36 replies on “Sherman Alexie Book Banned in Oregon Schools”

  1. This makes me sad. Sherman Alexie is one of my favorite living writers. Jesus, what’s that windbag going to do when his son reaches college?

  2. Moss, reached today by The Oregonian, said the book includes “a reference about masturbation, and that it’s ok and no big deal.” He added that he felt it was “inappropriate.”

    Thank God for the timely intervention of a concerned parent like Moss. If not for him, some innocent teenagers might have learned about the existence of masturbation.

  6. Damn him, this is an awesome book. Funny and truly heart wrenching in places.

    I read it on a flight back to Seattle from Minneapolis and–without giving anything away–I was boohooing like a little baby when something terrible happened to one of the book’s characters. There I was, in Seat 38 E, with the guy on my left and the woman on the right trying to ignore my poorly stifled sobs.

    I bet this jackass hasn’t even read it. If he has and he’s spouting off, then he’s dead inside.

  8. @ flamingbanjo,

    But of course! It’s just like Ignorance Only education. If we don’t tell teens about jacking off, then they’ll NEVER figure it out.

  9. I’m sure that Parent is more than happy to read the Bible to his kid. You know that book about Incest, murder, rape, killing, war, love and sex.

  10. When I was in school, if a book was banned I was sure to go to a bookstore the next day and buy it. I was always happy when a book was banned, plenty of them became favorites. If they hadn’t been banned I probably never would have heard of them or read them.

    I’m sure I’m not the only one.

  11. The guy is from Prinevile, you really can’t expect much more…think Othello, although Prineville is where Les Schwab tires was started.

  12. I liked that book.

    As the most recent victim of misplaced hysteria, Sherman Alexie will sit in very good company, although I can’t think of an author banned for the sole act of mentioning teen masturbation since Judy Bloom. I just hope this story gets picked up nationally and translates into sales for him.

  14. Why the heck would you want high school students to read a book that won the Young People’s National Book Award? Better to remain ignorant and unenlightened. I’m showing this to Alex Kuo. He’ll will be really pissed off.

  15. No, no, no. You’re doing it wrong. Just rip the offending pages out of all the books, and then make the kids read the cleaned up version. Don’t you know anything?

    Pussies…

  17. @12 – good comparison! I saw Sherman Alexie speak at an event with Judy Blume and they were clearly kindred spirits – funny, thoughtful, passionate about writing honestly for and about children. And just like her, apparently, he has a delightfully subversive ability to set off irrational reactions from fearful, angry people who want to control their children/the world, simply by telling it like it is. I’m a teen librarian and I recommend this book all the time – just yesterday, in fact. It’s something I can give boys who want to read about “real” people. The cartoons (the main character is an aspiring cartoonist) are appealing to kids and make the book immediately more accessible. I open it and flip through it a little so that they can see – and kids who have stood there with their hands at their sides, silently refusing all my other suggestions, reach out for it. There isn’t as much written for boys as there is for girls, and this book talks about racism, poverty, the importance of education, friendship between boys, personal integrity, family loyalty… but somehow it’s not heavy or preachy!

    Alexie and his shelf-full of awards are more than proof against a trivial challenge like this one.

  18. Come on, everybody — this guy’s not all bad. According to KTVZ,

    At the annual volunteer recognition banquet of Fremont District of Boy Scouts of America, the “Cubmaster of the Year” award was presented to Hank Moss of Prineville

    I think Cub Scouts are real anti-masturbation.

  21. Ya’ll, I’m getting the chills.

    Like Cassandra in ancient Greek myth, I see the future coming upon this father and son in all its tragic horridity.

    And yet, the tragedy will never be avoided because the father is, or at least he purports to be, a hererosexual man of morality. I did not read that about the father, but based on his actions, I know he is that type.

    A father who, when he is not railing at the school district about a reference to masturbation in a novel, is a Cub Scout leader fits the all-too-typical profile of the freak in Ward Cleaver’s clothing.

    There are so many freaky things that people like Mr. Moss do when they think nobody is looking.

    The bigger the perversions in a man’s private life, the harder he tries to be upstanding in public life in order to deflect suspicion about himself. Although, such a man’s notion of “upstanding” does nothing except betray his private sickness. He rails against masturbation because he is actually addicted to it. He seeks to be viewed as a leader of boys in the Cub Scouts to hide the fact that he is actually not a leader at all, but a predator.

    If I were to roll with the smart money, I say Mr. Moss gets busted for kiddie porn at some point in his upstanding life.

  22. I love banned books. Makes me want to read all of them! In fact, I think we should form a campaign to get Dan’s books banned, because then he’d be on a list with other great books! It would be hilarious! It would be even funnier if Dan tried to get his own books banned! lol He could pretend like he was some conservative hill billy bible thumper or something! haha I guess he’d probably have a hard time convincing people he was serious though. Darn!

  26. It seems to me that people only ever want to ban good books. I support banning bad books (such as the Twilight series, that new book by the 9-year-old about How to Talk to Girls, etc.)..okay, I’m just kidding. Sort of.

  27. Are you fucking kidding me? It’s a fantastic book, and I can only imagine how much more it would have meant to me if I had discovered it when I was 15 and slowly suffocating in a trashy little town. I read a library copy, but now I think I need to buy it.

  28. Post 2,247 concerning Sherman Alexie…

    Yawn.

    Can we now put him in the Hall of Fame with pitbulls, youth pastors, Liberty, and plastic bag bans?

  29. I can’t believe that Mr. Machkovech forgot to say STRANGER GENIUS AWARD WINNER SHERMAN ALEXIE. I would appreciate it if he added that title on the update?

  34. Gabrielle,
    I am from Oregon–it’s not FUCKING Oregon–it’s FUCKING Hank Moss, and every state has at least one person just like him.

    He has every right to keep what he considers “trash” away from his son.

    What he does not have a right to–is deciding what is right for those of us who want their children to think on their own. I don’t want my kids to have to pick and choose from a library stocked by some hypocritical closet masturbator.

    That being said,as an author,I would love one of my books to cause such an outrage. Sherman Alexi doesn’t need a Hank Moss, but I could sure use some conflict to drive sales.

    At any rate, after all the HOOPLA–I am planning on purchasing this book for my teens for Christmas. I am always looking for interesting REALISTIC books for them. Sounds like this one is a winner.

    Maybe Hank is afraid his son will discover the glory of masturbation and go blind or something. I am sure there are some out there that still believe that.
    BTW, I thought the banning of the Suicidal Bunny book was stranger than this one.

  35. I haven’t read this book but from all these comments I gather someone wants it banned because of a masturbation scene in it. Are they idiots? Oops, maybe thats a little harsh. Seems how they can hardly handle a masturbation scene maybe I shouldn’t be so hard on them, no pun intended. Of course, since I don’t have a penis(oh no, such a dirty word!) I guess having any pun would be difficult anyways.

    But seriously, most of these kids are probably finding porn to look at but you’re going to worry about this? Have you looked beneath your kids’ bed lately, ’cause I doubt all you’ll find are comic books.

    Besides that, do you own a television by any chance? In case you haven’t noticed it’s not exactly the whole getting dropped off by a stork story being told, just a heads up.( again, no pun intended)

    Look, I get you want to protect your kids from the messed up things in this world, but masturbation isn’t one of those things. It’s a reality and it’s normal and you aren’t going to stop them from doing it or learning about it, so lets be real. And I just noticed that all the other dates on here are from 2008 but I’m still going to put mine in anyways.

  36. Being a teenager myself, I honestly had no issues reading this in class. I’m a sophomore now and I’m a 15-year-old girl. If using worlds like “ass”, “bastard” and “retard” are the issues, then you need to realize that we “kids” use those words every single day. I walk up and down the halls, listening to my peers call each other names like “faggot” and “fucker” all the time. Hell–I swear too! And it has nothing to do with the fact that my school allowed the book to be read that I’ll assume that I am allowed to use the word “fuck” as freely as I want to since my school endorses it. That is just plain ridiculous! This is coming from a mouth of a teenager: THIS BOOK IS FINE! THERE’S NO NEED TO BAN IT PARENTS! I PROMISE I’M NOT GOING TO GO OFF AND MAKE RACIST COMMENTS AGAINST NATIVE AMERICANS.
    Oh, and note: Just because in Romeo and Juliet, both teens committed suicide, I am not going to end my life because I learned in class that my school allows me to read it!

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