DS upset at library removal of books

[Scallybatch]

Went into my local library today with DS, only to be told they have removed all Tin Tin and Asterix books! He was really upset as these are his favourite books!. All the lady could tell me is that they had been told to as they upset some people. I'm baffled. Would I be unreasonable to complain?

They’re boring AF.

I used to read Asterix when I was younger and saw it as mocking the invaders (the Romans) but yes there are racist/xenophobic/lazy stereotypes in there that a smart preteen can catch and raise an eyebrow at. It's a shame because without that the books off kids a good foot into history. I don't suppose there is a way to rewrite/redraw them in the way they did with Enid Blyton is there? The art work is integral to the books.

Who are these ‘far left’ people in power banning books?
Though anyone using woke as an insult is clearly not able to discuss sensibly.

A library is a council funded public service whereas amazon isn't so yes they are different.

Freedom of choice to use racial stereotypes that cause offence at home = yes

Racial stereotypes that cause offence in a public library = no

They are pretty offensive to be fair.

Stereotypes like that belong in the past.

There are lots of children's books available in public libraries that don't have racist undertones & parents that specifically want their children to read them can still purchase them.

Libraries are public services

Have you read it?

No, that makes no sense at all.

Either they are offensive enough to be removed from libraries and no-one who agrees with that should be offering the solution that they can be bought in bookshops.

They are offensive or they are not. You cannot have it both ways and while you cannot dictate to a bookshop what they can sell-you certainly should not be promoting what you call offensive material by advising people to buy it.

If I discovered a book that I found truly offensive had been removed from a library, I would be pushing that it should not be on sale either, not advertising the fact that it is and happily pushing others towards buying it.

And yet, you stick to your position that it is only those poor enough-who cannot afford a bookshop-that should be subject to the anonymous far left woke council worker's decision-that he doesn't have to justify to anyone.

Of course sticking to something is generally only regarded as a good quality if you are a glue.

Have you read it?

Icecreamwhatsandwich no I haven’t - I remember some Tintin books but I’d never heard of that one.
I’m interested to know what’s inappropriate about it.

Again with the ’far left’ @MyLadyGreensleeves I’m really not sure who you think is far left in the power structures in this country.

Ugh that is so annoying and sad. My kids (now in their 20s) both adore Tintin and Asterix. Actually it was my eldest reading Tintin aloud to my dyslexic daughter, the same stories over and over again, combined with the pictures - thats how she finally learnt to read. Ultimately we bought them but initially copies from the library gave my kids hours of joy. Both understood that the non pc elements were "of their time" and not appropriate nowadays.

If we ditch everything from previous generations because of [all the various reasons] life, libraries etc will be so incredibly beige. :(

And yes......... there are particular issues with two of them but thats not a reason to bin all the others.

I feel also that putting them away is a cop out. If they are truly offensive and so horrific noone should read them...Well be honest and just get rid of them. Hiding them away just so you can say they are available but really they aren't is just cowardly

@cardibach. Yes, there will always be those who are never able to figure out these things.

I would guess though that you quite happily shout "far right" while in the same fug of not understanding.

Probably best if you start with a reading of Animal Farm. It may still be on library shelves -the council chap may not have quite understood it to ban it-but if not, your local bookshop will have it and there are good guides available on line to help you understand it.

They will probably hand it to you in a plain brown wrapper!

It's interesting as I am just browsing their online catalogue. Some are still showing as available at different libraries....but the council "share" the library service with another authority....they used to be one authority..but it will be odd if the other authority doesn't do the same

Ask for a copy of Liz Truss' autobiography and they'll probably hand it to you concealed inside a 1996 Peter Andre annual, wordlessly but with a knowing tap on the side of their nose

The Congo one is definitely racist, but not seeing anything questionable in the synopsis on Wikipedia of the Soviet one. Indeed, the more we learn about 1930s Russia the more accurate it appears to be.

Has anyone here actually read it and can elucidate at all?

I have never read the Russian or congo one..never seen them in the library

It's a shame that they think they know better than us what we should be reading. I'd definitely submit a complaint, but I wouldn't expect it to make a bit of difference. My suggestion is to look for second-hand copies or save up to slowly build a personal library.

Maybe libraries here could follow the example of a school in Ontario which removed from its library all books published before 2008.

Exactly. I have actually started buying up old books and putting them away. If there is a book you love, and you see a seondhand copy in a charity shop, buy it and put it in a drawer. Twenty years from now you might struggle to get hold of the original. It won't be long before activists demand that Jane Austen or George Eliot or Charlotte Bronte be removed from bookshops. Literally nothing would surprise me anymore. Think I'm exaggerating? Just wait and see. The attempts to have Roald Dahl's books re-written shook me to the core. I just can't believe someone could get away with that. It felt like they were testing the waters. You know, seeing what they could get away with before launching a major campaign.

Mark my words, the literary canon is the next target for these woke fanatics.

1. Select a classic author
2. Go through their best works
3. Find something you can pretend to be shocked or disgusted by
4. Scream and shout and do the whole fake outrage thing
5. Demand the book be re-written and/or removed from the shelves
6. Repeat

As for offence, what about the endless publications attacking my history and identity? I remember a few years ago an American guy published a book called Evil Empire: 101 Ways that England Ruined the World. It was full of distortions, cherry picked quotations and outright lies to make my country look as bad as possible. But hey, that's OK. Waterstones not only had it on their shelves, they had it piled up on a stand in the middle of the store to encourage people to buy it.

I'm 100% against ANY censorship. If you believe people should be free, then they should be free...not free only to express the same opinions as you.

LA'S take note!! One way to finally Kill off the Library Service

Oh they will, Oscar, they will

Ah so in other words you know nothing about the book but have decided on zero evidence that what's objectionable about it is that Communists don't like the criticism of Stalin. 🤔

Ah so in other words you know nothing about the book but have decided on zero evidence that what's objectionable about it is that Communists don't like the criticism of Stalin.

Icecreamwhatsandwich I haven’t ‘decided’ anything. I assumed that was the reason as I didn’t think there would be racial stereotyping in a book about the Soviet Union - though I could be wrong.
I would love to know why it’s considered problematic, especially given a pp’s post ‘Regarding the one set in the USSR I've never really understood what the problem was - or is. Yes the communist government is portrayed in an exceptionally poor light, but I'm far from convinced that Herge's narrative paints a false picture of the USSR as it was in 1930’.

Maybe you can tell me the reason why Tintin in the Soviet Union is inappropriate?