The problem of not having appropriate things is now actually serious. Throughout these years parents and students have been banning books cause of "inappropriate" parts in the book. Many people think that apparently just because a book contains racism, sex, drugs, rape and Cussing; it should be banned. Some people in certain grades can actually handle these types of subjects. Not just cause one person doesn't like what a book contains, doesn't mean that person has to ruin it for everyone. Just don't read the book and ask for another one, simple. And even if they [students] know about what really goes on in the world, adults [parents and administrators] still choose to not show them harsh books. You're basically taking the fun out of reading. Is killing a students imagination really that fun ?
Students shouldn't be limited to what they have to read, they should have a say in what they want to read. They shouldn't be silenced. For example, a popular book series named, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, was banned for having a satanism topic, being offensive and being anti-family. Think about it, many students read this book and they're fine. They handled it maturely and they had no problem. As Collin said,
"No bones about it, The Hunger Games is violent. Children are in an arena killing other children. It’s not a fun situation, and it’s why the book is classed as young adult, not middle grade or children. The world Suzanne Collins has created is not a happy one, and violence is rampant. But just because there is violence present is not a call to dictate what other people should read. And when you challenge with the intent to ban, that is what you are doing. Too violent for your child? Fine. Don’t let your child read it. But do not go to your school board or library and try to remove it from shelves so that others cannot read it. "
Most students depend on school for providing books they want to read. Students should not be forced to read what the Board of Education thinks is right, as in be left to read books that aren't banned. So why ban books for one person ?
When a person bans a book, it means they do not want to show what's in the book. Biggest reasoning for banning a book is that it contains harsh topics. Like in a book I read named Crank by Ellen Hopkins, it explains scenes of rape, consequences of sex and drug use. I didn't feel uncomfortable while reading this, but i felt that this book ( knowing that it is banned ) shouldn't be banned. It explained lessons, and valuable ones too. For example,When Kristina choose to sneak out of the house she lost something she didn't think she’d lose. Her virginity to someone who she thought wasn't capable of doing such a thing. She even tried to protect herself by threatening him to scream but bad luck for her, she was stuck in the middle of the forest. So that meant nobody could hear her. All she could do is lay there and sob while he did the dirty. This scene made me realize that I should expect the unexpected. I thought to myself and said, Hey ! This is something I can apply to my actual life. Not everything is going to be perfect and smooth, life comes with up and downs. Life isn't a fairy tale where everything goes they way you want it to, no. As a kid that's what I thought, but as I grew older I noticed that it's not all fun and fairy tales. Life will treat you like as if you're nothing and attack you randomly. This is one other reason why this book and other similar books shouldn't be banned. Life isn't perfect and so isn't this world. Rape happens and unplanned pregnancy happens. We as students shouldn't be filled with false images. In the book Crank, there's a part where Kristina said " Fuck you" to her mother. This shows how no one is perfect and how words slip." What did you say ?! " " Even caught up in confusion, I knew better than to repeat
myself “ that is what she said to herself after saying such things to her mother. Who afterwards slapped her so hard Kristina’s teeth rattled. This shows the reality of how
some parents might take it. Because not all parents would yell at them, some
would physically hurt them. Her mother later understood what she did and apologized.
Hiding such topics like the ones mentioned earlier will give students ideas in where
people aren't bad. Are people bad ? Yes. There can be cruel people out there
who don’t think of how the victim would feel or end up like, Most people who end up being raped have scarring memories. Hiding such
topics like this is pretty useless because students are going to end up being lectured of the dangers of the real world. And they're most likely to see this on the news. And those who are matured (who know about the dangers and can handle the truth calmly) shouldn't be forced to read the books that aren't banned.
