this post was submitted on 20 Jun 2025
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Magic Tree House author Mary Pope Osborne, children’s poet Shel Silverstein and Calvin and Hobbes cartoonist Bill Watterson have joined Judy Blume, Sarah J. Maas, Eric Carle and Kurt Vonnegut on a mind-boggling list of hundreds of books purged from some Tennessee school libraries.

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[–] Zahille7@lemmy.world 207 points 2 months ago (7 children)

Fucking Calvin & Hobbes?!

Are you fucking kidding me right now?!

[–] Airowird@lemm.ee 151 points 2 months ago

Can't have cartoons about questioning authority,those 8y olds might get ideas!

[–] dhork@lemmy.world 42 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (3 children)

These people are going after anything that might imply nudity at all. I seem to remember Calvin had an immense hatred of baths. So once his mom finally got him in, poof, that now has to go, because he's naked under all that water.

I'm surprised they don't just ban all visual art that depicts humans, since everyone is naked under their clothes.

[–] ICastFist@programming.dev 30 points 2 months ago (1 children)

A small kid asking for a porn movie??? BAN THAT SHIT!!!!

Calling satanic powers?? JESUS FUCKING CHRIST BAN THIS HERETICAL SHIT!!!!!!

[–] Zahille7@lemmy.world 20 points 2 months ago

I always loved Calvin's snowman hijinks. And Spaceman Spiff. And all the "I'M HOOoooOOOOooome!"

[–] pelespirit@sh.itjust.works 15 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I don't think that's it. It's named after philosophers, the people banning aren't always stupid. I bet Calvin seems like a left wing propagandist to them too.

[–] dhork@lemmy.world 24 points 2 months ago (4 children)

You're not wrong, in general. But in this specific case, in Tennessee, it's specifically about the nudity.

Any materials that “in whole or in part” contain any “nudity, or descriptions or depictions of sexual excitement, sexual conduct, excess violence, or sadomasochistic abuse” are inappropriate for all students and do not belong in a school library.

It's "nudity" of any type, which puts the Venus de Milo in the same category as Brazzers.

[–] pelespirit@sh.itjust.works 10 points 2 months ago

Thanks for clarifying. I was giving them more credit than was due.

[–] CalipherJones@lemmy.world 7 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Why are Christians so afraid of their God given bodies

[–] Hazor@lemmy.world 3 points 2 months ago

They were raised to be terrified of it, and so they raise their kids to be terrified of it, and the cycle perpetuates. It's hard to break. The reasoning is usually that seeing nudity will tempt them to sin. As someone who abandoned his puritanical upbringing nearly 20 years ago, I still have a hard time just being ok with human bodies - even after being a nurse for some years, I'm still not entirely desensitized to nudity.

[–] ouRKaoS@lemmy.today 6 points 2 months ago

So the Bible is inappropriate for all students and there's several parents I need to report...

[–] Krauerking@lemy.lol 5 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I was about to jump in and defend the heck out of Shel Silverstein but it's based on a broad sweeping nudity ban?

That's fair. That man was an accidental children's book author and the best kind of weirdo.
The ban is dumb but his inclusion less so.

[–] gabbath@lemmy.world 3 points 2 months ago

I said before but my guess is that with Shel they saw the title "A Boy Named Sue" and automatically banned him.

[–] Zahille7@lemmy.world 5 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Geez... God forbid there's a copious amount of bubbles or something covering anything if Calvin ever does jump back out of the bath

[–] blockheadjt@sh.itjust.works 3 points 2 months ago

There are strips where he's running around naked and you see his butt

[–] HikingVet@lemmy.ca 28 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

No, the right wing are just that sensitive.

[–] tnarg42@lemmy.world 21 points 2 months ago

I have the "Complete Collection" box set, and I broke my 10 year-old son's heart when, after he finished the whole thing, I had to tell him that there were no more. I think they made him a better kid.

[–] HotsauceHurricane@lemmy.world 15 points 2 months ago

An inquisitive young kid with a strong imagination and who asks lots if questions is rarely seen by adults in power as a positive influence.

[–] Bonifratz@sh.itjust.works 11 points 2 months ago

Also, Eric Carle? Really?

[–] someguy3@lemmy.world 9 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Promotes the radical environmentalism ideology and the war on cars biking!

[–] Zahille7@lemmy.world 4 points 2 months ago

And building character!

[–] negativenull@lemmy.world 178 points 2 months ago (1 children)

🎶 take a look, it’s in a book, reading rainboooooow 🎶

[–] sinadia@lemmy.world 67 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Those ‘guidelines’ are pretty wide open. The Bible certainly makes the grade for a ban.

[–] MightBeAlpharius@lemmy.world 45 points 2 months ago (3 children)

Actually though, can we get some malicious compliance? Schools banning the Bible based on rules written by Christian conservatives would be hilarious.

"We have considered several excerpts, and deemed this book unfit for schools. The book opens with everybody naked, and goes on to feature violence on a massive scale, as well as some weird incest, and a man who collected two hundred foreskins. Frankly, we believe that this book should have never been on the shelves here at Li'l Tykes Elementary."

[–] atzanteol@sh.itjust.works 13 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Lot was drugged and raped by his daughters. Surely that meets the standard for banning.

[–] Grimy@lemmy.world 8 points 2 months ago

Not in Alabama

[–] HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 5 points 2 months ago

utah did repeatedly until they changed the law to explicitly allow the bible even though it does not meet the standards.

[–] samus12345@sh.itjust.works 65 points 2 months ago
[–] Kintarian@lemmy.world 46 points 2 months ago

Having a well educated population capable of critical thought is a direct threat to the oligarchy.

[–] Krauerking@lemy.lol 40 points 2 months ago (2 children)

children’s poet Shel Silverstein

What? Is that the same Shel Silverstein as 2 time Grammy winning, Johnny Cash swongwriter, Academy awards and Golden Globe nominee, and Playboy Cartoonist, also prolific one act playwright, Shel Silverstein?

The answer is yes.
I just think he needs someone to shout out his other works in here in case you didn't know.

[–] gabbath@lemmy.world 14 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I'm 1000% sure they banned Shel because of "A Boy Named Sue" which they probably thought was about trans kids.

[–] Krauerking@lemy.lol 7 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Hard KeK and quite possibly the right answer.
I figured it was Tatooin Ruth who literally is nude except for his tattoos or all the other butts he drew in his comics.

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[–] CluckN@lemmy.world 9 points 2 months ago (1 children)

His headshot absolutely horrified me as a kid.

It absolutely horrifies me as an adult. Love you Shel

[–] PunkRockSportsFan@fanaticus.social 32 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Nazis

Arm yourselves.

This doesn’t end without millions dead

[–] homesweethomeMrL@lemmy.world 7 points 2 months ago (1 children)

we should get credited trump's mishandling of a pandemic tho

[–] HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 2 points 2 months ago (1 children)

he's going to get us to relive the sum total experience of two world wars in one generation yaaaaaaaaay

[–] wolframhydroxide@sh.itjust.works 2 points 2 months ago

And he's going to do that in part by giving us a third one

[–] homesweethomeMrL@lemmy.world 27 points 2 months ago

Damn, Tennessee right wing. Y'all some backwards-ass motherfuckers.

[–] SnarkoPolo@lemmy.world 22 points 2 months ago

Restrict the kinds of ideas children can learn about, and you get evangelical MAGAs. Dictatorships always restrict information.

[–] don@lemm.ee 14 points 2 months ago

Making sure those kids have play-dough brains.

[–] wolframhydroxide@sh.itjust.works 9 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

Did no one else clock that GRAY'S ANATOMY is in that picture? The fuck?

The foremost anatomical textbook, so well-devised and illustrated that it is still in use today?

Well, let's hope that nobody's trying to teach anatomy in those schools, because even pictures of the _dissected musculature of the pubic area is sufficient to result in a ban

Also, it seems we're ignoring the fact that every single book touching on ANY kind of mythology or history of the ancient world is being banned.

[–] bampop@lemmy.world 2 points 2 months ago

On the other hand, at least they got rid of The Complete Book of Cats. Absolute filth, I can't believe they let kids read that

[–] jsomae@lemmy.ml 5 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

I can't empathise with these book banners. If I had a kid, I'd probably be happier with them reading a book by a conservative ideologue than them not reading anything at all.

[–] FuckFascism@lemmy.world 3 points 2 months ago (1 children)
[–] possiblylinux127@lemmy.zip 2 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

*American south

[–] DarkFuture@lemmy.world 3 points 2 months ago

Can't have anyone learning now, can we?