Re: 25 Classic Books That Have Been Banned

Aidan Kehoe <kehoea@parhasard.net> wrote:

 Ar an cúigiú lá déag de mí Feabhra, scríobh J. J. Lodder:
 
 > D <nospam@example.net> wrote:
 >
 > > On Wed, 12 Feb 2025, Judith Latham wrote:
 > >
 > > > Below are 25 of the most popular works of literature from the last
 > > > century that have been banned from schools, libraries, and, in some
 > > > cases, entire countries. [...]
 > > > To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
 > >
 > > Boring!
 >
 > And thoroughly American-nasty.
 > The idea that it is allright to kill any bird for any reason,
 > because you happen to feel that way, or just for target practice
 > put me off whatever else the book is trying to say.
 > Excepting Mockingbirds doesn't make it any better,
 
There's nothing specifically American about hunting.

Of course not, it goes back in our ancestors for millions of years.
And the chimps also do it.
What seems to be particular about the American way of hunting
is the mass-murder aspect it may have,
like in senselessly killing of herds of bison, or flocks of pigeons.
This is more like a few wolves killing off whole herds of sheep,
or school shooters killing all they can hit,
for no other reason than that they can.

Though yes, this situation is not hunting in the usual sense.

Indeed, not directly relevant to those mockingbirds.
Indirectly it is highly relevant.
The environment in which coloured people had to live in the South
was made explicit by the Tulsa Race Massacre. (1921)
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulsa_race_massacre>

Coloured people in the South knew from hard experience
that at the slightest provocation, or even no provocation at all,
mass murdering mobs of whites with guns could descend on them,
killing, burning, and perhaps raping, destroying whole neighbourhoods.
They must have felt as safe, and as protected by the law
as Jews in Germany, after the Kristallnacht.
This is the background against which books like TKaM should be read.
Harper Lee, being from Alabama, was obviously aware of it.

It seems obvious to me that instant popularity of TKaM
is due to the fact that it appeared at a moment in time (1960)
when most Americans believed for a brief period
that things really could get better, permanently.

Men with guns soon ended the illusion,

Jan

PS, Dutch is particularly appropriate for it.
For outlaw, being outlawed, Dutch has 'vogelvrij' 'vogelvrij verklaard'.
Anyone can kill a person who has been declared 'vogelvrij',
just like anyone could shoot any bird.