Oh no, they did ban it 😊 props to utah for actually going through with the law They then were able to rescind somewhat (i dont know the details) after this proved how dumb a law it was
@@neilbradleyfor real, every person I know who has read the book in full, has left Christianity, myself included. I read it three times as a kid because they always said do your daily bible readings. I guess what they meant was “read like one single line of the book each day, ideally the same one all week or whatever last Sundays sermon was about.” The first time I finished I started having private conversations with my youth pastor about how I was pretty sure I was going to hell and basically “how do avoid going to hell”, they’d walk me through it and send me on my way the second time I read it I was hoping it would just “click” differently for me, and the third time I was rigorously searching for answers to specific questions I had that needed to be addressed and which no adult could answer to my satisfaction. I actually really tried to believe, but it turns out if you actually read the thing, especially with any level of rigor, you can’t possibly believe in it anymore.
People just don’t recognize how much easier it is to deal with indecency in a story BEFORE you have to see it in real life. That is frequently the point of storytelling. Whether it’s villainous behavior or it’s more of a “yeah, realistically at some point you may be interested in this.”
My mom gave me a pocket dictionary to take to school. It was a student dictionary, so it didn’t have inappropriate words in it. One day, I took a look in the classroom dictionary and saw that it contained such words, so I began looking up obscene words in the classroom dictionary when I got bored.
As a kid, I opened the Bible randomly one day to the story of Lot (I think?) and his daughters. And that's how I learned about incest and unconsensual sex at the tender age of 10.
Yeah I read that story in second grade The first time I started seriously trying to read through my bible, and let me tell you at 8 I was way to young to understand any of that story and honestly I am glad I didn't quite get it because now I do I really wish my younger self hadn't been subjected to reading it
I remember sleeping beauty was sheltered by her father. He removed all spindles from the state so that his daughter would never land upon one and be cursed by it. But that is exactly what bit him in the ass, aurora- her daughter became too curious and eventually landed with a spindle and pricked her finger. So yeah, the more you shelter your children and hide they away from realities in life the more curious they become and curiosity kills the cat ... and aurora.
The more extremes that Christians get up to when trying to keep their kids away from the world, the more they guarantee problems for themselves and their kids.
I feel like the more you shelter kids the more likely they won't be able to cope with hard things and the more likely they are to put themselves in harms way because they are simply ignorant
@@dolfuny This is true but it also means the indoctrination becomes like a crystal. Tough unless struck at the right angle, shattering completely. And the results are never what the programmers, eg overprotective parents, want.
I'm christian too and that was also my first thought.... The bible has sa, cheating/adultery, a whole fan fic/love poem (songs of Solomon- iykyk 😭), and so many other things that would be considered vulgar or obscene if it were in another book... People just love to pick and choose🙃
i’ve always thought it’s funny when christians are all anti-sex when the song of solomon is RIGHT THERE. i don’t care what metaphors you see in it, that’s 1000% ancient porn
"When Dr. Samuel Johnson had completed the first real dictionary of the English language, he was visited by a delegation of respectable old ladies who wished to congratulate him for not including any indecent words. His response - which was that he was interested to see that the ladies had been looking them up - contains almost all that needs to be said on this point.” - Christopher Hitchens
@Lol okay There we’re already laws about pornography and obscenity, the difference is this law allows any parent to have any book removed because that particular parent found the book obscene. In those other laws, the work had to be shown to be obscene or pornographic by the standard Miller test as set by the Supreme Court. Again, the difference here is that ANY parent can have ANY book removed from a school because of that single parent’s OPINION on a book. And buddy, let me tell you, I was half raised by a fundamentalist evangelical Christian, I can find ways for almost anything and everything to be considered obscene. I could get damn bear every book in every school removed with just a little creative thinking.
@Darkness My parents were the same.. HARDCORE. I was homeschooled and lived on a "compound" in the foothills of Mt. Ranier.... so I get it. It's pretty amusing remembering the mental gymnastics my parents went through to justify some stuff but condemn the others. Lord of the Rings= Good because of some tenuous God connection. Harry Potter= From Satan Himself. I'm 32, so this was before the internet was everywhere, did you get the "You can only buy music CDs from the Christian Bookstore" treatment? Veggie Tales, Carmen, BIBLE MAN!!! Haven't thought of freakin Bible man in years!!!! Hah!
@Lol okay That is the point Hitchens was making: that, even if you're publishing a dictionary, there will be those determined to find something offensive in it... that in order for this delegation of women to have concluded that there were no obscenities, they would have had to be well versed in them and taken the time to intentionally search for them. This applies with all books. When given the opportunity to ban something because it 'offends someone', people with take that opportunity and use it. "I'm offended" ....isn't an argument. It's a whine. "that's offensive" should be responded to with the phrase "...I'm still waiting to hear your point." Saying "I find that offensive" is saying "that hurt my feelings". That is the point being made. offensive ≠ insulting. What I mean is: When your sense of smell is in discomfort due to an offensive odor, do you [not you personally, but 'you' as in 'any person'] feel personally insulted by that odor? Propane, for example, is odorless so they add an odor to it as a warning to people that propane is in the area. I find that odor to be an offensive on. Is that a sound argument for the banning of that or any odor?
@@ezachleewright2309 there was a chemical spill which three state tried to cover up, until they were exposed on the news, after the gases had already reached people. It was a little while back.
Going to some National parks in Utah this summer, thanks for the tip John you reminded me that I need to add a “I read banned books” shirt to my packing list
Perfect! There also seems to be a coalescing group of people who are making reservations for campgrounds, and then canceling their reservations with a note about not supporting states with book bans. I think wearing the "I read banned books" t-shirts is more effective.
But you don't read every banned book, just the ones you think were silly to ban. There are some legitimate books that should actually be banned EDIT: I specifically mean from schools. I think every book should be obtainable by people who want them, even things like Mein Kampf or how to make nuclear weapons
Friend of mine had his son's school get a few books pulled for describing kids experimenting sexually, with the argument (at the school board town-hall-like meeting) being "this will lead children down the path towards being a mother at 15" and so he said "then any book that depicts a child having any sexual thoughts or experiences, or otherwise showing sex and/or parenthood for someone younger than 18 should be banned? Is that a good generalization to make?", which is pretty much the wording the board decided on. He then pulled out a copy of the bible and said "So I have this book here, borrowed from the school library, where much of the story is centered around a man whose mother was somewhere between the age of 12 and 15 when she gave birth to him, and the rest of the book heavily glorifies that man's father. I move to ban this book and all of its teachings from this school under the new rules" which got several people on the board to support the ban... until they actually saw what book it was.
I LOVE THIS. The bible is just as vile a book as so many important books people seem to want censored. Sometimes I wonder if people will ever stop being so outrageous.
@@JesusisKing134 while it is true that Mary's age is never said she is introduced as a young woman and for the time period that the bible was from that age description is really young. There are scholars who have estimated that Mary would have been approximately 14-16 years old when she got pregnant with Jesus
@@elibunches6044 LOL I didn't necessarily mean the bible is "vile", I'm comparing it to other books that people seem to be complaining about which aren't that bad. ~~but if you think the bible is completely innocent, check out Deuteronomy 22:22-24 and Genesis 22. those are definitely vile.~~
I didn't either until he started talking about it in one of his videos. And I was like... No way! I follow this dude for his awesome history facts and knowledge and turns out he's an acclaimed author and brother to Hank Green the scientist I followed randomly for his science stuff.
@@amycox5733 some people forget author names, I don’t read the authors name. I recognize the authors vibe. I’m not a fan of “Steven king” I’m a fan of “90s horror cover art surprisingly good, inside of book surprisingly disturbing” I’m not a fan of Rick Rordian, im a fan of “Vaguely queer magical children, get beat up by mythology.” We are not the same.
I'm so glad I live in a place where I can go to my library and there's a literal section for romance... Sure, don't allow books within decency to be in your grade school library, but it gets to a point where once you're in high school you have to realize these kids have the internet. Just the fact that they're willing to pick up a book you should be happy about. EDIT: and when I say romance I mean complete smut.
This isn't the best argument. Just because minors can get porn on the internet doesn't mean we should be supplying it to them on purpose. If they get it on the internet, so be it, I guess, there's nothing I can do about that, but I would rather not have people buying it and putting it in schools for kids to have access to
Yeah I honestly doubt most of the kids at my library even cared to look at what books my highschool's library had on its shelves, let alone actually read them. I get not putting books that arent age appropriate into school libraries but I've never seen a 4th grade reading level smut book, they arent picture books. Book banning really has become banning which books we disagree with. These people are acting like they're in an fricken HOA for Gods sake.
People have banned a ridiculous list of books. These books are designed to entertain people and in some cases prepare them for the real world, and the real world is a messy place. Banning books that educate people on topics that are considered taboo or indecent makes it easier for children to google it and find out in a more dangerous environment.
In times like this, I take solace in the late Kurt Vonnegut's famous letter to a school in North Dakota that burned his masterpiece Slaughterhouse Five, where he says, "If you were to bother to read my books, to behave as educated persons would, you would learn that they are not sexy, and do not argue in favor of wildness of any kind. They beg that people be kinder and more responsible than they often are. It is true that some of the characters speak coarsely. That is because people speak coarsely in real life. Especially soldiers and hardworking men speak coarsely, and even our most sheltered children know that. And we all know, too, that those words really don’t damage children much. They didn’t damage us when we were young. It was evil deeds and lying that hurt us."
I was wondering if anyone would mention Kurt Vonnegut. I remember reading a decent bit of his works during high school, and quite a few have very evocative or 'indecent' imagery or events (not all sexual, but definitely some are). But his writing is meant to focus on the human condition, and oppression, and show what we need to avoid so we can be better than the people in those books and short stories. So, in short, I think it a real shame that some kids won't be able to have him in their curriculum or school libraries.
I just started reading slaughterhouse 5 after reading Breakfast of Champions. What an odd coincidence. I can absolutely understand people reacting strongly to his books. But they're really great mirrors for society and should never be banned
@@gabbythegreat4962 There's a difference between books being removed from school libraries and removing books from public libraries. Although, granted, a child should have to go looking for this stuff versus it being shelved in the kids' area. A more mature child that imbibes more mature reading material will find it if they so desire even it's shelved where it belongs in the adult section. The concern here is parents questioning what's being allowed in their child's life without their consent before the child is at the age of consent. If a parent wants to allow their child to read some of these books, more power to them; they can have/allow their child to check them out at the public library or buy them for their child. Nobody is complaining about that. But to have this stuff available for the child to read without parental consent isn't ok.
Looking for Alaska was the first ever book that emotionally broke me. I was just a lil teen on Holiday with the parents, and was reading it one night when /it/ happened. Dude I threw the book across the room...
I heard a discussion on this where the parent in favor of book bans was saying they wanted to know what their kids were reading. Instead of trying to ban books, how about you just put yourself in a position to be able to talk to your kid?
@@heinshaaine8153 assault weapons require “personal responsibility and NO BANS AT ALL HOW DARE YOU REEEEEEEE” However, children’s books require “government intervention to protect our children and BAN ALL THE BOOKS!”
"How about you just put yourself in a position to be able to talk to your kid".. How? By reading the books? Bold of you to assume that literacy is a trait of theirs.
@@NorthernRealmJackal That comment is funny, but they don’t even need literacy. They could instead rely on literacy of an actual source (not the grapevine or sensational media), but then they’d need some semblance of reason and discretion, which I think got hucked into the bin decades ago.
Hey John... I'm a new writer (even if I say I was born one), and I just finished your book, The Fault In Our Stars. I couldn't help but feel amazed at the talent of your narration. I don't assume this is the first time you hear this, but I have to admit it and I felt the need to tell you. It was amazing work. I loved it. I cried my eyes out. (Really, I almost felt like Isaac for a second). THANK YOU for having published this!!!!! (Also, your point in the video is correct)
It’s funny because in my opinion as a teacher it’s those same parents who give their kids a smart phone by the time they get in middle school and put no restrictions whatsoever on their internet use.
that law about banning "indecent" content is going to backfire furiously because kids are naturally curious. if they don't find information about sex in books they will find it elsewhere, somewhere potentially more dangerous
My sex ed was taught by Google... and it was more informative than a school teacher or parent ever could be I know more about a woman's body than a sad number of women, I know more about the males body than a sad number of men... before I went looking for a sexual education the most indecent thing I read was in the bible, and really you can take your pick of which indecent thing was the most indecent.
@@letshavefun1015 Kentucky, Maine, Delaware, Virginia, Maryland, Washington, Georgia, Oregon, Indiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina, West Virginia, Montana, Alabama, and South Dakota. those are the states with the most amount of incest. Strangely enough when the state is either too blue or too red the incest rate spikes.
I was a teenager in Utah, a Mormon at that, when I read Looking for Alaska. I was honestly a little taken aback myself by the "indecent" content in that novel. In hindsight, I realize how much of a weird, unhealthy bubble I lived in. I now appreciate that the book gave me a glimpse into what a normal, unrepressed teenager looks like.
@@HeterosexuaI the phrase “(quote), do you know how little that narrows it down?” Specifically is a pretty popular / well known line, the person replying didn’t actually reply with the perception that it was relevant or important when they made the joke that “pretty much everyone in Utah is Mormon”. TLDR: the reply used a popular punchline for a joke to poke fun, they didn’t actually think it was important. Hope that clears it up 👍
I’m very happy my English teacher had us read looking for Alaska when I was 18 because it was the first time a book connected so much with my life. Though for me it was looking for my best friend. After his death I was lost and depressed unsure of what to do with my life just wanting to see him again. That book started me on my journey of getting help and being able to live again. Now I’m about to be getting my CDL and doing something he and I always dreamed of. So thank you.
I'm a Christian. I got annoyed that my mom was always scolding us and my dad if a movie or series we watched had any form of violence or warfare. She stopped when I pointed out that the Bible movies she loved had lots of warfare and killing, if she really wants to get rid of the violent movies, we need to get rid of those too
Considering the Bible details incidents of incest, rape, adultery, child murder, outright genocide, and a host of other less savory things, most of the Biblical movies have tried to gloss over that. But the book? Oh my.
@@DaBlaccGhost blindly killing in war for someone else's cause does not count as self defense. I'm not religious but I'm damn sure I'll answer for the shit I've done in some way. Act accordingly.
Well depends on the "Violence". Violence can be portrayed completely differently. Tom and Jerry constantly perform attempted manslaughter on each other, but they are cartoons and the way they are presented isn't violent compared to the real word. The execution of the violence and it's context is what will make sometime unsettling or even impact someone's mind.
There was one time my dad was reading the Bible on his phone and his wife asked what he was reading. He responded “oh, some guy dismembered this woman into 12 pieces.” Anyway. Now as a parent, I read to my own kids and I try not to shelter them too much. They need to know that humanity is dark and sex exists. But humans have this incredible amount of hope and ability to love. Let’s talk about real human things and teach our kids to be kind and compassionate because this world is dark and we need more light
@@CaTastrophy427 don’t forget the “heroes” of the Sodom and Gomorrah story, where the preteen daughters force themselves on their father. That’s indecent even by Game of Thrones standards. Side note, how the f*ck are the people who love *this book* of all things, the ones who get the most upset by “indecent books?”
@@CaTastrophy427 Thats weird way to view the story of Lot's Daughters. Considering how rape is depicted throughout the Bible, I think it's safe to either assume that's not what happened, or a different explanation occurred. Either you believe the scriptures, or the best use of Occams Razor concludes that 5th century Jews, captive in Babylon needed to make an excuse why Ammonites and Moabites(Lots supposed descendants) were unclean and enemies of Ancient Israel.
@@awkwardukulele6077 they A. Haven’t read it (which is a surprising amount of people), or B. Just look at the world differently than you (can’t explain that lmao)
@@awkwardukulele6077 you can love parts of the Bible (like Jesus' teachings) and still recognize that there's a lot of wrong that happens in it. This kind of logic is like saying "Oh you like Avatar The Last Airbender? So you support brutal imperialism?" No, just because I like Avatar doesn't mean I like the Fire Nation.
Tuesday night, I was telling my daughter (16) how excited I was to see her school in the movie "Paper Towns" (I was just finishing the book, so want to see the film), I recommended "Alaska" to her. She asked if that was the one they were all about banning, and I said that yes, many people wanted to ban it in her district, and I thought she'd really relate to it (I hadn't even remembered "that scene"). She is 16. She has read "Maus" (bless her English teacher! She said 10th grade was a good age to read that). She has read or heard much of the Bible. She is going to enter society and she is going to have to face all of the good and the bad of humanity, and I don't feel that hiding it all until it hits her at 18 (or life hits her at any age without her having thought about it in youth) is really the best answer.
I hope you understand the problems here isn't you exposing your children to these concepts but others doing it without your input. Not everybody's kid is as stable and developed as you portray yours as being.
@@sumduma55 No, that’s not the issue. Nobody is forcing this stuff on kids, and nowhere in her story did she even say that happened. This is a strawman argument. Google that term. The issue is that there are already laws banning obscenity and pornography in schools. You don’t have to worry about anybody forcing those kinds of books on kids in school because those already aren’t allowed in schools. This new law lets any parent have any book removed because of their opinion. Any fragile snowflake of a parent can have any book removed that they think little Jimmy is too precious and innocent to read.
@@Glmorrs1 you are correct, the forcing issue is a strawman. I never said anything about forcing. I said exposing. Huge difference there if you are keeping score. I also said nothing about this law and do not particularly care about it. I think seems your argument exists solely within your own mind. That happens when you activism too much. Furthermore, it is already illegal to make available or transfer obscene materials to persons under the age of 16 (see 18usc1470). Of course obscene is subjective and defined by the Miller test set forth by the supreme court. The wildly blind issues here are that the laws defining child obscenity and making obscene materials available to children have a specific exception for education institutions for sex education. Many of these libraries are using this exception on some of the books to achieve a goal that would get the federal prison time if done outside of the school environment. Whether you think that is right or wrong doesn't matter because the issues here are about other people without your consent. If a guy hanging out at the corner store started talking to a 12 or 14 year old about butt plugs or blow jobs, most parents would be rightfully upset. This is no different. And before you chime in trying to say something I did not mention again to claim I'm pushing strawman fallacies, look up a report published by thr United Nations titled The 8 March Principles for a Human Rights-Based Approach to Criminal Law Proscribing Conduct Associated with Sex -and read where they are saying children can give consent and laws pertaining to statutory rape should reflect that. Parents have a right to be concerned about who is exposing what to their children when they are required by law to send them to state indoctrination camps.
@@sumduma55 And sheltering them from reality is not going to make them any more stable and developed. If anything it's going to have the opposite effect. Banning books to "protect children" is about as counterproductive as putting out fire with gasoline. Not only does it not achieve it's stated goal, but it only serves to make things worse.
@Outlaw you’re purposefully misrepresenting the situation books like these are meant for preteen/teens that are going through puberty and are horny anyway whether you like it or not because that’s just what happens. these books could help these “children” understand themselves and their body and makes them feel less isolated and “dirty” but banning everything even remotely exploring the concept of sexuality does the exact opposite.
@Outlaw If exposed to, you mean "read about" then yes so long as they are healthy depictions? I don't understand this, you want a child to grow up healthy right, so you should want them to have knowledge of integral parts of life, yes? In natural life, children would likely be seeing plenty of other humans having sex and likely would ignore it until puberty hits and suddenly their body treats it as relevant. Genuinely, what do you think is gonna happen if a kid reads even a fully blown sex scene? You know what my guess is "ewww, *flips to next page*." If you're arguing for teens you've already "lost" 90% of them, they have seen porn; anyone who thinks otherwise is delusional.
@@lololulu1238he scene where they lose their virginity to eachother. It says some stuff like “we had some condomy issues” and the main character wrote a note to her boyfriend about how he was one of the few one legged 17 year olds who isn’t a virgin. (He has cancer) It’s all together a great book and I really hope it doesn’t get banned. It’s super wholesome and romancey and that’s the only sex related thing. It goes into a bit of detail of them kissing and undressing eachother though. No details of the sex or anything.
Turning book censorship laws onto the Bible is probably the easiest way to have them appealed shortly after because basically every person who advocates for censorship or book banning is a "hardcore Christian" but the actual Bible contains just about every "reason" to censor or ban a book.
I think its much more important to talk about things than ban them. Even if you disagree completely with them, more information is ALWAYS preferable to less. All because these books exist doesn't mean everyone has to agree with every single thing in em. In fact, There's a REAL benefit to coming across beliefs and concepts you disagree with or are challenged by. Let's talk about it, talk about why the author believes the things they do, talk about why you don't. We need MORE teaching moments. NOT LESS!
WAIT, I'VE BEEN WATCHING YOUR CHANNEL FOR ABOUT A YEAR NOW, AND I NEVER REALIZED, YOU'RE JOHN FUCKING GREEN????? BRO YOU WERE NY INSPIRATION TO START WRITING, I LOVE YOUR BOOKS I'VE READ THEM ALL, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING AN INSPIRATION TO ME!!!!
Oh, I love you! Way to go!(not the not realizing he's John Green, the writing and excitement/enthusiasm. I have a tendency to say sincere things that, sound, or are taken as sarcasm. I don't mean this that way at all.)
It always puts a smile on my face when people start connecting the dots between all the random things John and Hank have done over the past few decades.
OT: Hi John. Just got my first shipment from Awesome Coffee, and the name is right on! I got K cups in the medium roast, and it is some of the best brew I have ever had the pleasure of enjoying. I have a couple of coffee connoisseur friends, and they are going to get bags for their next holiday! Thanks so much for spearheading this effort to help our indigenous brothers and sisters.
There's a book out there called Biology, which has a few indecent parts. Another is called Human Anatomy, which has a lot of indecent pictures and words.
Didn't you hear sexual education of any kind in school is apparently grooming now. Education would simply be Sunday school and creationism if some would have their way.
I've heard there's this book called Anatomy and it literally has drawn pictures of penises and vaginas folks. How can we let our children learn about this stuff!? My kid says they require the class for his nursing degree. Obviously fake science, he shouldn't be exposed to this at all.
Yeah. "If you ban a book I consider important, then I'll ban a book you consider important," may be ironic, but it does not result in a better world. But that's not surprising. That law wasn't passed to make the world a better place. It was passed to allow some people to try to impose their beliefs on others by force of law. Of course it will make the world worse.
I personally am a 6th grader, and I got the fault in our stars, FROM MY SCHOOL LIBRARY. It was in the little library that was in the librarian’s office, and kind of hidden away. BUT STILL THERE!
@@bekfast296 the profit goes to the megarich corporations that profit off of the population's lack of education... such as private prisons, the gambling industry, and many more. It also helps keep certain kinds of people in power by maintaining an uneducated population of constituents who continue to support those people in power
@@thedudeamongmengs2051 Freedom of my religion to dominate your religion... That is a fundamentalists interpretation of the concept, just look at MTG and her Christian Nationalism mixed with perverse Constitutionalism. You have the freedom to say whatever you want... Until I don't like it. No one said it was logical, humans aren't logical ;)
@@WanderingExistence ...I...you do understand that's not freedom, right? Like someone saying you can say whatever you want unless I don't like it and then I'm going to hurt you for it...that's not freedom. It's important to me that you understand that.
When I left my old school because I moved away, my English teacher whose lessons I really loved gave me your book "looking for Alaska" I read it and really enjoyed it. That was 4 years ago. A few months ago I started watching your and Hanks' videos and I had no idea you wrote that!! I didn't connect both John greens in my mind... Anyway I'm so glad I've found you on here and I love everything you do! Can't wait to get my hands on some of those awesome socks 🧦🧦🧦 Have a very nice life and I wish you the best :)
Reminds me how some state accidentally banned straight marriage because they wanted same sex marriage to be illegal again. And how Ireland accidentally made all drugs legal for a day.
Honestly, I think it's more Working As Designed than Unintended Consequences. I mean sure, they weren't seeking specifically to ban the Bible, but it is nigh inconceivable that the people writing such a law didn't understand that someone would try something like this. They just didn't care. They were focused on allowing small groups of people (or individuals) to impose their beliefs on others. That's what the law sounds like it was designed to do.
@Furious Imperator The Ireland one was different, to be fair. That was that someone got off a drug charge by challenging the ligitamcy of the laws, and the court agreed, so all drug laws become null and void for a day until new ones could be passed.
I think the school library censorship laws makes sense for elementary school for like under 12 years old. Like movies, you wouldn't play a PG13 movie to a group a 3rd graders without gaurdians' permission. The laws should also be applied fairly, and yeah as a Christian I agree with the Bible thing. Some chapters and books of the Bible should be covered by parents/responsible figure allowing space for a beneficial discussion appropriate to age level. There is a reason Bethsheaba was a rubber ducky in veggietales. Again I think the law should be applied fairly to all viewpoints (no sexual content whether it be heterosexual or homosexual intimacy within elementary school). [I am pretty sure only strawmen disagree with this one.] With middle school there should be a balance. This gets complicated, but I think this question sums it up: "If there were a movie adaptation would it be rated XXX/R or PG13?" However, high school student literature should never be censored. They need to be prepared for the real world. This is a time where people start figuring out what it means to be human. And books are a safe way to explore these sometimes graphic realities. Maybe you could put (trigger warnings/disclaimers) inside the cover so the student can make educated choices on what they choose to read or pages to skip. Remember high schoolers are a year or two away from living on their own. Plus if your only concern is your high schooler reading books. Pat yourself on the back leagal gaurdian you got yourself a good cookie. Literature puts readers into shoes that aren't their own, and sometimes people learn more about themselves by deciding how they would walk in them.
The book on the ALA banned books list that most surprised me was the dictionary. Evidently parents didn't want children to look up what words they were hearing meant. Being a parent... Wouldn't you want your kids to know what the words mean? Because if they don't know what they mean, they're more likely to say them, I would think. Especially little kids, they're parrots. But if they see it means something yucky that isn't funny (like poop or farts because obviously poop & farts are hilarious) those words lose their interest to them.
Wait I made a joke about that in this comment section, are you kidding me, they're really going that far???? Omfg I was being totally sarcastic, I didn't know that was so close to the truth
@@riaruame6183 (The dictionary was from a previous list. The American Library Association keeps track of all censoring attempts they're notified about, and they post the lists and noted reasons why.)
Parental guidance ratings need to be out for printed media. That parent did awesome, showing that this is an actual issue bigger than a particular moral side.
Current Utah high school student and... yeah. It's downright dystopian how much moral panic people feel about what kids are being taught in schools. Parents make up stories in their heads about their kids being taught critical race theory, human biology, or heaven forbid how to think for themselves, and then they lead a witch hunt to stop it. All of my teachers joke about getting fired for the smallest things, because the parents are so paranoid and ruthless. We're also the state with one of, if not the lowest spending on education per child, so no, we're not being indoctrinated in class. We're barely learning the curriculum because the teachers don't get paid enough to care. It's an absolute nightmare to deal with.
the bible has no place near children. its full of disgusting vile stories of gross incest. manipulation. and genocides far far worst than any genocide hilter or any other human did
I remember being in a lecture with a Supreme Court librarian. SCOTUS was hearing a case regarding internet porn resricted as obscenity, so the librarians had commissioned a specialized search engine that cross-referenced any searched term with porn. To demonstrate for the Justices, the librarian typed in "carrot" and hit enter. Sandra Day O'Connor saw the results, said "oh my" and left.
Yes. Children shouldn't be openly exposed to indecent content. It's one thing when the content is curated and dissected in a classroom setting. However, we all have a mutual understanding that some media just isn't okay for kids to consume. Where we draw the line is always different of course. I think this applies to the Bible too. I'll suppliment with an anecdote. My family historically did not go to church very often, if ever. However, one Easter Sunday morning, my cousins, their parents, my parents, my siblings, and I all went to church. This church had a dedicated "kids area" where they would teach the Bible in a way thay was more kid friendly so the adults could focus on the sermon. However, that day, they were showing an Easter film about the crucifixion of Christ. It was pretty graphic, and while my one cousin ans I were old enough to handle it (though we were a little unnerved), each of our younger brothers were far too young for that content. As were many of the other kids in attendance thay day. It was pretty difficult to handle these two kids who couldn't grasp what was happening on screen. I don't think we ever went back there. So yes, it's perfectly OK to say some parts of the Bible or other religious media are too graphic for children. The same is true for other secular media. I think it's okay if the state doesn't want state-funded school libraries to provide those materials to children with no adult guidance. To say otherwise is to permit all content regardless of its obscenity, consequences be damned. Remember that a lot of these restrictions happen because children complain to their parents and schools don't do enough to self-regulate the content of their libraries or curriculum when the issues are brought to their attention. Nobody wants the state to have to step in, but nobody else is doing anything about it. It's sad to see that the ban hammer is so wide sweeping, but that's what happens when the state is forced to get involved.
"Children" is a pretty broad range of ages. Sure an 8 year old doesn't need to read Finding Alaska, but an 8 year old also isn't going to pick up and read Finding Alaska. But a middle schooler or highschooler is definitely in the age range and maturity to read a book like that
It still baffles me that our teacher read the old testament to us in 2nd grade. It wasn't a religious school or anything, she just picked it as our regular reading break book.
Forbidden fruits always taste the sweetest. In high school my mom was SO against us listening to Eminem so any time there was nobody around I was blasting the Em CDs I secretly had in the house. I probably wouldn’t have even cared so much for Eminem because I’m much more into metal (it was classic rock back in high school) but because it was such a forbidden thing in our “good Christian household” I basically HAD to buy it and listen to it. It felt like breaking the law and I loved that rebellious feeling
As a Christian and an aspiring author, I can fully admit that the Bible is rated R and that doesn't bother me. History and the human experience are rated R. Now, at the same time when I write I do want to avoid being indulgent bc I am trying to actively practice my faith while still trying to write the authentic human experience.
YOUR JOHN GREEN!!??!?!? I'VE BEEN WATCHING YOU FOR A WHILE (AND) READING THE EXACT BOOKS YOU MENTIONED... AND I HAD NO CLUE!!!! I LOVE YOUR BOOKS! YOUR AN AMAZING WRITER!!! IM SPEACHLESS!
The good thing about face eating leopards is that sometimes you can guide them to eat the face of those who released them into the world. Like a cat following a laser point, but way more metal.
Any time I've seen aforementioned "indecent" content in books, it's there to evoke an emotion or convey some deeper meaning. If someone just sees it as indecent, I think they have just revealed how little imagination they possess.
As an athiest, I think everyone should have an equal opportunity to learn about and practice religion. Regardless of how the universe was truly created, it has just had too much impact on our species in every stage of our sapience, and it will continue to do so for the rest of our lives and into the future beyond. I don't believe in god, but I believe in the humans that were cultivated by belief. Banning books, especially those with enormous cultural significance, is a crime against our rights as a creative and intelligent species. I say this as a minor myself: knowledge, whether explicit or recreational, has a place in the minds of the youth as we grow into the world built upon it.
I bought Looking for Alaska in solidarity and just finished it... I cried, I laughed, it made me reflect on love, desire, faith and grief. Why would't you want to initiate that kind of reflection in the mind of your teenager ? Thank you for another great book John Green 💚
If only there were other, better media that teens enjoyed, like cartoons that show healthy relationships between two happy people... Oh well! Seems like they're gonna miss out on the good stuff, like The Owl Hose, Gravity Falls, and Amphibia...
@@Salt_Master_Queue all great shows. I also thought Steven Universe did a decent job covering a variety of relationships too, most romantic but a couple familial. pointing out bad ones from good ones. Infinity Train was a good ride too, imo.
Saw Hungry Hungry Caterpillar in my local library and I nearly tore off my shirt in rage at the very obvious sin of gluttony being paraded about for our children
Looking for Alaska messed me up in highschool. About halfway through the book reminded me of a friend who had a very similar thing happen to them and I was pretty depressed back then. I won’t spoil it, but I highly recommend reading it for yourselves
Ughhhhh. I'm a parent who lives in Utah, and I'm so frustrated with all of this. So I make sure that my kids have the chance to read and watch the stuff that other parents flip out over (age appropriate, don't worry. 🤣). Three things I've heard parents complain about that we're really enjoying right now are the Captain Underpants books, My Little Pony (this one is controversial, because I have three little boys), and The Mitchell's vs. The Machines.
People have a problem with captain underpants?! Wtf I loved those books as a kid they are probably the biggest reason why I love to read and got into drawing.
Straight Christian male here, I started watching My Little pony with my niece when she was real little.. I finished the series without her 🤣 I absolutely loved that show
@@trickster562 Those books have routinely been on the top banned kids books lists since they started. Usually for reasons like "showing/encouraging disrespect of authority" and "obscene humor" (aka bathroom jokes and the word "underpants")
I live in Utah and I’ve always loved coming of age and realistic fiction stories but a lot of them have content about sexual exploration because well- that’s when most people start that stuff. Anway- my English teacher keeps the books that have been banned for “indecent content” hidden in his room. If you come early he lets you check them out- it’s a little risky on weather or not they get returned because he obviously can’t track that their being checked out and by who. Its really nice to still be able to access those banned books though.
I was going to ask what school but then I realized I might be mistaken for a book narc rather than someone who hopes that a stand-up guy like that teacher lives in my hometown!
To be clear if you hand an iPhone to a six year old they’ll discover porn in between 1 to 2 years time. Your basically expecting for fundamental truths of nature to go undiscovered from a creature at a life stage primed for curiosity and learning. If a kid asks where babies come from he’s gonna find out eventually. Whether it’s from you, from a book, from someone else, or from the internet typically between age 8-12.
Not all parents let their children have access to internet or phones. Print only books is the only form of media without parental guidance regulations. You're allowed to raise your child how you see fit.
When I was 10 or 11 (early 90s) my friend found someone's porn stash that they had hidden in the woods. We got our sex education pretty early that warm Saturday morning.
I know this is petty, but it's a pet peeve of mine, so please do forgive me. I could just not say it, but I've met enough people that genuinely don't know, and I like to say it just in case. Duct tape.
@@Malkontent1003 it honestly threw me off as I know it’s tape made for ductwork, but by like the fifth time it corrected to something weird, I just shrugged it off as another nonsense English word my brain had misremembered to make more sense. I must have been trying to make it one word like ductwork.
@@katelynnehansen8115 Quite possibly, I dunno. But yeah, it's duct, as in pipework. That's what the intended use for it is, after all. To be fair, there IS a brand called "Duck Tape" but that's a specific brand designed because people kept saying it instead of the actual name. Also, feel free to call it whatever's best for you, I just tell people in case they don't already know.
I’m sure that anyone and everyone could find something that offends them amongst the books in the library. They will end up with nothing but empty shelves. I’m thinking that some malicious compliance is in order. As you said - play stupid games, win stupid prizes.
![Lp. Сердце Вселенной #1 НАЧАЛО ПУТЕШЕСТВИЯ [Новый сезон] • Майнкрафт](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/380Q7gLWGvk/mqdefault.jpg)
"We are Not a particularly decent species."
this man is enlightened
Did they forget what they did to make them parents in the first place?
I would say we're pretty fucking decent compared to the wild animals that just fuck every female they find with no warning.
I was just about to say something to this effect. lol.
Yep lots of sex, violence, swears, farts and poops!
I mean to be fair most species aren’t very “decent” either. If anything we’re one of the more decent species
i read the lord of the flies when i was 13 and didn’t murder all of my friends so that’s something
When I was in high school we read “To kill a mockingbird” and we were even allowed to say the N word, hard R too
N word is in Lord of the flies as well
Me too, but that book actually gave me nightmares. Woops.
And they rape a dead pig
You’re a ticking time bomb, it’ll happen one day. Better warn all you’re friends
"Get all this indecent stuff out of school libraries."
"What about this indecent book?"
"No, no, not that one. We like that one."
Oh no, they did ban it 😊 props to utah for actually going through with the law
They then were able to rescind somewhat (i dont know the details) after this proved how dumb a law it was
You mean, "No, no, not that one. We like that one, even though we have never read it."
@@scarlettefoxx5585it's going back on the self😢
@@neilbradleyfor real, every person I know who has read the book in full, has left Christianity, myself included. I read it three times as a kid because they always said do your daily bible readings. I guess what they meant was “read like one single line of the book each day, ideally the same one all week or whatever last Sundays sermon was about.” The first time I finished I started having private conversations with my youth pastor about how I was pretty sure I was going to hell and basically “how do avoid going to hell”, they’d walk me through it and send me on my way the second time I read it I was hoping it would just “click” differently for me, and the third time I was rigorously searching for answers to specific questions I had that needed to be addressed and which no adult could answer to my satisfaction. I actually really tried to believe, but it turns out if you actually read the thing, especially with any level of rigor, you can’t possibly believe in it anymore.
gamzee pfp spotted
People just don’t recognize how much easier it is to deal with indecency in a story BEFORE you have to see it in real life. That is frequently the point of storytelling. Whether it’s villainous behavior or it’s more of a “yeah, realistically at some point you may be interested in this.”
Just wait until a parent discoveres the dictionary. It has a ton of indecency, it defines various indecent things with startling clarity.
Like cult, indoctrination, criticism and reformation.
My mom gave me a pocket dictionary to take to school. It was a student dictionary, so it didn’t have inappropriate words in it. One day, I took a look in the classroom dictionary and saw that it contained such words, so I began looking up obscene words in the classroom dictionary when I got bored.
@@rowan404 at least it got you reading and learning new things? 😂
Democrats are SO angry that they can't show porn to kids 😂😂
It's really crazy how quickly they've come out and admitted that they are all pedophiles
@Rowan404 hahaha seriously that was my sex ed in middle school, looking up words 😂
As a kid, I opened the Bible randomly one day to the story of Lot (I think?) and his daughters. And that's how I learned about incest and unconsensual sex at the tender age of 10.
What! Same here not sure about the age but iI was YOUNG and It was not a great experience at ALL
Yeah I read that story in second grade The first time I started seriously trying to read through my bible, and let me tell you at 8 I was way to young to understand any of that story and honestly I am glad I didn't quite get it because now I do I really wish my younger self hadn't been subjected to reading it
Daaaamn that's fucked up
Yeah it is so messed up
Yep, it's Lot and his daughters
Honestly the true obscenity in Looking for Alaska is that one guy that kept freestyle rapping
Why would you put me through that John
Thanks for reminding me...
I remember sleeping beauty was sheltered by her father. He removed all spindles from the state so that his daughter would never land upon one and be cursed by it. But that is exactly what bit him in the ass, aurora- her daughter became too curious and eventually landed with a spindle and pricked her finger.
So yeah, the more you shelter your children and hide they away from realities in life the more curious they become and curiosity kills the cat ...
and aurora.
I live in Utah and I’m even religious but it’s so funny to watch them accidentally ban the Book of Mormon and the Bible I’ve never laughed so hard
As someone else who is religious and living in Utah, I concur.
I’ll third all of this.
Finally we can get these FILTHY BOOKS away from our PRECIOUS CHILDREN
It's such a prime example of the "it hurt itself in its confusion" type of scenario.
@@andrester88 it was a critical hit
In my experience the more you shelter kids the more tempted they are when they leave the home to go overboard with things.
Yeah repression always leads to the most fucked up and depraved behaviour later on as the pendulum swings too far the other direction.
The more extremes that Christians get up to when trying to keep their kids away from the world, the more they guarantee problems for themselves and their kids.
And if they don't intentionally go overboard, they're overwhelmed by how different adulthood is from childhood and end up traumatized.
I feel like the more you shelter kids the more likely they won't be able to cope with hard things and the more likely they are to put themselves in harms way because they are simply ignorant
@@dolfuny This is true but it also means the indoctrination becomes like a crystal. Tough unless struck at the right angle, shattering completely.
And the results are never what the programmers, eg overprotective parents, want.
I'm christian too and that was also my first thought.... The bible has sa, cheating/adultery, a whole fan fic/love poem (songs of Solomon- iykyk 😭), and so many other things that would be considered vulgar or obscene if it were in another book... People just love to pick and choose🙃
i’ve always thought it’s funny when christians are all anti-sex when the song of solomon is RIGHT THERE. i don’t care what metaphors you see in it, that’s 1000% ancient porn
"When Dr. Samuel Johnson had completed the first real dictionary of the English language, he was visited by a delegation of respectable old ladies who wished to congratulate him for not including any indecent words. His response - which was that he was interested to see that the ladies had been looking them up - contains almost all that needs to be said on this point.” - Christopher Hitchens
Democrats are SO angry that they can't show porn to kids 😂😂
It's really crazy how quickly they've come out and admitted that they are all pedophiles
I didn't even think about the fact they'd have to ban the dictionary. That's hilarious.
@Lol okay There we’re already laws about pornography and obscenity, the difference is this law allows any parent to have any book removed because that particular parent found the book obscene. In those other laws, the work had to be shown to be obscene or pornographic by the standard Miller test as set by the Supreme Court.
Again, the difference here is that ANY parent can have ANY book removed from a school because of that single parent’s OPINION on a book.
And buddy, let me tell you, I was half raised by a fundamentalist evangelical Christian, I can find ways for almost anything and everything to be considered obscene. I could get damn bear every book in every school removed with just a little creative thinking.
@Darkness My parents were the same..
HARDCORE.
I was homeschooled and lived on a "compound" in the foothills of Mt. Ranier.... so I get it.
It's pretty amusing remembering the mental gymnastics my parents went through to justify some stuff but condemn the others.
Lord of the Rings= Good because of some tenuous God connection.
Harry Potter= From Satan Himself.
I'm 32, so this was before the internet was everywhere, did you get the "You can only buy music CDs from the Christian Bookstore" treatment?
Veggie Tales, Carmen, BIBLE MAN!!!
Haven't thought of freakin Bible man in years!!!! Hah!
@Lol okay That is the point Hitchens was making: that, even if you're publishing a dictionary, there will be those determined to find something offensive in it... that in order for this delegation of women to have concluded that there were no obscenities, they would have had to be well versed in them and taken the time to intentionally search for them.
This applies with all books. When given the opportunity to ban something because it 'offends someone', people with take that opportunity and use it.
"I'm offended" ....isn't an argument. It's a whine. "that's offensive" should be responded to with the phrase "...I'm still waiting to hear your point." Saying "I find that offensive" is saying "that hurt my feelings".
That is the point being made. offensive ≠ insulting. What I mean is:
When your sense of smell is in discomfort due to an offensive odor, do you [not you personally, but 'you' as in 'any person'] feel personally insulted by that odor? Propane, for example, is odorless so they add an odor to it as a warning to people that propane is in the area. I find that odor to be an offensive on. Is that a sound argument for the banning of that or any odor?
Utah: Our air is poisonous but at least we are afraid of Children’s books
As a person who lives here, I can confirm
Don’t forget teenage suicide that’s another one of the things we don’t fix yet heaven forbid sex exist.
Wait what
I am passing through Salt Lake city tomorrow to catch a plane, what do you mean poisonous air???
@@Coco-hq6ns "Teenage suicide" is near the top of the conservative agenda, just under "destroying the climate"
@@ezachleewright2309 there was a chemical spill which three state tried to cover up, until they were exposed on the news, after the gases had already reached people. It was a little while back.
Going to some National parks in Utah this summer, thanks for the tip John you reminded me that I need to add a “I read banned books” shirt to my packing list
Perfect!
There also seems to be a coalescing group of people who are making reservations for campgrounds, and then canceling their reservations with a note about not supporting states with book bans.
I think wearing the "I read banned books" t-shirts is more effective.
But you don't read every banned book, just the ones you think were silly to ban. There are some legitimate books that should actually be banned
EDIT: I specifically mean from schools. I think every book should be obtainable by people who want them, even things like Mein Kampf or how to make nuclear weapons
It’s so interesting how hank and john have such similar rhetorical mannerisms and humor. Their parents mustve been great people
It took me an unreasonable amount of time to realize John wasn’t just Hank with a beard
Friend of mine had his son's school get a few books pulled for describing kids experimenting sexually, with the argument (at the school board town-hall-like meeting) being "this will lead children down the path towards being a mother at 15" and so he said "then any book that depicts a child having any sexual thoughts or experiences, or otherwise showing sex and/or parenthood for someone younger than 18 should be banned? Is that a good generalization to make?", which is pretty much the wording the board decided on. He then pulled out a copy of the bible and said "So I have this book here, borrowed from the school library, where much of the story is centered around a man whose mother was somewhere between the age of 12 and 15 when she gave birth to him, and the rest of the book heavily glorifies that man's father. I move to ban this book and all of its teachings from this school under the new rules" which got several people on the board to support the ban... until they actually saw what book it was.
Plus wouldn’t this also ban all sexual health books? Teenagers need to know what’s going on with their bodies
@@Inevitably_Invisible ofc it would and ofc they don't care...
I LOVE THIS. The bible is just as vile a book as so many important books people seem to want censored. Sometimes I wonder if people will ever stop being so outrageous.
@@JesusisKing134 while it is true that Mary's age is never said she is introduced as a young woman and for the time period that the bible was from that age description is really young. There are scholars who have estimated that Mary would have been approximately 14-16 years old when she got pregnant with Jesus
@@elibunches6044 LOL
I didn't necessarily mean the bible is "vile", I'm comparing it to other books that people seem to be complaining about which aren't that bad.
~~but if you think the bible is completely innocent, check out Deuteronomy 22:22-24 and Genesis 22. those are definitely vile.~~
Shit, I honestly did not realize this guy wrote a fault in our stars, I’ve been watching this guy for a year now
The amount of people who didn’t know this was Acclaimed Author John Green under this video is genuinely hilarious
I didn't either until he started talking about it in one of his videos. And I was like... No way! I follow this dude for his awesome history facts and knowledge and turns out he's an acclaimed author and brother to Hank Green the scientist I followed randomly for his science stuff.
Bruh i had no idea either. I really enjoyed that book
@@amycox5733 some people forget author names, I don’t read the authors name. I recognize the authors vibe.
I’m not a fan of “Steven king” I’m a fan of “90s horror cover art surprisingly good, inside of book surprisingly disturbing”
I’m not a fan of Rick Rordian, im a fan of
“Vaguely queer magical children, get beat up by mythology.”
We are not the same.
Same
I'm so glad I live in a place where I can go to my library and there's a literal section for romance... Sure, don't allow books within decency to be in your grade school library, but it gets to a point where once you're in high school you have to realize these kids have the internet. Just the fact that they're willing to pick up a book you should be happy about. EDIT: and when I say romance I mean complete smut.
This isn't the best argument. Just because minors can get porn on the internet doesn't mean we should be supplying it to them on purpose. If they get it on the internet, so be it, I guess, there's nothing I can do about that, but I would rather not have people buying it and putting it in schools for kids to have access to
@@Ryan-is-mething is no one is forcing them to read those books, teenagers just love reading it on their own.
Yeah I honestly doubt most of the kids at my library even cared to look at what books my highschool's library had on its shelves, let alone actually read them. I get not putting books that arent age appropriate into school libraries but I've never seen a 4th grade reading level smut book, they arent picture books. Book banning really has become banning which books we disagree with. These people are acting like they're in an fricken HOA for Gods sake.
People have banned a ridiculous list of books. These books are designed to entertain people and in some cases prepare them for the real world, and the real world is a messy place. Banning books that educate people on topics that are considered taboo or indecent makes it easier for children to google it and find out in a more dangerous environment.
"Wait, it's all porn?!"
*cocks gun* "It always has been"
Please tell me that that irony was intentional, if so you forever have my love and respect
@@bowntie9044 Irony? It's a reference to the astronauts meme.
I'm not even sure if you're using irony right,.even under the new definition
@@LegendStormcrow cocks
@@LegendStormcrow yeah I’m wondering where the irony is
you guys must be really innocent to not see the irony
In times like this, I take solace in the late Kurt Vonnegut's famous letter to a school in North Dakota that burned his masterpiece Slaughterhouse Five, where he says,
"If you were to bother to read my books, to behave as educated persons would, you would learn that they are not
sexy, and do not argue in favor of wildness of any kind. They beg that people be kinder and more responsible
than they often are. It is true that some of the characters speak coarsely. That is because people speak coarsely
in real life. Especially soldiers and hardworking men speak coarsely, and even our most sheltered children
know that. And we all know, too, that those words really don’t damage children much. They didn’t damage us
when we were young. It was evil deeds and lying that hurt us."
I was wondering if anyone would mention Kurt Vonnegut. I remember reading a decent bit of his works during high school, and quite a few have very evocative or 'indecent' imagery or events (not all sexual, but definitely some are). But his writing is meant to focus on the human condition, and oppression, and show what we need to avoid so we can be better than the people in those books and short stories.
So, in short, I think it a real shame that some kids won't be able to have him in their curriculum or school libraries.
I’m rereading Slaughterhouse Five right now it’s one of my favorites, that man was an absolute treasure. I wish more people were like him
@@RockFilmsInc That book wrecked me and put me back together again piece by piece.
I just started reading slaughterhouse 5 after reading Breakfast of Champions. What an odd coincidence. I can absolutely understand people reacting strongly to his books. But they're really great mirrors for society and should never be banned
@@gabbythegreat4962 There's a difference between books being removed from school libraries and removing books from public libraries. Although, granted, a child should have to go looking for this stuff versus it being shelved in the kids' area. A more mature child that imbibes more mature reading material will find it if they so desire even it's shelved where it belongs in the adult section.
The concern here is parents questioning what's being allowed in their child's life without their consent before the child is at the age of consent.
If a parent wants to allow their child to read some of these books, more power to them; they can have/allow their child to check them out at the public library or buy them for their child. Nobody is complaining about that. But to have this stuff available for the child to read without parental consent isn't ok.
Hey how about, if you don't want your child to read a certain book don't let them borrow it
Looking for Alaska was the first ever book that emotionally broke me.
I was just a lil teen on Holiday with the parents, and was reading it one night when /it/ happened.
Dude I threw the book across the room...
They hurt themselves in their confusion 🥺
Nice pokemon reference 😂
😂😂
Beautiful 😂
Utah uses ban.
Utah is confused.
Utah has hurt itself in its confusion.
I heard a discussion on this where the parent in favor of book bans was saying they wanted to know what their kids were reading. Instead of trying to ban books, how about you just put yourself in a position to be able to talk to your kid?
What? Personal responsibility before authoritarian measures? Crazy
@@heinshaaine8153 assault weapons require “personal responsibility and NO BANS AT ALL HOW DARE YOU REEEEEEEE”
However, children’s books require “government intervention to protect our children and BAN ALL THE BOOKS!”
"How about you just put yourself in a position to be able to talk to your kid".. How? By reading the books? Bold of you to assume that literacy is a trait of theirs.
@@NorthernRealmJackal That comment is funny, but they don’t even need literacy. They could instead rely on literacy of an actual source (not the grapevine or sensational media), but then they’d need some semblance of reason and discretion, which I think got hucked into the bin decades ago.
@@NorthernRealmJackal maybe they could find a drag queen willing to read it to them...oh wait. Damn those burned bridges!
Hey John...
I'm a new writer (even if I say I was born one), and I just finished your book, The Fault In Our Stars. I couldn't help but feel amazed at the talent of your narration. I don't assume this is the first time you hear this, but I have to admit it and I felt the need to tell you. It was amazing work. I loved it. I cried my eyes out. (Really, I almost felt like Isaac for a second). THANK YOU for having published this!!!!!
(Also, your point in the video is correct)
It’s funny because in my opinion as a teacher it’s those same parents who give their kids a smart phone by the time they get in middle school and put no restrictions whatsoever on their internet use.
Damn, every book I was REQUIRED to read in school would've been banned. Like, every. From fourth grade onwards. Especially the really "classic" ones.
That’s because the books were supposed to help you grow, not encourage you to remain a child.
Right. The Color Purple, The Catcher in the Rye, and Huckleberry Finn off the top of my head are some books that were banned that we studied.
Hell even Anne Frank would/has been banned for that reason
No scarlet letter
That's the point. Republicans want you to keep your mind closed.
that law about banning "indecent" content is going to backfire furiously because kids are naturally curious. if they don't find information about sex in books they will find it elsewhere, somewhere potentially more dangerous
This is also why incest is more common in religious states
Hey! That’s what happened to me!
Probably with climing SA rates.
My sex ed was taught by Google... and it was more informative than a school teacher or parent ever could be I know more about a woman's body than a sad number of women, I know more about the males body than a sad number of men... before I went looking for a sexual education the most indecent thing I read was in the bible, and really you can take your pick of which indecent thing was the most indecent.
@@letshavefun1015 Kentucky, Maine, Delaware, Virginia, Maryland, Washington, Georgia, Oregon, Indiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina, West Virginia, Montana, Alabama, and South Dakota. those are the states with the most amount of incest. Strangely enough when the state is either too blue or too red the incest rate spikes.
John won the Internet on this day!! Congrats 🎉 🎊
i've been watching his shorts without even knowing he's an author
This might be the best use of the phrase "play stupid games, get stupid prizes" I've even encountered.
💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯🔥🔥🔥
Kids bibles buddy 🎉
@@ellatignor3250nah, kids bibles still have the actual text, they just have fun pictures sometimes. if they Dont have the text, its not a bible
I’m convinced this country is surviving off of teen/unwanted pregnancies
I was a teenager in Utah, a Mormon at that, when I read Looking for Alaska. I was honestly a little taken aback myself by the "indecent" content in that novel. In hindsight, I realize how much of a weird, unhealthy bubble I lived in. I now appreciate that the book gave me a glimpse into what a normal, unrepressed teenager looks like.
"I was a teenager in Utah, a Mormon at that" Do you have the slightest idea how little that narrows it down?
@@derpatel9760 yeah i don't think the point of them saying that was to narrow anything down
You mean a cult
@@HeterosexuaI the phrase “(quote), do you know how little that narrows it down?” Specifically is a pretty popular / well known line, the person replying didn’t actually reply with the perception that it was relevant or important when they made the joke that “pretty much everyone in Utah is Mormon”.
TLDR: the reply used a popular punchline for a joke to poke fun, they didn’t actually think it was important.
Hope that clears it up 👍
@@snek723 It was a bad joke that didn't really work. Hope that helps.
I’m very happy my English teacher had us read looking for Alaska when I was 18 because it was the first time a book connected so much with my life. Though for me it was looking for my best friend. After his death I was lost and depressed unsure of what to do with my life just wanting to see him again. That book started me on my journey of getting help and being able to live again. Now I’m about to be getting my CDL and doing something he and I always dreamed of. So thank you.
sometimes i forget youre an author and not just Hank Green's brother
I'm a Christian. I got annoyed that my mom was always scolding us and my dad if a movie or series we watched had any form of violence or warfare. She stopped when I pointed out that the Bible movies she loved had lots of warfare and killing, if she really wants to get rid of the violent movies, we need to get rid of those too
Good argument
Thou shall not murder does not mean don't defend yourself or to kill people in war luckily.
Considering the Bible details incidents of incest, rape, adultery, child murder, outright genocide, and a host of other less savory things, most of the Biblical movies have tried to gloss over that. But the book? Oh my.
@@DaBlaccGhost blindly killing in war for someone else's cause does not count as self defense. I'm not religious but I'm damn sure I'll answer for the shit I've done in some way. Act accordingly.
Well depends on the "Violence". Violence can be portrayed completely differently. Tom and Jerry constantly perform attempted manslaughter on each other, but they are cartoons and the way they are presented isn't violent compared to the real word. The execution of the violence and it's context is what will make sometime unsettling or even impact someone's mind.
There was one time my dad was reading the Bible on his phone and his wife asked what he was reading. He responded “oh, some guy dismembered this woman into 12 pieces.” Anyway. Now as a parent, I read to my own kids and I try not to shelter them too much. They need to know that humanity is dark and sex exists. But humans have this incredible amount of hope and ability to love. Let’s talk about real human things and teach our kids to be kind and compassionate because this world is dark and we need more light
"Oh it's nothing bad honey, some guy just forced himself upon his preteen daughters"
@@CaTastrophy427 don’t forget the “heroes” of the Sodom and Gomorrah story, where the preteen daughters force themselves on their father. That’s indecent even by Game of Thrones standards.
Side note, how the f*ck are the people who love *this book* of all things, the ones who get the most upset by “indecent books?”
@@CaTastrophy427 Thats weird way to view the story of Lot's Daughters.
Considering how rape is depicted throughout the Bible, I think it's safe to either assume that's not what happened, or a different explanation occurred.
Either you believe the scriptures, or the best use of Occams Razor concludes that 5th century Jews, captive in Babylon needed to make an excuse why Ammonites and Moabites(Lots supposed descendants) were unclean and enemies of Ancient Israel.
@@awkwardukulele6077 they A. Haven’t read it (which is a surprising amount of people), or B. Just look at the world differently than you (can’t explain that lmao)
@@awkwardukulele6077 you can love parts of the Bible (like Jesus' teachings) and still recognize that there's a lot of wrong that happens in it. This kind of logic is like saying "Oh you like Avatar The Last Airbender? So you support brutal imperialism?" No, just because I like Avatar doesn't mean I like the Fire Nation.
this is so crazy to me. in middle school, the fault in our stars was never rentable from the middle school library because EVERYONE wanted to read it.
Bro i had no clue you wrote A Fault In Our Stars, genuinely one of my favorite books!
Tuesday night, I was telling my daughter (16) how excited I was to see her school in the movie "Paper Towns" (I was just finishing the book, so want to see the film), I recommended "Alaska" to her. She asked if that was the one they were all about banning, and I said that yes, many people wanted to ban it in her district, and I thought she'd really relate to it (I hadn't even remembered "that scene"). She is 16. She has read "Maus" (bless her English teacher! She said 10th grade was a good age to read that). She has read or heard much of the Bible. She is going to enter society and she is going to have to face all of the good and the bad of humanity, and I don't feel that hiding it all until it hits her at 18 (or life hits her at any age without her having thought about it in youth) is really the best answer.
I hope you understand the problems here isn't you exposing your children to these concepts but others doing it without your input. Not everybody's kid is as stable and developed as you portray yours as being.
@@sumduma55 No, that’s not the issue. Nobody is forcing this stuff on kids, and nowhere in her story did she even say that happened. This is a strawman argument. Google that term.
The issue is that there are already laws banning obscenity and pornography in schools. You don’t have to worry about anybody forcing those kinds of books on kids in school because those already aren’t allowed in schools.
This new law lets any parent have any book removed because of their opinion. Any fragile snowflake of a parent can have any book removed that they think little Jimmy is too precious and innocent to read.
@@Glmorrs1 you are correct, the forcing issue is a strawman. I never said anything about forcing. I said exposing. Huge difference there if you are keeping score.
I also said nothing about this law and do not particularly care about it. I think seems your argument exists solely within your own mind. That happens when you activism too much.
Furthermore, it is already illegal to make available or transfer obscene materials to persons under the age of 16 (see 18usc1470). Of course obscene is subjective and defined by the Miller test set forth by the supreme court.
The wildly blind issues here are that the laws defining child obscenity and making obscene materials available to children have a specific exception for education institutions for sex education. Many of these libraries are using this exception on some of the books to achieve a goal that would get the federal prison time if done outside of the school environment. Whether you think that is right or wrong doesn't matter because the issues here are about other people without your consent. If a guy hanging out at the corner store started talking to a 12 or 14 year old about butt plugs or blow jobs, most parents would be rightfully upset. This is no different.
And before you chime in trying to say something I did not mention again to claim I'm pushing strawman fallacies, look up a report published by thr United Nations titled The 8 March Principles for a Human Rights-Based Approach to Criminal Law Proscribing Conduct Associated with Sex -and read where they are saying children can give consent and laws pertaining to statutory rape should reflect that. Parents have a right to be concerned about who is exposing what to their children when they are required by law to send them to state indoctrination camps.
@@Glmorrs1 your right no need to worry because nobody has ever done anything that "wasn't allowed" lol
@@sumduma55 And sheltering them from reality is not going to make them any more stable and developed. If anything it's going to have the opposite effect.
Banning books to "protect children" is about as counterproductive as putting out fire with gasoline. Not only does it not achieve it's stated goal, but it only serves to make things worse.
it’s like they all collectively decided to forget how insanely horny humans are and have always been
Christianity has always done that. They see humans above animals, not part of them. Big reason why we are completely destroying the planet today...
@Outlaw I mean we all know that repressing that knowledge does way more harm than good so 🤷♀️
@Outlaw you’re purposefully misrepresenting the situation
books like these are meant for preteen/teens that are going through puberty and are horny anyway whether you like it or not because that’s just what happens. these books could help these “children” understand themselves and their body and makes them feel less isolated and “dirty” but banning everything even remotely exploring the concept of sexuality does the exact opposite.
@Outlaw If exposed to, you mean "read about" then yes so long as they are healthy depictions? I don't understand this, you want a child to grow up healthy right, so you should want them to have knowledge of integral parts of life, yes?
In natural life, children would likely be seeing plenty of other humans having sex and likely would ignore it until puberty hits and suddenly their body treats it as relevant.
Genuinely, what do you think is gonna happen if a kid reads even a fully blown sex scene? You know what my guess is "ewww, *flips to next page*."
If you're arguing for teens you've already "lost" 90% of them, they have seen porn; anyone who thinks otherwise is delusional.
@@boskeep1 "books like these" books like what? Like John's young adult novels? Those aren't meant for teens? I dunno man
The same people complain about public schools, not teaching you about real life
Of all the slopes, banning books has to be one of the slipperiest
i love malicious compliance
always
I just finished the fault in our stars. If people think that one scene is pornographic, that says a lot more about them than the book.
I haven’t read it, what scene?
@@lololulu1238he scene where they lose their virginity to eachother. It says some stuff like “we had some condomy issues” and the main character wrote a note to her boyfriend about how he was one of the few one legged 17 year olds who isn’t a virgin. (He has cancer) It’s all together a great book and I really hope it doesn’t get banned. It’s super wholesome and romancey and that’s the only sex related thing. It goes into a bit of detail of them kissing and undressing eachother though. No details of the sex or anything.
@@Meilio69Looking for Alaska has a fairly graphic scene about fellatio that doesn't really serve a purpose contextually to the story
@@jb31969 ah ok
Some people are just prudish, aren’t they? If they saw a penis, they’d probably have a stroke.
I love how both John and Hank do that hair thing when they grab their hair and scratch their heads it's so cool
Turning book censorship laws onto the Bible is probably the easiest way to have them appealed shortly after because basically every person who advocates for censorship or book banning is a "hardcore Christian" but the actual Bible contains just about every "reason" to censor or ban a book.
I think its much more important to talk about things than ban them. Even if you disagree completely with them, more information is ALWAYS preferable to less.
All because these books exist doesn't mean everyone has to agree with every single thing in em.
In fact,
There's a REAL benefit to coming across beliefs and concepts you disagree with or are challenged by. Let's talk about it, talk about why the author believes the things they do, talk about why you don't.
We need MORE teaching moments. NOT LESS!
WAIT, I'VE BEEN WATCHING YOUR CHANNEL FOR ABOUT A YEAR NOW, AND I NEVER REALIZED, YOU'RE JOHN FUCKING GREEN????? BRO YOU WERE NY INSPIRATION TO START WRITING, I LOVE YOUR BOOKS I'VE READ THEM ALL, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING AN INSPIRATION TO ME!!!!
Oh, I love you! Way to go!(not the not realizing he's John Green, the writing and excitement/enthusiasm. I have a tendency to say sincere things that, sound, or are taken as sarcasm. I don't mean this that way at all.)
It always puts a smile on my face when people start connecting the dots between all the random things John and Hank have done over the past few decades.
@@hoodiesticks They’ve really both respectively done way more than one guy needs to.
I mean, he's A John Green, but is he THAT John Green? 🧐
@@s.f.nightingale1735 (same!)
OT: Hi John. Just got my first shipment from Awesome Coffee, and the name is right on! I got K cups in the medium roast, and it is some of the best brew I have ever had the pleasure of enjoying. I have a couple of coffee connoisseur friends, and they are going to get bags for their next holiday!
Thanks so much for spearheading this effort to help our indigenous brothers and sisters.
Play stupid games win stupid prizes should be the name of a game show.
There's a book out there called Biology, which has a few indecent parts. Another is called Human Anatomy, which has a lot of indecent pictures and words.
Don't get them started on that. Some states have, very stupidly, begun banning the study of evolution.
Yeah it's also got things that could affect people's mental disorders as well apparently. What a dangerous book
Didn't you hear sexual education of any kind in school is apparently grooming now. Education would simply be Sunday school and creationism if some would have their way.
I've heard there's this book called Anatomy and it literally has drawn pictures of penises and vaginas folks. How can we let our children learn about this stuff!? My kid says they require the class for his nursing degree. Obviously fake science, he shouldn't be exposed to this at all.
Not biology?! The horror! Biology includes penises and vaginas… Bodies existing is pure filth!
I want to laugh and say serves them right, but it’s a lose - lose situation :(
And there’s the kicker
Red states are really in a race to the bottom aren't they?
Yeah. "If you ban a book I consider important, then I'll ban a book you consider important," may be ironic, but it does not result in a better world. But that's not surprising. That law wasn't passed to make the world a better place. It was passed to allow some people to try to impose their beliefs on others by force of law. Of course it will make the world worse.
Well really it's a lose/win situation.
Actually who is winning
I could care less if they ban books from school libraries. Hardly any kids read physical books anyway.
I personally am a 6th grader, and I got the fault in our stars, FROM MY SCHOOL LIBRARY. It was in the little library that was in the librarian’s office, and kind of hidden away. BUT STILL THERE!
Step 1: be a parent in Utah
Step 2: complain about every single book, including textbooks
Step 3: ???????
Step 4: Profit
He's a pedo, not a christian. The only people trying to force obscenity on children are pedos. Pedos require woodchippers, not understanding.
Where's the profit
Step 3: chaos
And the profit is laughs
@@bekfast296 the profit goes to the megarich corporations that profit off of the population's lack of education... such as private prisons, the gambling industry, and many more. It also helps keep certain kinds of people in power by maintaining an uneducated population of constituents who continue to support those people in power
Step 3 is gonna be real extensive.
😂 You can’t have freedom of religion and free speech without also giving others the same freedoms (even when they are different than your own)
It would be so easy to have both coexisting but whoever thought that giving power to extremists probably is one themselves
Yes, you can, it's called religious fundamentalism and it's practiced in many countries.
@@WanderingExistence are you saying religious fundamentalism in law allows for freedom of religion? Do you understand freedom of religion?
@@thedudeamongmengs2051 Freedom of my religion to dominate your religion... That is a fundamentalists interpretation of the concept, just look at MTG and her Christian Nationalism mixed with perverse Constitutionalism. You have the freedom to say whatever you want... Until I don't like it.
No one said it was logical, humans aren't logical ;)
@@WanderingExistence ...I...you do understand that's not freedom, right? Like someone saying you can say whatever you want unless I don't like it and then I'm going to hurt you for it...that's not freedom. It's important to me that you understand that.
As a Utahn I’m perfectly fine with the ban on porn and the Bible. Both to make a better, smarter society
When I left my old school because I moved away, my English teacher whose lessons I really loved gave me your book "looking for Alaska" I read it and really enjoyed it. That was 4 years ago. A few months ago I started watching your and Hanks' videos and I had no idea you wrote that!! I didn't connect both John greens in my mind... Anyway I'm so glad I've found you on here and I love everything you do! Can't wait to get my hands on some of those awesome socks 🧦🧦🧦 Have a very nice life and I wish you the best :)
This time on Unintended Consequences....
Reminds me how some state accidentally banned straight marriage because they wanted same sex marriage to be illegal again.
And how Ireland accidentally made all drugs legal for a day.
Honestly, I think it's more Working As Designed than Unintended Consequences. I mean sure, they weren't seeking specifically to ban the Bible, but it is nigh inconceivable that the people writing such a law didn't understand that someone would try something like this. They just didn't care. They were focused on allowing small groups of people (or individuals) to impose their beliefs on others. That's what the law sounds like it was designed to do.
@Furious Imperator The Ireland one was different, to be fair. That was that someone got off a drug charge by challenging the ligitamcy of the laws, and the court agreed, so all drug laws become null and void for a day until new ones could be passed.
@@doctorbobstone You give politicians WAY more credit than I do.
What a beautiful ending I love the malicious compliance.
I think the school library censorship laws makes sense for elementary school for like under 12 years old. Like movies, you wouldn't play a PG13 movie to a group a 3rd graders without gaurdians' permission.
The laws should also be applied fairly, and yeah as a Christian I agree with the Bible thing. Some chapters and books of the Bible should be covered by parents/responsible figure allowing space for a beneficial discussion appropriate to age level. There is a reason Bethsheaba was a rubber ducky in veggietales.
Again I think the law should be applied fairly to all viewpoints (no sexual content whether it be heterosexual or homosexual intimacy within elementary school). [I am pretty sure only strawmen disagree with this one.]
With middle school there should be a balance. This gets complicated, but I think this question sums it up: "If there were a movie adaptation would it be rated XXX/R or PG13?"
However, high school student literature should never be censored. They need to be prepared for the real world. This is a time where people start figuring out what it means to be human. And books are a safe way to explore these sometimes graphic realities.
Maybe you could put (trigger warnings/disclaimers) inside the cover so the student can make educated choices on what they choose to read or pages to skip.
Remember high schoolers are a year or two away from living on their own. Plus if your only concern is your high schooler reading books. Pat yourself on the back leagal gaurdian you got yourself a good cookie.
Literature puts readers into shoes that aren't their own, and sometimes people learn more about themselves by deciding how they would walk in them.
I love ‘Looking for Alaska’! Great book by a greater author.
The book on the ALA banned books list that most surprised me was the dictionary. Evidently parents didn't want children to look up what words they were hearing meant.
Being a parent... Wouldn't you want your kids to know what the words mean? Because if they don't know what they mean, they're more likely to say them, I would think. Especially little kids, they're parrots. But if they see it means something yucky that isn't funny (like poop or farts because obviously poop & farts are hilarious) those words lose their interest to them.
Wait I made a joke about that in this comment section, are you kidding me, they're really going that far???? Omfg I was being totally sarcastic, I didn't know that was so close to the truth
@@riaruame6183 (The dictionary was from a previous list. The American Library Association keeps track of all censoring attempts they're notified about, and they post the lists and noted reasons why.)
IMO, when parents don't want their kids to learn basic stuff like "words in the dictionary," they should be treated as child neglect cases.
the parent who complained about the Bible is a hero.
Parental guidance ratings need to be out for printed media. That parent did awesome, showing that this is an actual issue bigger than a particular moral side.
Current Utah high school student and... yeah. It's downright dystopian how much moral panic people feel about what kids are being taught in schools. Parents make up stories in their heads about their kids being taught critical race theory, human biology, or heaven forbid how to think for themselves, and then they lead a witch hunt to stop it. All of my teachers joke about getting fired for the smallest things, because the parents are so paranoid and ruthless. We're also the state with one of, if not the lowest spending on education per child, so no, we're not being indoctrinated in class. We're barely learning the curriculum because the teachers don't get paid enough to care. It's an absolute nightmare to deal with.
Why would anybody stand for banning any books. Isn't being able to write and publish a book and having it distributed a basic idea of free speech.
Honestly i fully support parents retaliating with banning the bible and other such texts in this case
Gonna get biology text books banned because of the genitals
the bible has no place near children. its full of disgusting vile stories of gross incest. manipulation. and genocides far far worst than any genocide hilter or any other human did
I remember being in a lecture with a Supreme Court librarian. SCOTUS was hearing a case regarding internet porn resricted as obscenity, so the librarians had commissioned a specialized search engine that cross-referenced any searched term with porn. To demonstrate for the Justices, the librarian typed in "carrot" and hit enter. Sandra Day O'Connor saw the results, said "oh my" and left.
oh that's hilarious
Yes. Children shouldn't be openly exposed to indecent content. It's one thing when the content is curated and dissected in a classroom setting. However, we all have a mutual understanding that some media just isn't okay for kids to consume. Where we draw the line is always different of course. I think this applies to the Bible too.
I'll suppliment with an anecdote. My family historically did not go to church very often, if ever. However, one Easter Sunday morning, my cousins, their parents, my parents, my siblings, and I all went to church. This church had a dedicated "kids area" where they would teach the Bible in a way thay was more kid friendly so the adults could focus on the sermon. However, that day, they were showing an Easter film about the crucifixion of Christ. It was pretty graphic, and while my one cousin ans I were old enough to handle it (though we were a little unnerved), each of our younger brothers were far too young for that content. As were many of the other kids in attendance thay day. It was pretty difficult to handle these two kids who couldn't grasp what was happening on screen. I don't think we ever went back there.
So yes, it's perfectly OK to say some parts of the Bible or other religious media are too graphic for children. The same is true for other secular media. I think it's okay if the state doesn't want state-funded school libraries to provide those materials to children with no adult guidance. To say otherwise is to permit all content regardless of its obscenity, consequences be damned. Remember that a lot of these restrictions happen because children complain to their parents and schools don't do enough to self-regulate the content of their libraries or curriculum when the issues are brought to their attention. Nobody wants the state to have to step in, but nobody else is doing anything about it. It's sad to see that the ban hammer is so wide sweeping, but that's what happens when the state is forced to get involved.
I think people forget that there is a big difference between banning books and removing them from the shelves of SCHOOL CHILDREN'S libraries
"Children" is a pretty broad range of ages. Sure an 8 year old doesn't need to read Finding Alaska, but an 8 year old also isn't going to pick up and read Finding Alaska. But a middle schooler or highschooler is definitely in the age range and maturity to read a book like that
It still baffles me that our teacher read the old testament to us in 2nd grade. It wasn't a religious school or anything, she just picked it as our regular reading break book.
Utah lawmakers: *shocked Pikachu face*
Forbidden fruits always taste the sweetest. In high school my mom was SO against us listening to Eminem so any time there was nobody around I was blasting the Em CDs I secretly had in the house. I probably wouldn’t have even cared so much for Eminem because I’m much more into metal (it was classic rock back in high school) but because it was such a forbidden thing in our “good Christian household” I basically HAD to buy it and listen to it. It felt like breaking the law and I loved that rebellious feeling
As a Christian and an aspiring author, I can fully admit that the Bible is rated R and that doesn't bother me. History and the human experience are rated R. Now, at the same time when I write I do want to avoid being indulgent bc I am trying to actively practice my faith while still trying to write the authentic human experience.
YOUR JOHN GREEN!!??!?!? I'VE BEEN WATCHING YOU FOR A WHILE (AND) READING THE EXACT BOOKS YOU MENTIONED... AND I HAD NO CLUE!!!! I LOVE YOUR BOOKS! YOUR AN AMAZING WRITER!!! IM SPEACHLESS!
Ironically, I got both books at my school library lol
This is so careless i love it
Goes great with your username
How have I watched your videos for so long and not realized you were John Green?
just had this exact thought process lmao
Literally same
You’re trying too protect them from the world I’m trying too prepare them for the world has a lot more meaning now than ever
I don't think they could even keep a dictionary with that law
The good thing about face eating leopards is that sometimes you can guide them to eat the face of those who released them into the world. Like a cat following a laser point, but way more metal.
I love the way you think.
Any time I've seen aforementioned "indecent" content in books, it's there to evoke an emotion or convey some deeper meaning. If someone just sees it as indecent, I think they have just revealed how little imagination they possess.
When the book of Judges makes R rated media blush
As an athiest, I think everyone should have an equal opportunity to learn about and practice religion. Regardless of how the universe was truly created, it has just had too much impact on our species in every stage of our sapience, and it will continue to do so for the rest of our lives and into the future beyond. I don't believe in god, but I believe in the humans that were cultivated by belief. Banning books, especially those with enormous cultural significance, is a crime against our rights as a creative and intelligent species. I say this as a minor myself: knowledge, whether explicit or recreational, has a place in the minds of the youth as we grow into the world built upon it.
I bought Looking for Alaska in solidarity and just finished it... I cried, I laughed, it made me reflect on love, desire, faith and grief. Why would't you want to initiate that kind of reflection in the mind of your teenager ? Thank you for another great book John Green 💚
Our pastor's daughter once said as a teen, "I have to read the Bible again, there's so much sex and crime!" 😂😂😂
If only there were other, better media that teens enjoyed, like cartoons that show healthy relationships between two happy people...
Oh well! Seems like they're gonna miss out on the good stuff, like The Owl Hose, Gravity Falls, and Amphibia...
@@Salt_Master_Queue all great shows.
I also thought Steven Universe did a decent job covering a variety of relationships too, most romantic but a couple familial. pointing out bad ones from good ones.
Infinity Train was a good ride too, imo.
Saw Hungry Hungry Caterpillar in my local library and I nearly tore off my shirt in rage at the very obvious sin of gluttony being paraded about for our children
Looking for Alaska messed me up in highschool. About halfway through the book reminded me of a friend who had a very similar thing happen to them and I was pretty depressed back then. I won’t spoil it, but I highly recommend reading it for yourselves
Ughhhhh. I'm a parent who lives in Utah, and I'm so frustrated with all of this. So I make sure that my kids have the chance to read and watch the stuff that other parents flip out over (age appropriate, don't worry. 🤣). Three things I've heard parents complain about that we're really enjoying right now are the Captain Underpants books, My Little Pony (this one is controversial, because I have three little boys), and The Mitchell's vs. The Machines.
People have a problem with captain underpants?! Wtf I loved those books as a kid they are probably the biggest reason why I love to read and got into drawing.
Straight Christian male here, I started watching My Little pony with my niece when she was real little.. I finished the series without her 🤣 I absolutely loved that show
@@trickster562 Those books have routinely been on the top banned kids books lists since they started. Usually for reasons like "showing/encouraging disrespect of authority" and "obscene humor" (aka bathroom jokes and the word "underpants")
You're going to wonder why your kids are 35, living with you at home, and going to conventions about a tv show for young girls one day.
@@frenchtoast2319 that’s a shitty thing to say to someone. You know nothing about them.
I live in Utah and I’ve always loved coming of age and realistic fiction stories but a lot of them have content about sexual exploration because well- that’s when most people start that stuff. Anway- my English teacher keeps the books that have been banned for “indecent content” hidden in his room. If you come early he lets you check them out- it’s a little risky on weather or not they get returned because he obviously can’t track that their being checked out and by who. Its really nice to still be able to access those banned books though.
Yeah. I also live in Utah and I read a book on the banned list for a report….
I was going to ask what school but then I realized I might be mistaken for a book narc rather than someone who hopes that a stand-up guy like that teacher lives in my hometown!
Your hair looks so good in this 😶😳
You can always feel Johns pettiness and i live for it
"This... Red fish, Two fish, it's obscene! It's a parallel to Nazi culture!"
"...God damn it Steve we got another one, pull it- pull it all!"
"Yes Adam, I'm pulling as fast as I can"
"we're not a particularly decent species" I choked 🤣
You gotta get rid of Shakespeare entirely under that law.
I just realized this guy wrote turtles all the way down. I knew he wrote The Anthropocene reviewed but I couldn’t connect the dots.
To be clear if you hand an iPhone to a six year old they’ll discover porn in between 1 to 2 years time. Your basically expecting for fundamental truths of nature to go undiscovered from a creature at a life stage primed for curiosity and learning. If a kid asks where babies come from he’s gonna find out eventually. Whether it’s from you, from a book, from someone else, or from the internet typically between age 8-12.
I speedran it by being a my little pony fan at a young age
@@fakeemail6815 that’s some 10/10 top tier gorgeous childhood trauma ain’t it.
Not all parents let their children have access to internet or phones. Print only books is the only form of media without parental guidance regulations. You're allowed to raise your child how you see fit.
When I was 10 or 11 (early 90s) my friend found someone's porn stash that they had hidden in the woods. We got our sex education pretty early that warm Saturday morning.
You wrote The Fault in Our Stars? You owe me some edit: *duct* tape as my mind has officially exploded to shreds! How did I not know that?!
I know this is petty, but it's a pet peeve of mine, so please do forgive me. I could just not say it, but I've met enough people that genuinely don't know, and I like to say it just in case.
Duct tape.
@@Malkontent1003 I tried to write it like that and it kept autocorrecting it! Maybe I was trying to write it without the space?
@@Malkontent1003 it honestly threw me off as I know it’s tape made for ductwork, but by like the fifth time it corrected to something weird, I just shrugged it off as another nonsense English word my brain had misremembered to make more sense. I must have been trying to make it one word like ductwork.
@@katelynnehansen8115 Quite possibly, I dunno. But yeah, it's duct, as in pipework. That's what the intended use for it is, after all.
To be fair, there IS a brand called "Duck Tape" but that's a specific brand designed because people kept saying it instead of the actual name.
Also, feel free to call it whatever's best for you, I just tell people in case they don't already know.
@@katelynnehansen8115 I mean, to be fair. English has so many of those that it's entirely fair. Best of luck to you, and have a good day/night!
I’m sure that anyone and everyone could find something that offends them amongst the books in the library.
They will end up with nothing but empty shelves.
I’m thinking that some malicious compliance is in order.
As you said - play stupid games, win stupid prizes.
I didn't know you wrote the fault in our starts until just now.... I bawled my eyes out during that. You're the best.