Posted on 12/10/2003 6:48:23 AM PST by chance33_98
“If the kids are not allowed to use profanity,” said parent Pam Helms, “Then why is it ok for them to read it?”
Parents voiced their concerns about a controversial book
More fuel is being tossed into the fire, over a reading assignment for an English class at East Bakersfield High School.
Parents are demanding a controversial book be banned from the classroom, and some members of the community agree with them.
At Monday night's meeting of the Kern High School District, many parents spoke out against the book entitled “The Bluest Eye,” with reaction crossing racial lines.
“If the kids are not allowed to use profanity,” said parent Pam Helms, “Then why is it ok for them to read it?”
Angry parents blasted the critically acclaimed novel by Nobel Prize winning author Toni Morrison.
It is the story of an African American girl in the 1940's, but its content is sexually explicit.
For example, some parents cite a description of the girl's rape by her father, but others say the book's main theme is not explicit sexuality, but injustice and prejudice.
Members of the African American community KGET 17 spoke to, said the book did not belong in the hands of teenagers.
“I definitely wouldn't allow my daughter to read that,” said parent Shann Carter, “I mean, that passage that I just read, I don't think so. I don't think it should be in high schools at all. I don't, I think that's more of an adult type thing. I don't think children should be reading that.”
“No I don't think they should be reading it,” said Tony Propps, “I think it's kind of uh, you know, too much for a child to be reading something like that.”
Several other people said it was not fair to judge a book by a few explicit passages.
Meantime, a committee is reviewing the book and expected to make a recommendation to the district superintendent by Friday
The Mule lost because he was set up in a trap by the Second Foundation. The femal lead during that part of the Foundation storyline was terrified of the Mule. He intimated to her that he could use his mind control powers to make her have sex with him and enjoy it.
She was only nice to him while he was playing the role of jester. Once he was exposed as the mule, the niceness went out the window.
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