I say yes, you say no, OR People are Strange

According to Wikipedia: Censorship is the suppression of speech or other public communication which may be considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or inconvenient to the general body of people as determined by a government, media outlet, or other controlling body.

Pat .. it does indeed appear to be censorship.

Bren

And for those who might have found Doonesbury censored (not printed, blocked, suppressed) in their local newspapers, it is available in the online magazine Slate.

Haha, BinVa - you beat me to it!

"A few newspapers have chosen not to carry the strip this week, so they are publishing an alternate story arc. That is a business decision by those newspapers who don't wish to offend any of their readers, similar to some advertisers asking that their ads not run during controversial programing."

Sounds like a perfect example of censorship to me!  It happens a lot on one particular forum here at BCO -  when someone dares to ask questions or call out blatant misinformation,it's a classic reaction of some people to censor/delete it.  Easier to censor it than it is to have an open, civil, and inclusive discussion. BAH.

ETA - Lindasa, I LOVE For Better or For Worse!  

Pat ...  I suspect that younger children do not read Doonesbury.  A 12 year-old is old enough to start being aware of what is going on in the world.  For the most part, these days 12 year-olds are maturing at an alarming rate.  They aren't the same as we were when we were 12. 

I picked the Wikipedia explanation of censorship as it was the first one that came up.  I'm not partial to Wikipedia, but I did like their explanation.  It mirrored the dictionary's version.

Bren

As a parent of young children myself, I have to say I sure don't send my kids the comic pages to learn to read!    Yikes.  

In any case, I actually *talk* to my kids about  current events....yes, including the current theme of politicians getting into our "girly business!"   My young girls even know they're in charge of their own uteruses (uteri?), and anyone trying to make it their business is way out of line!   Even young children can understand the importance of open discussion without the ridiculous "silence your opponent" techniques used by some.  Ignoring or censoring something doesn't remove the issues, and sweeping things under the rug isn't my style, personally or parentally.

Whatever happened to "Go Dog Go" and "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish" or "Are You My Mother?" to teach children how to read?  My mother learned to read from the newspaper in the 1920s, but then again, her father was the editor.

ETA - I guess in the current climate, "Red Fish, Blue Fish" could be construed as pretty subversive ....

LOLOL, HappyLibby!  We read Go Dog Go and One Fish, Two Fish too!  LOVE them!  We draw the line at "See Spot Run," though! 

Boy am I thankful that my kids don't have to live under some fantasy utopian rock.  They read a LOT of books about a huge variety of subjects, and yeah <gasp> even some about people who look, act, or believe differently than we do!  And guess what..... they're quite well adjusted, thankyouverymuch.

ETA - OMG, I'd rather have my kids reading and learning about real-world current events than Sponge Bob Square Pants!  

Hmmm...on second thought, I guess maybe SpongeBob does have some merit, after all.  In one episode, SpongeBob and Patrick live together as co-parents of an adopted "baby." 

Heck, Bert and Ernie are always holding hands!  Bambi's mother gets killed!   Wildflowers get trampled in  The Sound of Music!!  Is there NOTHING sacred?  

I'd hope that any responsible parent would monitor what their children read.  It's called *parenting.*  It's appropriate for a PARENT.  Not appropriate for a politician or newscaster or message board participant to censor what we read.  HUGE difference.

Why are we off on a censorship tear?  I missed the memo.

Doonesbury, Scoot. Some think it is OK to censor it, some people don't.



Lindasa, my mom was in the "read/watch anything you want, ask me questions if you don't understand" camp. Since she was the daughter of a newspaper editor, information flow was lifesblood to her. We always had both newspapers in town, plus Time Magazine, the Saturday Review, the Atlantic Monthly, and whatever other magazine subscriptions she could afford. We made a weekly trip to the library where I could get all the books my skinny little arms could carry. But they had to last the week. Since they seldom lasted that long, I read her books. Plus the ones on the bookshelves in our house. No censorship. Don't understand? Ask.





L

thenewme, HappyLibby,  = LIKE, LIKE, LIKE, LIKE ;-)

Garry Trudeau - LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, ADORE, respect, HONOR, laugh with, and just fabulous how he NAILS the stupidity every time...also the State Senator in Ohio - what a hoot.  There are now "Viagra" bills in many statehouses around the country...and it isn't even April Fool's Day yet...

Another early and voracious reader. I just like information and I guess curiosity is part of my makeup. There were enough adults around who didn't mind answering questions.....I asked a lot....and i came of age when "question authority" was becoming a mantra.



Thank heavens for the Doonesberry's, Jon Stewart's and Oliphants of the world. We so need to laugh at the stupidity level in our politicians.

That's hilarious. Me likey.

New theme song for uppity women everywhere! 

I always had to have something to read too.  We had an old set of encyclopedias and if I didn't have anything else around I used to read them.   And Mom's True Story magazines when she was gone and we found them.   

Decided to do a trial run on a piece of a retro metal canister set I'm going to paint to check out the color.  Darn can of spray paint started spraying just fine ... but would not stop.  Spray painting the grass and my hands and fingernails was not part of the plan.  This is why I don't do more crafty projects.