Nampa school board’s book banning is the latest salvo in the far right’s culture war
When I was in high school, I heard about this book called “The Catcher in the Rye,” by J.D. Salinger, about a rebellious teenager. So I went to the card catalog (remember card catalogs?) at my high school library and, sure enough, our library had it.
But when I went to the shelf where it should have been in the fiction section, the book wasn’t there. I told my librarian, Ms. Dygert, that I wanted to check out the book, but I couldn’t find it on the shelves.
She turned and went into a book-lined room behind her desk and emerged with a paperback copy with that familiar, plain red cover with gold lettering. Apparently, Ms. Dygert had a whole stash of forbidden books back there. (She also had John Steinbeck’s “East of Eden,” which I read later.)
“The Catcher in the Rye” came out in 1951 and reportedly has sold 65 million copies since. It’s been among the most read and the most censored books in U.S. high schools and libraries for decades. To this day, it still shows up on Top 10 lists of most challenged books on the grounds of sexual content, vulgarity and glorified drinking, smoking, lying and “loose moral codes.”
After I read the book, honestly, I didn’t know what all the fuss was about. And looking at it today, it seems pretty tame. Of course, the theme of rebellious teen appealed to me at the time and I identified with some of the feelings of teenage angst, but as it turns out, after I read the book, I didn’t get in a fight, hop a train to New York City, hire a prostitute, get drunk and plan an escape to a remote wilderness cabin. If anything, it made me thankful my life wasn’t nearly as messed up as Holden’s.
Today, the banned-book list has grown to include such works as “The Handmaid’s Tale,” “The Bluest Eye” and “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian,” all tremendous works of literature.
Those three books along with 20 others this week were banned “forever” from Nampa School District libraries. School board members Monday night voted, 3-2, to remove 23 books permanently from their shelves.
Such a pity, and such a shame for students in Nampa.
In high school, I remember thinking that if “Catcher in the Rye” wasn’t at my school library, I’d probably try the town library. If not there, I’d go buy the book at the bookstore.
Not everyone has that privilege. The school library is often the only feasible place for a student to get a book.
Sure, there should be community standards, and yes, it’s up to the elected school board members to make these types of decisions.
I’ve read a few of the books on the list, but I’m not familiar with all of them. What’s troubling, though, is that the three school board members didn’t follow the protocol set up to determine which books to remove and which should be kept.
The district had formed committees consisting of librarians, staff members and parents to review the “challenged” books and make recommendations to the board, but the committees weren’t able to finish their work before the board made its decision, Kathleen Tuck, district spokesperson, told the Idaho Statesman.
And it’s clear from the list of books that the three board members acted rashly and made a bad decision. Not all of these books should have been removed simply because someone, somewhere complained about it. (An online petition to get the books banned had only 105 signatures as of Wednesday.)
One parent who testified to the board Monday referred to the books as pornographic material and said exposing children to pornographic material is a tactic used by groomers and child predators.
One board member said these books would cause “lifetime trauma” and “mental destruction.”
To those parents who don’t want their kids to read those “pornographic” books, don’t let them. Give your list of dangerous books to your child and tell them not to read them. But don’t deny other children the opportunity to read those books based on your stuffy standards.
This is an example of the far-right culture war filtering down to the local level, hunting down what they think are the root causes of the deterioration of society, whether it’s critical race theory or, in this case apparently, great works of literature.
Elections matter. Board members Tracey Pearson and Jeff Kirkman were duly elected. Board member Marco Valle was appointed to the position, and, yes, they have the authority to make these types of decisions, albeit misguided, prudish and Puritanical.
I’m not in favor of recalls as a general principle, especially when school board members are simply making a decision that you disagree with. I’m also not a fan of showing up at the next school board meeting with an AR-15 and screaming at them (and please don’t show up at their houses with bullhorns and boomboxes).
But you can show up at the next election and vote them out of office.
Please.
This story was originally published May 12, 2022 at 4:00 AM.
CORRECTION: Nampa school board member Marco Valle was appointed to his position. An earlier version of this column incorrectly reported that he was elected.
