A LOOPY band of Christians in Wisconsin is suing a library for $120,000, claiming they had been traumatised by a book which they say is “explicitly vulgar, racial, and anti-Christian”.
According to this report, they are also demanding the right to “publicly burn or destroy by other means” the novel for young adults – Baby BeBop, by acclaimed Los Angeles writer Francesca Lia Block.
Francesca Lia Block
The suit against the West Bend Community Memorial Library in Wisconsin has been brought by Robert C Braun of the Christian Civil Liberties Union and three others – Joseph Kogelmann, Rev Cleveland Eden, and Robert Brough – “all of whom are elderly”. They are each demanding £30,000 in damages.
The suit alleges that:
Their mental and emotional well-being was damaged by this book at the library.
Distress was specifically caused because Baby BeBop contains the “n” word, and derogatory sexual and political epithets that can incite violence and:
Put one’s life in possible jeopardy, adults and children alike.
The complainants also want West Bend City Attorney Mary Schanning to impanel a grand jury to examine whether the book should be declared obscene and that, by making it available, the library was guilty of a “hate crime”.
Oh, and they are also demanding the resignation of West Bend Mayor Kristine Deiss for “allow[ing] this book to be viewed by the public.”
The suit came at a time when the dust had just settled over a separate censorship row at the library.
Local busybodies Ginny and Jim Maziarka had launched a petition, circulated by West Bend Citizens for Safe Libraries, demanding that the library restricts certain titles. But an opposition group, West Bend Parents for Free Speech, launched a counter-petition, which attracted a greater number of signatures.
As a result, the library trustees voted 9-0 to maintain the young-adult collection as is:
Without removing, relocating, labeling, or otherwise restricting access to any titles.
So, what is Baby BeBop all about?
This comment, posted on the Drudge Retort blog by someone called fwthom, explains:
Did you check out what the book in question was about? It’s about a gay kid who gets the shit kicked out of him for being gay, passes out and then hallucinates about his ancestors telling him their love stories. When he comes to he realizes the hallucinations were a result of his grandma telling him stories about his family. The book isn’t pornography. It has a gay kid being supported and loved by his family which is in no way an offensive concept. Unless you’re deluded.
The Freethinker was founded in 1881 by GW Foote, an outspoken critic of religion. After the publication of 
June 9th, 2009 at 4:51 pm
There is a book in my local library that encourages hate crime, genocide, homophobia, and misogyny. It contains references to incest, infanticide, genital mutilation, graphic depictions of torture, and concludes with the suggestion that you should worship a zombie or else suffer for eternity!
I think this book should be banned, or at least kept out of reach of impressionable people.
I believe there is a similar book in the arabic language section.
June 9th, 2009 at 5:12 pm
Shorter fundies: No one has the right to free speech, EXCEPT US!
June 9th, 2009 at 5:59 pm
Absolutely remigious and I think that quite a few people's mental and emotional well being has been damaged by those two books, millions in fact. These people are so blinkered and narrow minded and consider it their duty to ensure that their youngsters grow up just the same as them. The upside of course is that the book will no doubt get much wider exposure due to them drawing attention to it.
June 9th, 2009 at 6:19 pm
Bugger! You took the words right out of my mouth there remigius, and only one hour ago as well!! What about those of us who have been "traumatised" by having the words of the Bible stuffed down our throats from an early age, then, causing us untold mental anguish, crippling us emotionally and mentally, and in many cases ruining our lives? WE must be in line for millions!! These people are beyond parody, they are sick!!!
June 9th, 2009 at 6:24 pm
Oh no! It`s not my day, is it? You`ve already said here what I have stated above Stonyground, AND stated what I came down here to say – that these stupid jerks are now giving WORLD-WIDE publicity to a book which sounds very interesting, and of which many of us would probably not have heard otherwise! Champagne corks must be popping in the Block household at this very minute!!
June 9th, 2009 at 6:29 pm
I see we`re back to the "silly names" again here! Joseph Kogelmann: Rev Cleveland Eden – and do please tell me that "West Bend" is a typographical error, somebody, as I nearly wet my pants when I saw that that was where all these homophobic bigots were living!!!
June 9th, 2009 at 6:56 pm
And what about Christian Civil Liberties Union.
An oxymoron with the emphasis on 'moron'.
June 9th, 2009 at 7:04 pm
I don't know anything about this book, so I can't comment, but on the basis of what is written in the above blog it doesn't appear that the blogger doesn't know very much about it either… and yet the writer claims that the people who call it hate literature are loopy fools… now this is what is called 'prejudice' (pre-judgment), when you pass judgment on people on preconceived notions about the affiliation they belong to without necessarily possessing the facts. Unless you've read the book, you don't know if the book is just about a gay kid that gets beat up or if it has a chapter advocating the shooting of evangelicals… therefore you're not in a position to judge the people who are calling for its removal, but instead you pass judgment on them without knowing these facts and that is why you have 'prejudice'.
John 7:24 Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.
God Bless,
June 9th, 2009 at 7:28 pm
'Oh no! It`s not my day, is it? '
Oh well. Take solace in the fact that the little fella gave you a mention in his editorial piece in this months edition of The Freethinker!
June 9th, 2009 at 7:39 pm
I think it's actually pretty safe to say that people who bring lawsuits claiming they have been traumatised by a book in a library are either too stupid not to read said book, or are just intent on inflicting their beliefs where they are not wanted or needed. Come on please, it's a book it doesn't leap out and start reading itself to you does it? I can only think of one library where the books could traumatise patrons, and that's also a library overseen by a rather large orang utan!
June 9th, 2009 at 7:42 pm
"Their mental and emotional well-being was damaged by this book at the library."
But, surely, the Christian God can fix that right up. Once the damage is healed, the lawsuit can be dropped. Right?
June 9th, 2009 at 7:56 pm
How about we start a class action suit to remove those two books from all libraries then, on the grounds they promote hatred and intolerance, and that they have caused us emotional distress?
June 9th, 2009 at 7:59 pm
You refer to the above blog and suggest that the blogger, Barry Duke, is in no position to comment as he may not have read the book in question.
If you had read the post carefully you would have noticed that the post was actually sourced from the American Library Association website and contains information and opinion from those people who are most familiar with both the book and the ongoing controversy.
It only appears 'prejudice' to those who have not taken the time to read the article.
May I suggest you look to John 7:24 'Do not judge by appearances, but judge with the right judgement.'
Twat!
June 9th, 2009 at 8:15 pm
golly gosh, judging from the description of Baby BeBop I think I'll have a cup of tea and give it a miss. I'll however miss out also on the quotation from a much worse book full of extraordinarily awful suggestions for living life. Why not try "Asterix the Gaul", that's much more fun than either Baby BeBop or any holy bollocks.
June 9th, 2009 at 9:08 pm
Sounds like a good read. I will see if I can get hold of a copy of the book.
June 9th, 2009 at 9:12 pm
Remigius (my knight in shining armour), since posting the piece I have been digging a little deeper into what books in American libraries upset the public most. To my astonishment, I found that in the American Library Association's The 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990–1999, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, stands at no 5. Other titles include Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, The Color Purple, by Alice Walker, To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, and, not surprisingly, the Harry Potter series by J K Rowling.
You can see the entire list here:
http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesa.....ned/freq...
June 9th, 2009 at 9:38 pm
Personally, I'm more astonished by the fact that someone has apparently invented a book that can force its way into your home and make you read it. Perhaps it kicks the window in and reads itself to you? It probably follows you around, too. Otherwise, these people are just insane folk who apparently can't stop reading a book they don't like. Which, of course, is absurd. No one is that stupid.
Surely this new book technology is headline news. Why haven't I heard about it?
June 9th, 2009 at 10:03 pm
David, I think the mocking is more to do with these feeble finger-wagger's collective claim to be owed $120.000 in damages because they were were revolted by a novel that nobody forced them to read.
Good thing none of them picked out Exquisite Corpse by Poppy Z Brite thinking it was about Jesus or they might be going for the full million.
June 9th, 2009 at 10:05 pm
That`s the second time I`ve heard that, and I still have no idea what anyone is talking about!
June 9th, 2009 at 10:12 pm
I have just perused the list and I must say I am quite taken aback by some of the great works of literature that are included.
Twain, Alice Walker, Harper Lee, Steinbeck, even J.D Salinger.
And why the fuck is Roald Dahl at No. 22 and No. 50? I loved his books as a kid, I still do. His granddaughter Sophie lives just down the road from me, with a piano playing midget!
And Kurt Vonnegut! Is nothing sacred?
Probably the most racist book I have ever read 'The Turner Diaries' by Andrew MacDonald is freely available at my local library in Notting Hill. But it ain't on that list, or any other banned list that I know of.
Could it be that they endorse it?
June 9th, 2009 at 10:22 pm
"Citizens For Safe Libraries" is pretty darned funny too, isn`t it? These people are just setting themselves up for ridicule! They sound like the most appalling nit-picking, nosey, prudish, prissy busybodies you could ever wish to meet. I can`t see this sort of thing taking off in the UK (YET!), despite the activities of S. Green et al, but it is most gratifying to see that their nonsense was countered almost immediately by the "Parents For Free Speech", so perhaps there is hope for America yet!! (Do you guys recall that brilliantly witty episode of The Simpsons in which Marge became a successful campaigner against "porn" in Springfield, until she realized that she would be required to lead a protest against a cultural exhibition which featured nudity, so it was back to the "status quo"? Well worth seeing!)
June 9th, 2009 at 10:46 pm
Remigius if you really want to see what happens when Christian nutters use their power to censor books, check out the list of titles banned by the apartheid regime in South Africa:
http://www.beaconforfreedom.or.....nsored_p...
June 9th, 2009 at 11:11 pm
Fuck it. I did try writing an explanation that included Graham's creativeyear blog for March 21st, but I couldn't be arsed. Those fake names/comments were, in fact, yours truly!
That little fella who edits the Freethinker journal did acknowledge your contribution to the blog in his editorial piece on St Therese of Lisieux's recent tour of Ireland. I quote…
'The tour culminated with a celebration of the St Therese National Day at Knock on May 4 – a public holiday in Ireland. "Knock! Knock!" "Who's there?" "Therese". "Therese who?" "Therese a jolly good fellow!". (My thanks to someone called Barriejohn who posted that response on the Freethinker website).
So now you know. You got a mention in the monthly!
How about taking out a subscription, I nearly did. 'Tis a bloody good read, and bloody good value too. If I wasn't so brilliant at winning caption competitions I might even subscribe to it myself!
June 10th, 2009 at 2:45 am
"Their mental and emotional well-being was damaged by this book at the library"
Ah, poor darlings; look, they've been hurt, their emotional well-being upset…can't we do anything for the poor things? I know, let's have a whip round, buy them a nice card expressing our condolences, sign it from the posters at Freethinker and send it off with a nice bunch of flowers….
cos really, it looks like Jeebus has deserted them. For people who claim to have god on their side, they are so easily damaged, aren't they? Whatever happened to 'yea, thou I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil?" thing…cos I've got Jeebus on my side, but now look at them; broken and destroyed by a young adult book…so much for the Lord's protection then…the big guy's done a runner over this book and left the poor spineless little Christian weeds to face the nasty big world of free expression all on their little own…come on, everyone, a nice whip round should help them feel better…
June 10th, 2009 at 6:06 am
I don’t think I live a particularly sheltered life, but I cannot imagine what the “n-word” might be. Somebody give me a clue…
June 10th, 2009 at 6:08 am
I do not think I live a particularly protected life, but I cannot imagine what the "n-word" might be. Somebody give me a hint…
June 10th, 2009 at 7:57 am
"Christians", this is how those reactionaries freedom-haters call themselves? I don't.Homophobia is NOT a "christian value".Chreist is Love, and all loving, gay and hetero alike, is blessed by Him.
June 10th, 2009 at 8:08 am
I noticed that the two Dahl books contain the words "Witch" and "Giant" in their respective titles, so althought the second does, in fact, refer to a "giant peach", I suspect that the Christian fundies objected to them on those grounds! (Their response is probably automated now.) I couldn`t help noticing, too, that the list also includes the excellent "What Is Happening To My Body?" (the guide for parents with young girls), so one just has to wonder what sort of advice girls in Christian homes are being given as they reach puberty!!
June 10th, 2009 at 8:11 am
It`s "nigger", OurSally!
June 10th, 2009 at 8:12 am
It`s "nigger" for God`s sake! How many more times?!!
June 10th, 2009 at 8:23 am
"That little fella who edits the Freethinker …"
My mental and emotional well-being has been damaged by that sizeist remark, Remigius. Send me $30,000 dollar in damages, or I'll savage your knees with my gnashers!
June 10th, 2009 at 8:40 am
I might just buy this book out of support for the author
June 10th, 2009 at 9:18 am
Oh. I thought the 'n-word' that upset Christians so much was 'numpty'.
They must get sick of hearing it all the time!
June 10th, 2009 at 9:23 am
Try shouting that in Harlesden!
June 10th, 2009 at 11:29 am
Who knows how these fundies' minds really work. Perhaps one of them thought 'James and the Giant Peach' was about a kid developing a fetish for bubble butts.
June 10th, 2009 at 11:34 am
Or "nonsensical"!
June 10th, 2009 at 11:42 am
I sent you a reply to this comment earlier today remigius, but it has disappeared again! I noticed that the two Roald Dahl titles included the words "Witch" and "Giant" respectively, and although the latter actually refers to a giant PEACH, I did wonder whether these Christians were beng alerted automatically to words to which they have an objection!!
June 10th, 2009 at 12:20 pm
Reading this, I was wondering why they were getting quite so upset. Then, right there at the end, there it was – the "g" word.
June 10th, 2009 at 4:54 pm
I can't really see how you can support the assertion that Christ was not homophobic when stoning gays to death is part of the Mosaic law and Christ said that he came to uphold that law to the letter.
June 10th, 2009 at 5:29 pm
The book isn’t pornography. It has a gay kid being supported and loved by his family which is in no way an offensive concept. Unless you’re deluded.
The problem is that fundie busybodies are deluded. They think the entire world must submit to their insane worldview or suffer the consequences. I say we claim the presence of the Bible in libraries–a book that actually incites harm toward others when in the hands of lunatics– causes us all irreparable harm and seek damages. Imagine how much we could make–especially those of us who are both atheist and gay.
June 10th, 2009 at 6:19 pm
Nobody has mentioned Oral Roberts and I believe that Canada has a fundie nutbar called Stockwell Day.
June 10th, 2009 at 6:30 pm
Talking of Roald Dahl, I used to work with a bloke who looked exactly like the Big Friendly Giant. Maybe it was giants that the fundies objected to, we can't have good Bible believing folk growing up believing in giants can we? What's that? Giants? in the Bible? surely not.
June 10th, 2009 at 8:37 pm
I think that`s what was getting them so upset – as per usual!
June 10th, 2009 at 8:40 pm
PS I do hope they`ve very carefully scrutinised all the books about PENGUINS in their library!!
June 10th, 2009 at 8:43 pm
I`m eagerly awaiting an enormous royalties cheque, Barry!
June 10th, 2009 at 8:46 pm
They were "real" giants, Stonyground – just in case anyone is confused by your remark.
June 10th, 2009 at 10:32 pm
How about Benny Hinn! (I would say "a real fruitcake", except for the fact that I have seen the videos about him on YouTube, and he is raking in literally millions of dollars to fund his incredibly opulent lifestyle! Do you think these guys really believe – hand on heart – in what they preach?)
June 10th, 2009 at 10:40 pm
If you look up "Prosperity Gospel" on Wikipedia, you will find a whole list of preachers with very amusing names, but I kid you not that one of the foremost is a guy called Creflo Dollar!! (He`s in trouble, too, over financial irregularities, as are a good few of the others – surprise!surprise!)
June 10th, 2009 at 11:28 pm
"one just has to wonder what sort of advice girls in Christian homes are being given as they reach puberty!!"
Possibly something like "open your legs so that daddy can get in" Or is that just the pre pubescent girls?
June 11th, 2009 at 7:08 am
And don`t forget someone I mentioned on another post – Jimmy Swaggart!