I went to high school in a somewhat rural area. Local politics were steered by religion and conservatism. Therefore, it should have come as little surprise that our library’s copy of Catcher in the Rye had been subjected to extensive redaction by some busybody. In fact, entire paragraphs of the book had been blotted out with magic marker. The school librarian wasn’t the least bit surprised or disturbed when I pointed this out to her.
I used to assume that book banning was the province of the Right. That’s no longer the case. Liberalism has bred its own version, and it’s just as reprehensible. In essence, the belief is that people should be sheltered from anything they find unsettling or even distasteful.
Case in point: the whole concept of trigger warnings. The original idea was that victims of trauma shouldn’t be confronted with statements or imagery that might provoke or aggravate emotional shock. Continued...