I confess: I would like to keep the Twilight books from my children, because they're terrible. My plan is to introduce "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" via my DVD collection when my kids reach the vampire-interest age. As for these pearl-clutchers, my theory is that they're hired by YA publishing houses to boost interest and sales, but maybe that's just because I shrink away from acknowledging that humans could be that deeply stupid. Yes, despite the evidence...

In 1975, in my Southeast Texas town, it was "The Last Picture Show". Someone had a tattered, dog-eared copy with all the juicy parts underlined, and we would pass that book around on the school bus. I'm still reading Larry McMurtry today.

Books? While I loved them we passed around dirty Japanese romantic comics.

Our parents assumed because they had saccharine 14 year old girls on the covers holding teddy bears they weren't getting a pounding by their boyfriends ( or girlfriends).

The genitals weren't graphically drawn and usually obscured. But they were more than good enough.

They want to 'protect' children from critical thinking, self-reflection and the type of curiosity about our world that an immersion into literature can give us.

Try having a Jehovah's Witness for a mom. "Discovering your passions" was just a code word for "stuff you're not allowed to do."

I was a kid who liked the scary teen stories and fantasy/science fiction. But those were related to "the occult" and therefore I was a bad kid for even wanting to read them. These religious people think demons are real, and that you can become possessed by them if you "open yourself to those influences." You're basically inviting Satan right into your house. Ditto for heavy metal music (or any other music deemed "worldly," which was most of it), Dungeons & Dragons, and do I really need to tell you the mortal danger you would be in if you played with an Ouija board?

So I just learned to sneak around. When I was in my early 20s and grown, my mother visited and saw that I had a book called 'The Encyclopedia of Witchcraft & Demonology,' and naturally a great deal of pearl-clutching ensued. Rather than be filled with arcane rituals and dark magic, however, the book scientifically debunked (in alphabetical order) all the reports of ghosts and demons and other nonsense of that nature. I reassured my mother that rather than joining a coven or leading seances, I had learned that none of that stuff actually worked because it was imaginary and all made up. I think she was more upset by my secularism in the matter than she would have been if I'd been covering myself in blood and dancing naked in the moonlight for the Feast of Samhain.

Anyway, another funny story was that although my choice of reading was deeply restricted as a child, I liked animals and was allowed to read books about animals. My mom thought Jean Auel's 'The Valley of Horses' was a book about horses. She didn't need to know I was reading the juicy sex scenes between Ayla and Jondalar.

On a more serious note, though, I think parents become a huge hindrance to their kids when their entire focus is on control and dictating what their kids' tastes and preferences SHOULD be. Kids need to be in touch with that when they get older and start making decisions about the type of partner they want to have, the living arrangements they want, the type of occupation they want to pursue, etc. If you never let them learn these things about themselves, and in fact shame them for being who they are, all you are doing is setting them back by a number of years.

It was probably a good thing for me that I was a rebel at heart and understood at an early age that any "guidance" I received from my mother should be taken with a giant grain of salt. I got out young, but I've seen other, perhaps more agreeable, malleable JW kids who were still messed up well into their 30s.

I got the whole Harry Potter set courtesy of a pearl clutcher with a conscience, who brought them to the library rather than a dumpster.
Can't save anybody with a wand, you know. Has to be a cross.

Ah, Texas. I moved to Midland, TX when I was 16. There was definitely some culture shock. Most of my friends were Southern Baptist (I was Catholic) and I heard some doozies while hanging out with them and at their church.

There was the pastor who was upset his son was dating a Hispanic girl because he believed "the races should not mix." There was the youth director who earnestly tried to tell us that there was no point in listening to mainstream music anymore because Christian rock was really of comparable quality. There was the minister who said that yes, if a black man in deepest Africa lived a good life but had never heard of and accepted Jesus Christ as his personal savior, he would be dammed. I can't remember any book censorship off the top of my head but there were definitely worries about satanic influences.

The Catholics weren't much better. The woman who led our confirmation class was the first true-blue Mary freak I had met. Her devotion to the Blessed Mother and excitement about her appearance at Medjugorje was endless.

I liked Midland but I look back on aspects of it and shake my head.

My plan is to introduce "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" via my DVD collection when my kids reach the vampire-interest age.

I watched that show when it aired during middle/high school, and I'm re-watching now for the first time as an adult. There are so many good lessons/messages in that show that I internalized when I saw it way back when -- but that I'm only fully appreciating this time around.

As for books, a lot of my friends were from super religious families, and in the early 00s, a lot of churches started freaking out about the Harry Potter books. I lent a friend my copy of one of the books for a road trip, and she swapped the Harry Potter dust jacket for a Lord of the Rings one, because her parents had for whatever reason decided Jesus was totes OK with LOTR.

sofar, that's hysterical. LOTR uses more, to my knowledge, of the pre Christian pagan culture in its mythology than any other big mainstream title I can think of off hand. I guess if your friend was of English heritage it was okay, because Anglicanism was basically the amalgamation of Catholicism and local pagan rites (which Christians successfully used to help convert Germanic peoples, including the Anglo Saxons).

"There was the minister who said that yes, if a black man in deepest Africa lived a good life but had never heard of and accepted Jesus Christ as his personal savior, he would be dammed."

And the Catholics believe, if I am correct. that this man would end up in purgatory,

Big differences there......

Most human beliefs are quaint and superstitious, even when they claim to be *sciencey*. I find the socialist driven college speech codes and rape panic more alarming than religious groups trying the censor library books.

Both groups are trying to squelch opinions that disagree with their own, but the socialists are more dangerous, because they usually have the force of law and policy behind them.

"Anglicanism was basically the amalgamation of Catholicism and local pagan rites (which Christians successfully used to help convert Germanic peoples, including the Anglo Saxons).

Posted by: spqr2008 at September 2, 2014 8:24 AM

As someone who was raised Anglican. This is total bullshit.

The Anglican rites are damn near identical to the Catholic ones, but the English church broke off for political reasons, and money, so Henry the 8th could loot the monasteries.

All those pages European beliefs were incorporated into the Catholic liturgy long before the Anglican Church was founded.

Ah, Texas. I moved to Midland, TX when I was 16. There was definitely some culture shock. Most of my friends were Southern Baptist (I was Catholic) and I heard some doozies while hanging out with them and at their church.

TX is a big place. Sorry Midland sucked for you, but I've been in TX for four years, and I have yet to have an experience like the one you described.

LOTR uses more, to my knowledge, of the pre Christian pagan culture in its mythology

Her parents' reasoning was that LOTR took place in a "made-up" world, but HP made kids believe they could use magic in the real world. Mostly I think her dad just loved LOTR and had invented some logic that made it OK.

"This is dark. There's a sexual element. You have creatures that aren't human. I think it's dangerous for our kids,"

He's talking about the Bible, right?

If it's not one person complaining, it will be another, and for probably a different reason. You can't please everybody.

I was curious enough about how public libraries develop their collections to Google the phrase, though. Here is how Madison does it, and here is how Cincinnati does it. In either case, criteria are kind of vague, and limited by what can be displayed on a web page.

@Prickly: He's talking about the Bible, right?

My old Methodist granddaddy used to say, when describing one of the more wild local youths: "She's been reading a little too much Old Testament!"

TX is a big place. Sorry Midland sucked for you, but I've been in TX for four years, and I have yet to have an experience like the one you described.

You seem to have inferred the part where I said I didn't like Texas. I even said I enjoyed Midland, and most of those anecdotes I find darkly amusing. I have lived on and off in Texas for 18 years, married a Texan, and now live in Austin. I like Texas very much but there are manifestations of human folly all over the world and I find some of the Texas versions of them quite amusing.

The Anglican rites are damn near identical to the Catholic ones.... ~ Posted by: Isab at September 2, 2014 8:40

Which is one of the reasons why the Puritans left England for Massachusetts, way too much popery in the Church of England to suit their tastes.

"She's been reading a little too much Old Testament!"

Love it! I had a bible specifically for younger people, with lots of color illustrations, like Salome with John the Baptist's head on a platter, the Beast of the Apocalypse, all that good stuff. Not to mention all the Gustave Dore prints.

Hmm...I wonder what Phillip Missick thinks of Poe, Lovecraft, Hawthorne, etc.

I like Texas very much but there are manifestations of human folly all over the world and I find some of the Texas versions of them quite amusing.

Got it! Usually, when I've heard people say, "Ah, [fill in the blank location]," they are saying, "I had this one experience in a small part of a large geographic area and am assuming the entire area is just like this."

And people seem much more likely to make these assumptions about southern states. Apologies! And thanks for taking the time to respond and explain.

Love it! I had a bible specifically for younger people, with lots of color illustrations, like Salome with John the Baptist's head on a platter, the Beast of the Apocalypse, all that good stuff. Not to mention all the Gustave Dore prints.

You too? I loved my comic book bible, especially the lurid parts about Jezebel and Judith and the like. I'm sure it was very wholesome entertainment (unlike that vampire stuff) and it later let me trounce my Baptist friends in Bible Trivia.

The Anglican rites are damn near identical to the Catholic ones, but the English church broke off for political reasons, and money, so Henry the 8th could loot the monasteries.

And to divorce a woman he couldnt just kill for fear of starting a war

Check this out:

https://groups.google.com/forum/#!search/%22forgotten$20door%22$20tennessee/rec.arts.books.childrens/1FcBZf8Kp-I/kJeUyGvQMPkJ

It's about the infamous 1980s Mozert vs. Hawkins Board of Education case, from Hawkins Country, Tennessee.

(From Wikipedia: "The court ruled in the defendant's favor in part, overturning the decision and stating that the School Board was not in violation for requiring the reading to children; it was up to them and their parents to interpret the book for themselves. However, the School Board was in violation of the first amendment when it had informed the students that there is not one particular way to worship and that they could find any way to express they desired. The School Board was required immediately to cease this action.")

One main plaintiff was Vicki Frost.

Some of the controversial books: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, The Diary of Anne Frank, and The Forgotten Door (by Alexander Key).

Lawyer for the school: "Your Honor, there is no way this woman could attend public school and not be offended."

>I loved my comic book bible, especially the lurid parts about Jezebel and Judith and the like.

I just remembered the illustration of Jael getting ready to hammer a tent peg thru what'shisnames forehead.

Yep, keep on protecting those kids from Harry Potter!

Meanwhile, Ezekiel eats a boatload of peyote and writes up a UFO report that makes it into the bibble.

Nutters wandering around in the desert ... of all things!

JW literature is rife with lurid illustrations, especially if you like the especially sexy or scary parts.

Scary parts: Lots of scenes of Armageddon where big cracks are developing in the middle of city streets, with people and cars falling into them, and buildings falling down. One could reasonably assume Armageddon will be brought about by Godzilla.

The Old Testament stories were great for the sexy parts, like where the angels begin to lust after the daughters of men! My Book of Bible Stories showed (in full color!) a lot of beautiful scantily-clad maidens bathing in a river while angels, who might have assumed the human form of bodybuilders or porn stars, speculated on them from above.

Sorry Catholics and Anglicans, you can't beat the Jay-Dubs for repression-fueled titillation.

Back in the early 80's, when I was in Catholic school, we passed Judy Blume's Forever around like it was contraband.

Best way to get a kid to read a book is to tell him he can't.

I'm fairly religious and I do believe in old testament style angels and devils (none of this people with wings and halos stupidity). I also believe you can 'invite Satan into yourself'. Being aware that Satan is not a person. That is a title meaning 'the enemy'.

But ignorance is a crappy defense. Being ignorant of a gun won't protect you when you get shot in the head. Similarly being ignorant of evil won't protect you from it. And that applies both to the human generated evil and the far less common extra-terrestrial kind.

Amy,

Personal experience. And a more socially acceptable term would be aliens. The pop culture view of people with wings and glowing circles above their heads is quite ridiculous. Many old testament accounts look like things off of Babylon 5 or other scifi shows.

I've also never encountered a case of involuntary demonic possession. I have seen involuntary angelic possession, the most famous historical case being Saul of Tarsus. I personally find such things to be very sad and somewhat cruel. But you don't see movies about it. After all, such people tend to be nice to their neighbors and good pillars of their communities.

I also believe all true prophets are also charlatans. A good example is Joseph Smith. God has a quirky sense of humor. And messing with a conman who is there to rip off naive religious people is just his style. Which is a large part of the problem with Islam. They have an assumption that only a 'good man' could be god's prophet. Much of the faith is based on the personal actions of Muhammad and not what he said was the word of god. There are some blatant discrepancies between the two. Muhammad like many prophets did not live up to his scripture.

And quite a few doctors claim that in all likelihood, Saul (Paul) simply had an epileptic fit. (Or was hit by lightning.)

Just as Joan of Arc's symptoms, described both by herself and her jailers, strongly suggest that she had Ménière's disease (a disease of the inner ear, including tinnitus) or a tuberculoma, according to "Panati's Extraordinary Endings of Practically Everything & Everybody" (1989). The National Post listed even more possibilities:

http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=18ce2b05-67d7-402a-833e-f0618da5c4e6

Could be Lenona. I actually have no real issue tossing it all under mental health. But my point still remains. Good luck getting funding to help people who want to commit crimes but just aren't capable.

And similarly outlawing alcohol because someone might get drunk and then something bad may happen has a fairly bad history. Especially since as Amy has frequently pointed out the drunkenness is often a symptom and not a root cause. So the problem is still there. You have just removed one outlet.

Trying to remove all temptation from life is a well intentioned but foolish act. The pastor's fears about the occult and sex are somewhat reasonable. No one really wants to have 'the talk' with their kids. But as I said ignorance is not the solution. I'm reminded of a video game outrage piece I saw on TV several years ago. A mother was outraged the game had kill shots. When you shot someone in the head they died. I am more scared if her kid thinks you can shoot someone and they just get back up like in a cartoon.