Oct
11
2006

Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451, and the Definition of Irony

Trying to get a book about burning books banned during Banned Books Week. Priceless.

"The book had a bunch of very bad language in it. It shouldn't be in there because it's offending people. … If they can't find a book that uses clean words, they shouldn't have a book at all."

But check it out: the father "looked through the book and found the following things wrong with the book: discussion of being drunk, smoking cigarettes, violence, "dirty talk," references to the Bible and using God's name in vain. He said the book's material goes against their religions [sic] beliefs."

So no real profanity for the most part, just stuff that they don't do. That's offensive. Things different than what they believe = offensive. Are you getting this? If you can't have a book without drinking, smoking, violence, and using the Lord's name in vain–then you shouldn't have a book. At all.

Can we just put all of these people in a walled community somewhere where they can be safe from…you know, real life?

Honestly, think about it: who's going to be the first people to retreat into cyberspace and establish their own version of Second Life where they can be free to interact with one another in a godly fashion? The religious whackjobs. There's a short story in there for somebody. I don't feel like writing it, but somebody run with it, would you?

Found via Boing Boing.

4 Comments »

  • ScottC says:

    The problem is that they feel a Christian duty to 'help' people and save them with sin. And if America slides into secular humanism homosexual liberal badness, God with blame them for letting it happen.

    And didn't M. Night already do this with 'The Village'?

  • Widge says:

    Yeah, come to think of it, I guess he did. I hate to say it, but the whackjobs would probably do a better job of it. :/

  • Sunny says:

    Ya know, I deal with the issue of Christian "duty" on a fairly regular basis as I, being Pagan, am considered hell-bent by most of them. In the main, if they're doing the hard sell on me out of genuine concern, I don't mind at all. It's when they start trying to regulate what anyone ELSE can do/say/read etc. that I get really, really angry. And, to be honest, nervous. The whole "family values" thing scares me for the same reason.

    It is a pretty ironic choice of books to complain about, though!

  • ScottC says:

    Setting up the actual village or the movie?

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