Comments

1
Republicans never miss an opportunity to use the power of government to push their social, political, and religious views.
3
Stupid southern Republicans. Always on the losing end of modern history.
4
Of all the books, jeez. Thanks for letting us know.
5
Of course making it a policy to assign books only about 100% heterosexual families would be promoting no agenda whatsoever.
6
Fun Home is a brilliant book. This is precisely the sort of right-wing idiocy that Bechdel loved to lampoon in her strip Dykes To Watch Out For.
7
I love libraries. A half hour ago I had never heard of the book and now I have it in my hands.
8
I suspect it's more about defunding state education, which is one of the common Republican goals. This book is just the excuse. Republicans are disgusting.

Remember: According to Republican philosophy, absolutely every government agency and function has to be privatized. As a broadly general rule of thumb, Republicans are more sold out to the Big Money than Democrats.
9
It started as a brilliant graphic novel and now it's a brilliant musical. Saw it in NYC over the holidays. The music and acting were phenomenal.
10
@2: The night is darkest just before the dawn, and I promise you, the dawn is coming.
11
"Fun Home" is a terrific book for teaching undergraduates. (Or graduate students, for that matter.)
12
These legislators are truly a gift to our youth. I cannot tell you how many times I have had to explain to my kids and their friends that, yes, we enacted slavery and segregation, invaded and appropriated ancestral lands, lynched, enforced restrictive covenants and incarcerated innocent families in concentration camps. If you don't believe it, look around: powerful people are still doing the same goddamned thing. Never rest, never forget.
14
@13: there is a dramatic difference. Public opinion on this is moving swiftly towards justice, and the people who are opposed to equality and rights are literally dying off, while youth are ever more tolerant.
15
@13 mmmm No, gay rights are moving across the country state by state with the courts coming up from behind. Roe v Wade was the courts running in front of the states.
16
The truth about Reublicans is that they are idiots. That's all you need to know, and it is relevant for any situation you can imagine, including this one.
17
Is there a fund established for donations to replace any lost revenue?
18
An open letter to the S. C. Legislature:

I just ordered a copy of Fun Home from Amazon. Thanks for the suggestion. You probably just caused Alison Bechdel to experience a surge of sales.

That's the thing about protesting or banning books; you create a curiosity--and therefore a demand--about the thing you think is so offensive. I had absolutely no interest in The Da Vinci Code until my nephew was punished for having a copy on the campus of his Catholic High School.

If you wanted to encourage more and more people to read Fun Home, you did precisely the right thing.
19
@17 and anyone else interested in helping College of Charleston replace the lost revenue:

Here is the URL for the College's Foundation. You can make an online donation, and there is even a comment box where you can explain why you are giving money at this time. http://foundation.cofc.edu/

I did it. It feels good.
20
Just put it on hold. Thanks Carolina!
21
Agree w/ 18. Is their anything more intriguing that a Banned Book?
22
I haven't and won't read Fun Home, though mostly because I haven't read comic books since I was a child and not much then. I have read novels with controversial topics or themes and here's the thing- controversial doesn't mean good by itself. Letters From Earth is Twain on a roll, but not because the ideas are controversial. The language of Lolita is compelling even though the protagonist is abhorrent.

On the other hand Maya Angelou is a joke, even though her 'poetic' themes are fairly tame. The Davinci Code and anything written by the hack who inflicted Harry Potter on an unprepared public are wastes of time. (Though to be fair Brown is a boring and incompetent writer while Rowling is merely boring and repetitive.).

Point is, just because this woman toes your line of ideological purity doesn't mean her comic book is worth reading, or really anything more than a propaganda tool for a particular worldview.
23
@22: Whether or not the book aligns with the politics of anyone here is irrelevant. The point is that state lawmakers are attempting to censor an institution of learning based solely on political ideology. The College of Charleston did not require students to read the book, nor did it improperly promote the ideals of the author.
I heartily disagree with the ideology stated in "Atlas Shrugged", but I am staunchly against revoking funds from schools that recommended it to its students. Banning books that go against the party line is something I'd expect of Iran or Russia, not a nation founded on the ideals of liberty and equality. And if you disagree with me calling this a "ban", I remind you: a college was monetarily penalized, without violating any law, for recommending this book to its students.
Also, you seem to be unclear on the meaning of "propaganda".
24
Point is, just because this woman toes your line of ideological purity doesn't mean her comic book is worth reading, or really anything more than a propaganda tool for a particular worldview.
.

@22 But you didn't read it, so you wouldn't really know, but that doesn't stop you from blowing hot air about it. No wonder everyone piles on you, you're such an easy target.
25
@22: Graphic novels aren't "comic books". They've been a pretty well respected medium since Maus won a
Pulitzer in 1992.
If you want to broaden your horizons but you think Fun Home sounds too gay? leftist? (it's not really either of those, pretty much just a bildungsroman) you could try Persepolis, Our Cancer Year, Pyongyang, Blankets, etc.
26
Dykes To Watch Out For on the other had was pretty gay and leftist and a comic strip. So maybe homophobes should skip that one.
27
@23, 24

See, you two are why I despair at the liberal brainwashing that's replaced education in public schools. You're so open minded from your PC bullshit, moral relativist, fundamentals poor education that your brains leaked out.

What I wrote was, effectively, two part. First, a comic book isn't literature. It's children's entertainment. Therefore I have no interest in Bechdel's comic book.

Second (follow this closely, children) her comic book dealing with a controversial topic like her dad embracing perversion at the expense of his family, does not itself make the comic book good. That's down to author talent and writing ability. I don't know if Bechdel is a good writer who, for personal reasons, chose to write comic books rather than real ones. Don't really care.

As to 'banning' that's nonsense. Refusing to fund promulgation of ideological rather than educational college choices and banning seen the same thing. If kids want to read this thing, nobody is stopping them. The legislature isn't banning sale of the silly thing. They're just allocating taxpayer money as they see fit, which is kind of what legislators do.
28
@27: Let me get this straight: You have not read the book in question, nor anything else by the author. By your own admission, you "don't know if Bechdel is a good writer" or not. But in spite of that willful ignorance, you are convinced that the book was suggested only for ideological and not educational reasons. And you are certain of this because one major theme of the book was the author's father's homosexuality.

Do I have that right? Your opinion is that the only reasons a book that deals with homosexual themes would be assigned or recommended in at an educational institution are ideological - the book's actual quality is not relevant.

And you wonder why people call you a bigot.
29
@28: He thinks his opinions determine reality. Remember, he also asserts ex nihilo and without supporting evidence that:
-Congress has no right to regulate intrastate commerce that affects nationwide commerce
-Obamacare is unconstitutional
-Transgendered people should not be allowed/encouraged to transition
-Homosexuality is objectively wrong
-Homosexuality is a choice
-Hate crime legislation gives special protections to minorities
-Climate change is a hoax perpetrated by scientists

and many other ridiculous statements with little relation to reality. Of those seven, by my reckoning the first three are contradicted by the leading experts in the relevant field, the next is entirely subjective and impossible to prove either way, and the last three are patently false as demonstrated by the overwhelming majority of evidence.

@27: The state's not "[r]efusing to fund" the College's efforts to get people to read the book. They're punitively withdrawing funding for OTHER activities in response. If the legislators of a liberal state were to pull guest lecturer funding for a university because they invited Karl Rove to lead a discussion on Realpolitik, you and your cohorts would be apopleptic with outrage, and for good reason.
Also, "allocating taxpayer money as they see fit" is something you frequently lose your cool over whenever the taxpayer money goes to help poor people put food on the table or get regular physicals. You have a hypocritical habit of expressing outrage when legislators make decisions you disagree with while defending their right to make such decisions when they are in line with your ideology.

Please wait...

Comments are closed.

Commenting on this item is available only to members of the site. You can sign in here or create an account here.


Add a comment
Preview

By posting this comment, you are agreeing to our Terms of Use.