Slog - Comments on "Animal cruelty? No. Not OK. Not OK in my book anyway."

Comment by Matthew

Matthew — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 12:16:00 -0800

Oh, shit. Paul is pissed.

Lock up your pamphlets!

Comment by Simac

Simac — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 12:17:27 -0800

OK fine, let's not ban books. But I question the judgment of a school librarian who thinks this has value in a school collection...

Comment by Fnarf

Fnarf — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 12:19:20 -0800

I recommend 90 days in the pokey for Taffey Anderson.

Comment by Little Red Ryan Hood

Little Red Ryan Hood — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 12:22:04 -0800

I saw this in the Times the other day, what scares me about this the most is who else read that and figured out they could censor libraries and video stores by taking out what they consider to be questionable (unchristian) material and never returning it.

Comment by Lucky

Lucky — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 12:22:57 -0800

I'm with Simac - I don't believe in banning books, but I also don't think adult-theme books belong in an elementary or junior-high library. Bunny suicides may look like a kid's book, but it's a bit mature for 12-year-olds. What ever happened to kid's humor like "How to Eat Like a Child"?

Comment by Bellevue Ave

Bellevue Ave — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 12:24:59 -0800

or how about "How to eat a child?"

Comment by Dougsf

Dougsf — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 12:25:05 -0800

First of all, 13 year olds are in High School now? I'd be a little weirded out if someone thought this book was of value to K-6, but middle and high school kids should be able to handle this content just fine. Also, that book is awesome.

I still cherish the B. Kliban book I stole from my middle school library.

Comment by Banna

Banna — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 12:27:12 -0800

Is this book available on Amazon? Can we all go there and order a copy or ten and have them shipped c/o the librarian?

Comment by kinaidos

kinaidos — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 12:27:44 -0800

What role does the pencil actually play in this cartoon? Why couldn't the bunny simply push the switch?

Comment by wench

wench — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 12:28:50 -0800

@4 - It happens all the time. A lot of times, the books just walk out of the library (unchecked-out) and never come back. People with less flexible morals will simply refile the books in a section where no one will look for them or drop them behind other books. The issue is practically a plague in places like large university libraries where they have an eclectic collection and a very low staff to book ratio.

Comment by Paul Constant

Paul Constant — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 12:29:49 -0800

I think I read this book when I was a teenager. But anyway, the real problem with this story is that the stupid fucker decided the best route was to take the book from the library and not return it, rather than going through proper channels to have it removed. That is why she is a stupid fucker.

Comment by Chris in Tampa

Chris in Tampa — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 12:30:06 -0800

Time to buy 50 copies and leave them all over the library for kids to peruse.

Comment by violet_dagrinder

violet_dagrinder — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 12:32:58 -0800

I love that book.

I'm an animal rights activist.

FER FUCK'S SAKE.

Comment by Jen

Jen — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 12:36:47 -0800

Don't libraries make you pay for replacements?

Comment by w7ngman

w7ngman — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 12:44:25 -0800

Oh man, that bitch in the linked video is wack. If her husband admits to voting Obama he's never getting laid again. Talk about reverse Bradley effect...

Comment by Julie in Chicago

Julie in Chicago — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 12:50:51 -0800

@15. Maybe that's his goal. Would you want to have sex with a brain-dead harpy?

Comment by Fnarf

Fnarf — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 13:01:36 -0800

@2, school librarians are not, or should not, be in the business of policing what kids read. Their job is to get books in kids' hands. If a kid reads this book, he's better off than if he read nothing. If it inculcates an awareness that books can be clever and funny and a bit subversive, that's a huge bonus.

This kind of awareness is even more important with smaller kids. Books for kids are too often dumber than mud, and turn people off of books, not onto them. 13 year olds should be reading real books, not fucking Dick and Jane.

Comment by Gay Seattle

Gay Seattle — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 13:04:49 -0800

Ah, call me a hypocrite but a book poking fun at suicide with cutesy illustrations has no place in a school library. But I guess who decides, right?

Comment by Doctor Memory

Doctor Memory — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 13:07:03 -0800

Anyone who thinks that this book is somehow horribly inappropriate for children doesn't remember their own childhood very clearly, I think. The Grimm Brothers fairy tales are a hundred times more morbid, and Looney Toons are a hundred times more violent.

Comment by Rotten666

Rotten666 — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 13:14:12 -0800

All school libraries have a materials challenge process if someone thinks a book is inappropriate. The problem is this fucking pinhead thinks she somehow has the right to circumvent that process and dictate what is appropriate for all of the students in the school. I personally would have no problem if my 12 year old read this. If anything I would be happy that we shared the same fucked up sense of humor. What we need here is the dreaded ALA deathsquad to rub this NAZI out.

Comment by Chris in Tampa

Chris in Tampa — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 13:29:57 -0800

It's relevant to note that there's no actual reading to be done in this book. It's a book of textless cartoons.

It shouldn't be banned or censored because of that, but it's not like this is opening doors on the reading front here. At best, it's stimulating the mind in other, more creative ways.

Comment by Wurm

Wurm — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 13:50:06 -0800

I still fondly remember my copy of "101 uses for a dead cat" as a kid. Great book

and yes I'm a cat lover. Had them all my life, and never used em when they died :P

Comment by Will in Seattle

Will in Seattle — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 13:57:27 -0800

Um, don't they fine you and the library can then put the book on Reserve status so they can't take it out?

Comment by Davida

Davida — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 14:07:45 -0800

I think it's funny that she says, "not okay in MY book." Um, it's not her book.

They do fine you. If the fine isn't paid for public libraries, it goes into collections eventually, and it can fuck up your credit record. I don't know if school libraries go that far.

The frustrating thing is that her son might get punished, by being unable to check anything else out of the library.

Comment by crazycatguy

crazycatguy — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 15:48:42 -0800

Sniff, I can't look at this. It makes me want to kill myself.

Comment by K

Thu, 23 Oct 2008 16:00:17 -0800

After I saw that, I went on Amazon and had a copy sent to the school library.

Comment by elenchos

elenchos — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 16:07:48 -0800

Overdue library books can get you charged with theft, and ruin your credit rating. That's how they should handle this.