Posted on 07/07/2010 1:38:38 PM PDT by MissTed
A Japanese serial graphic novel genre popular with young teens has raised the ire of a Crestview mother whose teenage son got hold of an adult version of the genre from the Crestview Public Library.
“Manga” depicts highly stylized adventure and, occasionally, violence in fantasy settings.
Margaret Barbaree, founder of a citizens’ group called Protect Our Children, presented examples from a manga book to the Crestview City Council last week that she described as “graphic” and “shocking,” taken from material she said is “available to children” at the Crestview Public Library.
“My son lost his mind when he found this,” Barbaree said of the manga book from which her examples were taken.
She said her son had removed the book unsupervised from the library’s general stacks last summer and put it in his backpack. She has kept it ever since.
“Now he’s in a home for extensive therapy,” she said.
Several months ago, Barbaree had circulated a petition bearing 226 signatures of citizens protesting the availability of manga, which she mistakenly referred to as “anime,” or Japanese animation.
However, the library said some patrons complained they were misled when they signed the petition.
“They told us she (Barbaree) approached them at the Christmas parade and asked them to sign a petition protesting pornography in the library,” said Resource Librarian Sandra Dreaden.
Barbaree said Library Director Jean Lewis explained to her that there is a demand for manga, and that the library strives to meet the needs of its patrons.
City Council President Charles Baugh Jr. assured Barbaree that “we have safeguards in place to protect our children and we have committees that review library purchases so they meet the standards of the (American) Library Association.”
The books that concerned Barbaree “are in the library for those who wish to partake of them and they are in a section of the library” for adult patrons, said Baugh, who visited the library himself the day after the council meeting and said he found the manga available in the young adult section perfectly innocuous.
“We follow up with our citizens’ concerns,” Baugh said after meeting with library staff and viewing the young adult manga.
Baugh also confirmed that the book Barbaree’s son had taken was in the general stacks well away from the children’s and young adult books.
“Our library is well managed and well staffed,” Baugh told Barbaree while assuring her, “I am a family man and I understand what you are saying.”
Lewis said the manga available in the young adult section of the library is oriented toward young teen readers and does not contain the adult themes of the book Barbaree’s son took. That book had been in the general stacks, on a top shelf in a section with other graphic novels and comic books not geared toward young readers.
“We have policies and procedures in place to prevent underage children from accessing those materials,” Baugh said.
>> “extensive therapy” really??????
My guess is, Barbaree is somewhat of a drama queen.
Beware of groups called “ Protect Our Children”.
Also, how old is her son?
It doesn’t mention the title but I suspect the kid already had mental health issues and mom is just looking for a scapegoat.
I wonder what the title was? Sounds like something a bit more powerful than Catcher in the Rye.
Yeah, dunno about therapy, but some of the Graphic Adult Novels, are not “mere” comic books. From what I understand, it is not unusual for adults to read Manga in Japan, and some of the themes are disturbing and not intended for children.
Someone goofed in purchasing and classification.
“Now he’s in a home for extensive therapy,” she said.
Just spends all day, every day, flouncing about that little padded room in his homemade Sailor Moon costume. Tragic, really.
All the article states is “teenage son”. I’m guessing she wigged out more than the boy did.
The word should be “Hentai” for the pornographic stuff.
I am pretty jaded, and lived some rough stuff as a child but these things shocked the h3ll out of me when I was stationed in Japan (It isn’t even separated from other stuff in bookstores there). I can see it having that effect on some people
>> Just spends all day, every day, flouncing about that little padded room in his homemade Sailor Moon costume.
ROFL! Now that there’s a funny visual.
I'm trying to figure out if the son or Mom lost their mind. One of them is very delicate. They never give the son's age. Mind you, I am against pornography but he looked at it ONCE, STOLE it and went nuts? Ummmmmmm.
What kind of library has pronographic comic books?
My local library has a graphic novels section sandwiched between the children’s section and the teenagers section. The librarian got quite huffy when I suggested that the volume graphically depicting a man being raped to death ought to be placed with the adult books and not six inches from the Pokemon comics.
I haven’t taken my kids back since.
They can be extra ordinarily sexually graphic or violent, and usually both, because manga isn’t regulated like other forms of entertainment are in Japan, thus there are virtually no limits on what is printed.
Anyway, I’ll bet that comic cured the kid of any desire to be a weeaboo. He should stick with Spiderman.
If your son “lost his mind” over this then you are a very poor parent. You have not prepared him to distinguish between acceptable and not acceptable and how on earth does he get through a day with out “vapors” and “severe mental illness” just from every day life? What a whack job of a mother! Ban this mother from having any more children!
I don’t believe censorship has any place in the library. If someone doesn’t want to see a book then they don’t have to take it out. They can leave it on the shelf for the next person.
This cupcake was probably already hopped up on Ritilin and probably classified as some sort of autism.
How old is this kid?
Mother do you think they’ll drop the bomb?
Mother to you think they’ll like this song?
Mother do you think they’ll try to break,my balls?
and how do you feel about that?
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