Award-winning book bound for landfill

[Mari333]

By Gwen Florio, Rocky Mountain News
February 4, 2005

Parents who objected to a book assigned to a ninth-grade English class in southwestern Colorado confiscated all the copies and "tossed them in the trash," said the man whose wife led the fight against Bless Me, Ultima, an award-winning Chicano novel.

The books weren't burned, as had been reported, John Oliver said. Instead, about two dozen copies were turned over to the Olivers to be destroyed.
We put them in the trash can and it goes to a landfill," Oliver said. "It was just our way of knowing it would be gone."

Norwood schools superintendent Bob Conder banned the book - which is included in a list of nine novels recommended by First Lady Laura Bush - after Rhonda Oliver complained about its profanity. Conder made the decision immediately after the Olivers visited his office and outlined their objections, Oliver said.

"Rhonda and myself physically picked up the books and took them home," Oliver said.














http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/state/article/0,1299,DRMN_21_3522696,00.html

[catmandu57]

1. What's the difference?

It doesn't matter whether they were burned or dumped into a landfill, it's still censorship, and failure to evolve.

[Ripley]

2. So Laura Bush recommended this piece of filth?

Gee, I guess the White House is just too liberal these days.

Please note this was in COLORADO, not the South.

[THUNDER HANDS]

7. there are idiots everywhere

but most of them tend to live far away from water for some reason. Maybe they're like those aliens in 'Signs'

:D

[Berserker]

10. What?

there are idiots everywhere
but most of them tend to live far away from water for some reason. Maybe they're like those aliens in 'Signs'
Do you mean like the Blue states in the North where I live???

[meganmonkey]

17. we have the Great Lakes!

;)

[Stuckinthebush]

8. I would like everyone to read Ripley's response, please...

Please note this was in COLORADO, not the South.

Thank you, Ripley. It is good to remember that ignorance is rampant everywhere in our nation.

[Walt Starr]

3. A people who will dump books into a landfill

will soon dump people into landfills.

[LiberalinNC]

4. How can you "judge" a book w/out reading it first?????

Jimmie Carter, minister at the Norwood Southern Baptist Church, said he hadn't read the book, but supports Conder's decision.

"It talks about sexual acts. It has filthy language. If you can't print the book in your newspaper, I don't see why our children should be reading it," he said.

[Mari333]

11. This fellow needs to actually read his Bible

talk about sex and obscenity!



X-rated Bible
http://www.postfun.com/pfp/NC-17Bible.html#ME

[Ilsa]

12. Rev. Carter, have you checked out some of those

stories in the Bible lately? Violence, sex acts, scary stuff. Not too many naughty words, but plenty to get an R rating. There is plenty in the Bible I wouldn't want my kids reading until they are much older.

Thanks for the info, Liberal in NC! I'm still amazed that people are tossing award winning books.

[Dulcinea]

15. Did any of these people actually READ this book?

Knee-jerk idiocy at its worst.

[booksenkatz]

16. Sweet darlin Jimmie, your children are DOING it.

Yes, Jimmie, your children are DOING it without even having read this book, imagine that...!

I know zero about this book, but I'll find it and I'll read it and decide for myself. And then it won't be "gone forever" because it will be in my head. Maybe it will be a piece of shit, but that is for me to decide. No one makes that decision for me. Not even you, Jimmie.

[ucmike]

5. oh no, god forbid...

a student in 9th grade should be exposed to some adult themed reading. oh no!!! their precious little heads.

these asses so proud of themselves, "we took the books ourselves". so you don't want your kid to read it, why cause problems for everyone else. i get the feeling the book upset them because it wasn't about white people.

and who paid for the destroyed books? i remeber going in my pocket and paying for books i lost in highschool.

[LiberalVoice]

6. Tax payers payed for those books!

That asshole and her husband should have to reimburse the school for throwing away those books. Ofcourse they won't because they're "good" christians and the principal sounds like a loon too. These people make me want to retch.

[madrchsod]

9. hmmmm.........the average freshman in high school

has heard or said all those bad words. so who are these people trying to protect? their own failure as a parent or their perceived failure of others? using the power of the government to change society,isn`t hypocrisy grand?

[Sabriel]

13. How about donating them, morans?

I'm sure there are lots of schools that would take them.

[Kimber Scott]

14. Who are these "Olivers" and what right do they have to confiscate

anything?

And we have people dying in Iraq for other people's freedoms. Nice.