Sunday, April 15, 2007

Scrotum

"Of course, adults are right to fear a word in a book, although not, as in this instance, because it names a body part. They are right in the implied assumption that books have enormous power and influence. Children who read widely understand more about the world; they have a
foundation for making better decisions. They think, and because of that, they may even challenge their parents' beliefs. For some, a scary idea, but isn't a thinking child preferable to one who accepts the world at face value and has no aim to change it for the better?"

-Susan Patron, 'Scrotum' as a Children's Literary Tool, Feb 27, 2007.

Have I ever mentioned before how much I despise censorship and chicken-hearted, close-minded parents?

And by the way, I read this book before I passed judgement, unlike many people who base their literary opinions on what their brother's next-door neighbor's pastor (who didn't read it either) said about it in the pulpit.

Books must be read before opinions can be made, and especially before opinions can be intelligently voiced. I think sometimes that so many people form opinions about a book without reading it themselves, because they're afraid the book might actually make them think.

Such people don't think much, and any kind of new exercise will hurt at first.

Don't EVER accept anyone's statements about a book unless that person has read the book themselves. And don't say anything about it yourself until YOU have read the book yourself.

Nothing you say will have any credibility if you haven't read the book.

"I don't have to read it; I heard what it's about and it's TERRIBLE!!"

Shut up, moron. If your belief system is so shaky that a book can topple it, maybe you'd better step back and take a good long look at your belief system.

But until you actually read the book, whichever book you're currently horrified about, don't talk to me about it. I don't care what you have to say because you're an idiot, a parrot, an echo. You have no intellect of your own.

After you're read it, come talk to me. I love to talk about books.

Speaking of which. . . . I can't WAIT 'til the new Harry Potter is out! You know, the series your next-door-neighbor's pastor told everybody was so evil? Yeah, that one.

Mamacita, Scheiss Weekly