Then the answer is no, no, no!
So why write or read a story that contains nudity, sexually explicit, violent, offensive language, occult/satanic or any material some will find offensive?
I think the answer is the same for both the reader and the writer. It is simply to enter situations where you would not go or would be fearful of going in real life. It is a safe way to experience what you would be afraid to experience if you were any of the characters in the story. In some cases it is what you might imagine you would like to experience but due to your morals and or the situation of your life, you don't expect to ever experience. In some cases it is plain old curiosity.
But whatever your reasons, stories some would ban are stories that can expand your view of the world if only in your imagination.

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