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What is censorship?

2/12/2015

46 Comments

 
Prompt: What type of items do people (want) censored? Why do people (want) censor items?


Instructions: You are to comment on this prompt.
  1. Reference the prompt in your first sentence. This will guide your reader.
  2. Use complete sentences to explain yourself.
  3. Explain yourself as well as you can.
  4. REPLY to at least ONE classmate's post.

The REPLY should be mature and complete sentences as well. Go beyond the "I agree with you" statement and think about what you would say face-to-face in a classroom environment. That is how a "virtual" discussion should run.




46 Comments
Karla Erdman
2/12/2015 05:01:13 am

Comment deleted

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Cameron
2/12/2015 05:33:59 am

I feel that people want to see books censored that go against social norm or potentially cause obscene or controversial things to be seeded into children's minds. Specifically, sex, religion, race, political view, and profanity are some of the reasons books will be censored, because someone got offended by it and doesn't want what they consider offensive available to other people.

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Grant
2/12/2015 05:47:36 am

I agree, people shouldn't heavily censor items for other people if they will just be exposed to them in the long run anyway.

Adam
2/12/2015 05:50:43 am

Yeah, and don't forget about other things like movies and video games. Some of these things are probably censored for the sake of being censored too. It seems like censoring hurts more than it helps in many cases.

Troy Watlington
2/12/2015 05:38:26 am

I think the reason that people censor items is because they want control over what their kids read and since they don't want their kids to read it then they don't want others to either so they get the books banned to "protect" their kids from what they see as a bad book. That's what I think their reasoning is.

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Michaelyn
2/12/2015 05:40:16 am

The types of items that people want censored are books that contain rape, sex, bad language, violence, and religion. I think that people don't want these kinds of books to be exposed to children or other adults because they are sensitive. This stuff happens around us in every day life and some adults need to realize that children know a lot more than they give them (including teenagers) credit for.

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JASON
2/12/2015 05:47:15 am

I have to agree with your end statement about how young kids (teenagers) are exposed to the bad thins that people can write about in their everyday lives.

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JASON
2/12/2015 05:41:04 am

I feel that there is a line that everyone has where too much of something can get sickening. Most of the reasons books get banned or are censored is because of the content inside being offensive to race, sexuality, having bad language in it, and are too violent for younger kids to read. Most people don't enjoy the over usage of bad language in books, violent streaks, homophobic expressions, and race being brought up on too many occasions.

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Michaelyn
2/12/2015 05:45:49 am

I agree with you. I think that that "line" is because they are too sensitive and they need to get a thicker skin because we live in the 21st century.

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RJ
2/12/2015 05:52:02 am

I also agree with you Jason. Some people need to try and realize that things they want censored in books are conflicts that they may have to face in their everyday lives.

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Brianna
2/12/2015 05:41:14 am

People want to censor items that have political, religious, profanity, and sexual content in the item. They want to censor these items because they get offended by them and they think everyone else gets offended too and that they should have control with what books should and shouldn't be on shelves.

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Lucy
2/12/2015 05:43:37 am

Different people have different principals that they believe in. Some believe that it is wrong to ban any book because they think people have the right to read what they want to. Others think that certain books should be banned. If a book is based on a sensitive or controversial topic, then some people might have a problem with it. Often times, it's parents that are the ones to ban books because they don't want their children to be exposed to these controversial topics.

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Ryan
2/12/2015 05:52:27 am

I think you did a good job of showing both sides to banning books.

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Stephen Vander Schauw
2/12/2015 05:43:55 am

The types of item people want censored are racism,religion,sex,domestic violence,foul language. People want these items censored because they could be inappropriate used in the context and they might not want there children to see it.

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Sahitya
2/12/2015 05:48:24 am

What do you believe will happen if children are exposed to the controversial content? I think some of those censoring reasons are only inappropriate to some people, whereas some people might find the topics fascinating or important to the book.

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Grant
2/12/2015 05:44:09 am

Censorship has long been the idea of protecting people from certain "harmful material". Though many reactions to censorship, specifically regarding books, have caused society to over react. Anything controversial, whether it is, sex, violence, drugs, explicatives, or native government discrimination, will most likely be under heavy fire by other people. People want these types of topics censored to protect not only future generations, but current children from believing what is right from what is wrong. The main argument by people wanting censorship is to protect from what is wrong. Unfortunately, many people take advantage of this and over react to every little thing.

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Courtney
2/12/2015 05:51:03 am

I agree that people are mainly banning books because of the minds of children. Adding on to what you said about the main argument, we hear about all of the topics censored in these books at school and in public environment. Parents and teachers should take this into account before they ask for a book to be taken off the shelves.

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Tanner
2/12/2015 05:51:52 am

If parent's aren't good enough that their kids can't see the difference between right and wrong in a book, they should not be parents. It is their job to teach their kids, but they'll have no idea of another perspective if you don't permit them to read a book.

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Chris
2/12/2015 05:53:54 am

Grant, I agree completely with what you say. Children wouldn't really be able to comprehend which topics are right and wrond.

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Courtney
2/12/2015 05:44:52 am

My thoughts are that people want books taken off the shelves mainly because of the content of the book. Some of the older books that were taken off the shelves during periods of down fall, could have just been revealing things that the government didn't want people to know about. Books could also be taken off the shelves because of profanity, mature language, homosexuality, government opinions, and race. Parents and teachers are two of the main reasons that books are being censored, mainly to protect the minds of young children, though in the terms of language, just walking through the hall way at school, children and teenagers her language no worse then that is written in these books.

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Brianna
2/12/2015 05:48:53 am

I agree with you, I hear things way worse in school then in these books. These things are in the real world and we hear about these things all the time.

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Sahitya
2/12/2015 05:45:36 am

Censored books are often books that contain profanity, violence, sex, homosexuality, rebellious young people or books that offend different genders, races, religions, or government ideals. In most cases, people want these books taken off of shelves to preserve the innocence of their children. They believe children will start to use the curse words or demonstrate the violence they read about. The harsh style some books are written in can corrupt the mind of innocent young children. Moreover, some people want books banned to shut down the spread of propaganda. They want everyone to believe only positive things about their religion, background, or government. Overall, books are censored for a plethora of reasons.

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Lucy
2/12/2015 05:49:47 am

I agree with everything you said. Those topics mentioned are controversial and many people could take offense to them. I also agree with the fact that it is primarily parents who are the ones to want the books banned. They don't want their children exposed to those kinds of topics.

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Cameron
2/12/2015 05:50:34 am

i completely agree with your comment about shutting down the spread of propaganda, and I hate when I see stuff like that happen. The worst part about it is that often times things that contain mostly factual information is flagged as containing propaganda and is wrongfully censored. A prime example of this is ABC's "The Path to 9/11", which was censored for "making the Clinton and Bush administration look bad" while it contained almost entirely factual information.

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RJ
2/12/2015 05:46:43 am

I believe that people want anything that may be offensive or profane censored. It is mainly adults censoring books that their kids might read in order to try and protect them. Books that are usually censored contain religion, sex, politics, and profanity. In my opinion, these are things that everybody will run into in life, so why not learn a little bit about them through books?

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Ruzylle
2/12/2015 05:53:00 am

I agree with your opinion there Raymond. Parents should know that their kids will experience all of the stuff these books are talking about.

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Mikayla
2/12/2015 05:46:50 am

I believe that people want to censor anything that goes against their morals or beliefs.If they don't like it, they won't want other people to like it either. Some topics that might cause a book to be censored are race, religion, political views, and profanity. People censor books because they don't want others agreeing with a statement that they don't appreciate.

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Alyssa
2/12/2015 05:49:55 am

I agree with Mikayla because I believe that people only think of their own morals and beliefs. People don't see diversity, and want everyone to believe and see things the way they do.

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Connor
2/12/2015 05:50:26 am

I agree when you say that people don't want other people to agree with something that they don't. I also think that people automatically think other people won't like the content if they don't.

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Adam
2/12/2015 05:47:03 am

People want to censor all types of media. Books, movies, games, picture, internet, music, etc. People want to censor it, and for many reasons too. Some reasons people want to censor things are because it goes against their beliefs, or they feel it may be inappropriate, or they may not want to worry about it, or they feel that it might set a bad example. There are some things that are probably rightly censored, but many others aren't. Those that aren't usually are censored for their what's on the surface, and not for the actual media itself; or they're censored for opposition to people's beliefs.

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Sarah Beth
2/12/2015 05:55:55 am

What you said is true, but sometimes people censor items for the deep er plot or story line. Sometimes this even goes over children's heads.

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Alyssa
2/12/2015 05:47:23 am

I believe that anything that parents, adults, teachers etc find offensive has the potential to be banned. Topics such as sex, religion, cursing, violence and race are main topics. People find these topics especially offensive because they appeal to younger audiences and parents feel they need to protect their children from what is out in the real world.

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Mikayla
2/12/2015 05:51:24 am

I agree with you. I also think that many of the topics that parents want their children protected from have already been exposed to them through friends, so it has no effect.

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Ruzylle
2/12/2015 05:47:58 am

People censor items because they believe that it goes against what is appropriate to them. Maybe it is the thought of rape and sex that disgusts them. Also, maybe they do not like profanity and violence. Theses factors can get something to be censored.

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Connor
2/12/2015 05:48:12 am

I think that people want certain books censored because they find them offensive. I think that if they find it offensive, they think the book shouldn't be available at all. Some topics that people want censored are sex, violence, language, race, and religion. Some people want a book to be censored because they found it offensive, and if they don't want other people to read it because of that.

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Tanner
2/12/2015 05:49:14 am

People want things censored that go against their religion and their own outlooks on life. There's a difference between not child appropriate, and appropriate. But to some people, that line is somewhere completely off the reservation. Some books curse, while others are XXX rated. What you choose to have your child not read is entirely up to you, but you should not bring down that force on others if it is permitted somewhere else.

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Ryan
2/12/2015 05:49:22 am

I believe people want books to be banned because they are offended by. People censor books because they don't what other people to read and learn about that certain topic. Topics could be religion, profanities, race, politics or sex.

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Hannah
2/12/2015 05:50:50 am

The argument for a book to be censored is usually caused when a book contains profanity, sex, racism, or religion. Most people who want like these types of controversial topics to be censored simply because it may offend them, or their religion. Also, frequently parents want certain novels to be censored because they do not want their child to be open to that type of material.

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Danielle
2/12/2015 05:53:46 am

I like how you said some people may be offended. I think that many people, including I, just think of it as parents babying their children and don't really realize that it could offend the parents and their way of life.

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Danielle
2/12/2015 05:51:04 am

I believe that the items that people want to have censored often contain sex, religion, politics and violence. Basically anything that contains material that is in any way deemed controversial. I believe one of the main reasons parents are reacting in such ways, even more so than in the past, is fear. They see that their children are becoming exposed to suggestive content earlier and earlier. Parents are afraid to loose control of their children too soon so they are reacting by babying their children and not allowing them access to certain books, movies or tv shows.

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Chris
2/12/2015 05:51:43 am

My thoughts about censorship is that sometimes parents and teachers can be very protective in their way of controlling kids' lives. If they shield kids from content like this as a child and young adult, they wouldn't to grow up correctly. In the real world, there is a lot of this content already in school and the public.

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Atticus
2/12/2015 05:52:16 am

People usually want to censor controversial subjects, such as pornography, discrimination, ideas perceived to be "immoral," etc. Many of them believe that ideas they wouldn't want minors (and sometimes, the general public) to observe and gain knowledge of.

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Sarah Beth
2/12/2015 05:53:34 am

People censor items for many different reasons. Censored items usually include one of the following: sex, rape, violence, profanity, religion, racism, disturbing themes or ideas, and indecent exposure. Censorship is used to control or limit what people, specifically younger children and teenagers, are exposed to. However sometimes people take advantage of this and overreact.

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Cain
2/12/2015 05:53:46 am

Most books are challenged because they contain curse words or violence, sex, homosexuality, the occult, or rebellious children. Some people believe that these ideas should not be accessible to children and therefore go to the extent to ban the book. People may believe that their opinion about a certain book affects other people so they do not want it to be read to form any bad ideas or intentions.

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Kaitlyn
2/12/2015 05:57:12 am

Just as everyone's comments have been relatively the same, and reiterating the point; most parents and religious organizations will strive to put censorship on content they personally find as offensive. These topics and books can cover violence, sex, homosexuality, the occult, or rebellious children. Most often they'll contain curse words, which further drives a person's initiative to control the content that children consume. More so; some of the most classically acclaimed novels have been pulled from shelves at one point or another. Which is odd, seeing as we're encouraged to read from a young age, but our parents and guardians still want to have control over what we read.

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Kiara Conaway
2/25/2015 10:40:31 pm

Censorship is when someone restricts everyone from seeing,hearing, or reading something they deem immoral. People wish to censor anything that promotes violence, sex, or any vulgar language. I believe that censorship should not be used. In today's society, violence,sex, and vulgarity are displayed on television and social media. Not only do we see it, but we hear the curse words from other students and parents. To restrict a student from reading a book should not be no one's responsibility other than the parents.

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    English 10
    Honors

    This blog is a means of allowing students to write their ideas about censorship.

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