Dumbass Censorship

Portia · #1 25th January 2010, 04:21 AM

They've finally done the absurd - banned the dictionary. I expect encyclopedias will be next, or maybe children looking down at their own genitals. What galls me is these kids are likely playing some violent video games and/or seeing violence in movies and TV, but it's the definition of oral sex that gets their parents in panty-twist mode. Spokesperson, Betti Cadmus had the most ironic statement; "It's hard to read the dictionary but we'll be looking to find other things of a graphic nature."

OAOW · #2 25th January 2010, 04:22 AM

Big Brother approcah to parenting. If they don't know the words, they can't have the thoughts! This is really double plus ungood.

MarkF · #3 25th January 2010, 04:51 AM

I wonder how schools in America and elsewhere consider their responsibilty towards preparing children for the world at large? Do they actually consider this as part of their responsibility? It certainly seems that some parents are determined to shield their children from anything they consider to be bad and that seems... unrealistic.

It occurs they should have a conversation with these parents like;

"You want to ban the dictionary because it defines 'oral sex'?

"Yes"

"Why?"

"Because it's a bad thing!"

"But you know what it means?"

"Of course"

"How do you know what it means?"

"I, um... er...looked it up in a dictionary...

Solfy · #4 25th January 2010, 05:03 AM

It must be okay for adults to read about oral sex, but OMG think of the childrunz! So the day they all turn 18, they get a primer on all the naughty bits they weren't allowed to know of before because it would warp their precious minds. 17yrs 364 days - sex=evil. 18yrs - sex=okie dokie!

That must be what happened to mine, anyway. Poor, poor filthy mind.

WednesdayAddams · #5 25th January 2010, 05:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MarkF

I wonder how schools in America and elsewhere consider their responsibilty towards preparing children for the world at large? Do they actually consider this as part of their responsibility? It certainly seems that some parents are determined to shield their children from anything they consider to be bad and that seems... unrealistic.

It occurs they should have a conversation with these parents like;

"You want to ban the dictionary because it defines 'oral sex'?

"Yes"

"Why?"

"Because it's a bad thing!"

"But you know what it means?"

"Of course"

"How do you know what it means?"

"I, um... er...looked it up in a dictionary...

Yeah this is usually what sets me off, too. Don't bother worrying about getting them ready for the real world, just make sure your little precious is protected from anything nasty and bad they may see NOW. Because the future is so far away and what do you mean parenting is about getting them ready to go out into the world anyway?

This will get overturned. It's a dictionary, not the Kama Sutra.

Portia · #6 25th January 2010, 05:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WednesdayAddams

This will get overturned. It's a dictionary, not the Kama Sutra.

It's the school board's decision; I don't think enough parents will get off their asses to go to a meeting and have it overturned, or else it wouldn't have been banned in the first place.

WednesdayAddams · #7 25th January 2010, 05:54 AM

Parents don't get off their asses when everything is going right. When shit goes wrong, they generally swamp the school council meetings. At least, that's the way it has historically worked here. I've also seen some stories televised when California school boards were talking about combining districts: parents there are just as invested in getting their kids an education there as they are anywhere else.

Portia · #8 25th January 2010, 06:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WednesdayAddams

Parents don't get off their asses when everything is going right. When shit goes wrong, they generally swamp the school council meetings. At least, that's the way it has historically worked here.

True, just like a vote for No will get more people out to vote than a item that needs approval.

MarkF · #9 25th January 2010, 06:27 AM

You know, reading the links again, this puzzles me further. The dic(thank god there's no 'K' in there!)tionary was pulled because 'a parent complained of a child stumbling across the entry'. It doesn't actually say a child did stumble across it. If a child had 'stumbled across it', how old was this child? Why wasn't an opportunity used to explain, as age appropriate, what it meant (and not as one parent on the messageboard did saying she told her daughter "oral sex means talking about it, cos like oral means using the mouth to talk about sex..." (No, really!)

So, one parent get's steamy (Arf!) over a, fairly innocuous, definition. The district pulls the dictionaries from all the schools because of that? I think they should be asking themselves why they have the people running these things in place.

Randy Freeman, a school board member and teacher (oh the irony...) said it's "a prestigious dictionary that's used in the Riverside County spelling bee, but I also imagine there are words in there of concern." Oh really? What, like terrorist? Or maybe 'Analyst'?

I feel quite sorry for the kids.

Portia · #10 25th January 2010, 06:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MarkF

Randy Freeman, a school board member and teacher (oh the irony...) said it's "a prestigious dictionary that's used in the Riverside County spelling bee, but I also imagine there are words in there of concern." Oh really? What, like terrorist? Or maybe 'Analyst'?

I feel quite sorry for the kids.

We mustn't ever let the children have a concern! It might show them what their real life will be like and we can't have that.

The Superhero · #11 25th January 2010, 06:45 AM

This is a new low.

I mean...c'mon. Who here can say that they didn't at least once look up a dirty word in the big unabridged dictionary in the school library and giggle about it with their friends?

And, really, do these parents honestly suffer from the delusion that by the fourth grade, kids have never heard the word "fuck" before?

3acres · #12 25th January 2010, 06:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Portia

It's the school board's decision

That may not be the case. The Guardian article linked to this article, which includes this:

Quote:

Meanwhile...some school board members are asking why officials did not consult with them.

So, it might have been just a knee-jerk reaction by some jerk of an official. I look forward to being further entertained as this kerfuffle continues to develop.

SmartAleq · #13 25th January 2010, 08:18 AM

Makes me wish I had a kid in school in the area just so I could sue the school for restricting my child's access to educational materials--in school. I hate to break it to these loser parents but in my grandson's middle school there are sixth graders who are blowing their boyfriends, so hey, they might not know the correct term for it but they can certainly DO it.

Persnickety · #14 25th January 2010, 08:42 AM

Finally, my habit of reading the dictionary will no longer be weird - it's subversive.

The Superhero · #15 25th January 2010, 08:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Persnickety

Finally, my habit of reading the dictionary will no longer be weird - it's subversive.

Damn right. You're a loner, Dottie. A rebel. There are things about you that we wouldn't understand. Things we couldn't understand. Things...we shouldn't understand.

Persnickety · #16 25th January 2010, 08:45 AM

The things I know, you just can't handle them.

Khampelf · #17 25th January 2010, 08:46 AM

Spoilsport prudes. I loved looking up wierd, bad and controversial words and reading them aloud to my fellow students in study groups.

severe delays · #18 25th January 2010, 09:25 AM

Jebus, every kid I ever met looked up the rude words in the dictionary. I think the most mindblowing part was the fact that they were in there in the first place. I certainly don't buy the story that the kid innocently stumbled across the word. They were looking it up and the parents are idiots if they think otherwise.

Portia · #19 25th January 2010, 09:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by severe delays

Jebus, every kid I ever met looked up the rude words in the dictionary. I think the most mindblowing part was the fact that they were in there in the first place. I certainly don't buy the story that the kid innocently stumbled across the word. They were looking it up and the parents are idiots if they think otherwise.

I did the same thing, I think most kids do. I did it b/c I knew those words were 'forbidden' but once I saw them in print they didn't have much power anymore.

Victor Frankenstein · #20 25th January 2010, 09:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by douche in article

"[it's] a prestigious dictionary that's used in the Riverside County spelling bee, but I also imagine there are words in there of concern," said Randy Freeman

Words of concern? CONCERN? It's just a fucking word you cunthole!

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Superhero

Damn right. You're a loner, Dottie. A rebel. There are things about you that we wouldn't understand. Things we couldn't understand. Things...we shouldn't understand.

Oh Pee Wee

Marlitharn · #21 25th January 2010, 10:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Portia

They've finally done the absurd - banned the dictionary. I expect encyclopedias will be next, or maybe children looking down at their own genitals. What galls me is these kids are likely playing some violent video games and/or seeing violence in movies and TV, but it's the definition of oral sex that gets their parents in panty-twist mode. Spokesperson, Betti Cadmus had the most ironic statement; "It's hard to read the dictionary but we'll be looking to find other things of a graphic nature."

Note this woman's name. Betti. Betti with an "i". Such women bear watching. I bet she's vice-president of her homeowner's association, too.

Portia · #22 25th January 2010, 10:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marlitharn

Note this woman's name. Betti. Betti with an "i". Such women bear watching. I bet she's vice-president of her homeowner's association, too.

She finds it hard to read the dictionary , (in this case the one for 4th & 5th grades) - the easiest book in which to find anything you can just approximately spell is hard for her. Don't let her catch you leaving your garage door half up all day!!

Elyanna · #23 25th January 2010, 10:36 AM

Guys, let's not be hasty. Maybe the dictionary had a full-page picture of fellatio.

You know those dictionaries: always slipping in the porn to spoil the future generation's minds.

Uthrecht · #24 25th January 2010, 10:41 AM

Naw, sorry... that wasn't from the dictionary.

... that was just Dad's bookmark.

Dirx · #25 25th January 2010, 11:53 AM

Question: is Wikipedia banned or censored on school computers? 'Cause there's a lot more there than just short definitions.

Portia · #26 25th January 2010, 11:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dirx

Question: is Wikipedia banned or censored on school computers? 'Cause there's a lot more there than just short definitions.

I'm sure it's allowed but filtered in what results it returns. You'll also never see a front page 'featured article' on the hymen. I know, pity right?

GreyCloud9 · #27 25th January 2010, 12:00 PM

well, I posted the link on my facebook page, and two of my friends have already re-posted it.. so chances are, if it hasn't before, it will now spread

got to love technology

Katriona · #28 25th January 2010, 12:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marlitharn

Note this woman's name. Betti. Betti with an "i". Such women bear watching. I bet she's vice-president of her homeowner's association, too.

Probably the one with the spy glass who rats out everyone who doesn't scamper out 10 seconds after the trash has been taken to put away the trash bins.

The stupid...it burns!

Portia · #29 25th January 2010, 12:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GreyCloud9

well, I posted the link on my facebook page, and two of my friends have already re-posted it.. so chances are, if it hasn't before, it will now spread

got to love technology

Oh no - now everyone will know what oral sex means! What will the world come to??

Yeah, I said come.

Khampelf · #30 25th January 2010, 01:01 PM

These are the sort of people who think you can catch AIDS by talking about it.

Panamanian with a Knife · #31 25th January 2010, 01:04 PM

I say if the dictionary defines "cunt" or "butthurt" it should be banned immediately.

Islander · #32 25th January 2010, 04:08 PM

When was the last time you heard or read about a bookburning?

Yeah, I thought so.

Fromage A Trois · #33 26th January 2010, 12:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Khampelf

These are the sort of people who think you can catch AIDS by talking about it.

Woah! Watch it, Khampelf, you're putting us all at risk!

mozg · #34 26th January 2010, 03:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GreyCloud9

well, I posted the link on my facebook page, and two of my friends have already re-posted it.. so chances are, if it hasn't before, it will now spread

got to love technology

It's already been on Fark. I don't think we have to worry about it not spreading. I think that school is going to have to worry about a flood of email.

Zack Lee Wright · #35 26th January 2010, 04:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dirx

Question: is Wikipedia banned or censored on school computers? 'Cause there's a lot more there than just short definitions.

In my local school system it is not allowed, since old school educators find it unreliable.

Zack Lee Wright · #36 26th January 2010, 04:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mozg

It's already been on Fark. I don't think we have to worry about it not spreading. I think that school is going to have to worry about a flood of email.

And you don't think the crusaders from the anti-oral sex league will also send emails supporting this issue? In my unsubstantiated opinion I think the anti's are almost always more inclined to jump when told.

Baldwin · #37 26th January 2010, 07:25 AM

Well, I finally looked it up.

Oh, my God. My. God. People do that with their mouths?

Why does it say nothing about cooties?

Zeener Diode · #38 26th January 2010, 08:28 AM

Well, considering you can catch cooties by simply sitting next to a girl, it stands to reason they'll be focusing on that at their next book-burning session.

Soon they'll be covering their women from head to toe.

Victor Frankenstein · #39 26th January 2010, 08:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Islander

When was the last time you heard or read about a bookburning?

I do love a good book burning.

Portia · #40 26th January 2010, 03:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zack Lee Wright

And you don't think the crusaders from the anti-oral sex league will also send emails supporting this issue? In my unsubstantiated opinion I think the anti's are almost always more inclined to jump when told.

I can't imagine the anti-oral sex league gets many people at their meetings, do you??

Zack Lee Wright · #41 26th January 2010, 03:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Portia

I can't imagine the anti-oral sex league gets many people at their meetings, do you??

Not a meeting I would want to attend anyway

Now a sex addict meeting, I'd be there with nothing on but bells.

On my comment, it does seem to me that you get more people irate and writing to the editor when they are anti something so you would have 100 anti oral sex in the dictionary writing for every 1 with common sense.

Guinastasia · #42 26th January 2010, 04:35 PM

I have a feeling calculators are going to be next, guys. (55318008 anyone?)