This report seems to illustrate exaggerated importance accorded to the banal use of a word. It is ridiculous to ban a book because of a single anatomical word used in its correct context.
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I've come to expect such nonsense from that country, unfortunately
It must be very frustrating to be an intelligent American, like those on this board, surrounded by such stupidity and closed-mindedness everyday. I'd rip my hair out. That's not to say we don't have this kind of stuff here, but not to that extent.
I remember discussion that Harry Potter should be banned in the US, because it would distort childrens' sense of reality or something.
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az, you have such things closer than you think ( ) http://polishpolitics.com/ (EN version not updated in a while...but still will give you an idea...)
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“This book included what I call a Howard Stern-type shock treatment just to see how far they could push the envelope, but they didn’t have the children in mind,†Dana Nilsson, a teacher and librarian in Durango, Colo., wrote on LM_Net, a mailing list that reaches more than 16,000 school librarians. “How very sad.â€
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Yeah there are a lot of stupid people here that react to pretty much everything outside of their comfort zone...
There are some bright spots though because around where I grew up some libraries would have a display case of banned books. They would also have their literary value and list the ridiculous reason they were banned.
Librarians are a funny group. Everyone, here at least, stereotypes them as quiet, reserved, nerdy people. In many cases they are staunch defenders of freedom of speach, privacy rights and anti-censorship -- which causes them to thumb their noses at government quite a bit.Gigabyte GA-K8N Ultra 9, Opteron 170 Denmark 2x2Ghz, 2 GB Corsair XMS, Gigabyte 6600, Gentoo Linux
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Because it, like all things to do with the body, is dirty! We all think like this to some degree (I would object to being farted in the face, for instance), some people just draw the line in weird places.
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Tee-Hee. Kotzwinkel. As a german word, that would mean "vomit corner".
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Viewed alone this sounds silly, but in the context of what librarian groups have been doing it makes more sense.
As you may or may not know the vast majority of American parents would prefer at least a modicum of control over their kids exposure to material with sexual/anatomical related terms or content, especially for young children.
Some major Librarian groups seem to have a more than "liberal" attitude in this matter, some insisting that access to even pornography should be essentially unrestricted be it on the 'net or, with some of 'em, in book form. There is also concern that the local 'Chester the molester' will start using trips to the library as one of their techniques. Given some recent cases this concern isn't extreme at all.
This has caused no small degree of consternation among most parents and other librarians. They lobbied their legislatures for laws that would enforce content filtering on library computers accessible to children and the use of parental content permission systems for books. That started a cat-fight that continues to this day, made more interesting by hyperbole by radicals on both sides.
IMO this books author used the term scrotum for two reasons;
1. a stick in the eye to parents/librarians who are concerned about the above
2. an effort to cause exactly this reaction, garnering publicity along the wayDr. Mordrid
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Originally posted by Dr Mordrid View PostAs you may or may not know the vast majority of American parents would prefer at least a modicum of control over their kids exposure to material with sexual/anatomical related terms or content, especially for young children.
Maybe there are nutjobs who don't want their kids to know about anatomy (there are, after all, some who don't want their kids to know about evolution), but that doesn't mean they're right. I don't know if it's legal in the USA to prevent your child from learning to write, but if it isn't, why should it be legal to prevent it from learning how his or her body works?
Although this "controversy" is not about sexuality at all, sexuality is not "dirty" (though enjoyed sexuality sometimes seems like it).
Of course, some body parts are more private in our society than others. That doesn't mean one shouldn't know about them. They are part of our body, for crying out loud.
There is also concern that the local 'Chester the molester' will start using trips to the library as one of their techniques. Given some recent cases this concern isn't extreme at all.
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Well my 7-year old knows exactly what a scrotum is, as well as a vagina and most any other body part (by its proper or common, non-vulgar name). If more parents were open about basic anatomy with their children none of this would be an issue.
As for the usage of the word within the book... umm, well that's a rather realistic scenario for a child to hear the term being used. There's absolutely nothing sexual or vulgar about the use. The real problem is that the word causes parents to worry about having to explain what it means to their children. Given the scrotum's relation to male sexual/reproductive organs it automatically becomes on of those taboo terms that should be kept in some deep, dark closet along with penis, vagina, and *gasp* intercourse.
Sigh“And, remember: there's no 'I' in 'irony'†~ Merlin Mann
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Family going for a Sunday walk, with the dog, in the forest:
Mary (8 years old), "Mummy, Bonzo's got a funny thing hanging between his back legs. What is it? Why?"
Mummy (embarrassed), "Well, Mary, I'm not really supposed to tell you, but all male dogs have it."
John (11 years old), "Stupid! That's the dog's balls. I have the same under my wiener!"
And thus Mary learns all about masculine anatomy.Brian (the devil incarnate)
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