Book burning, like book bans, never makes any sense to me. If you don’t like a book, then don’t read it. It’s really that simple.
Unfortunately, most of the people who want to ban or burn books have never even read a single page of any of them. They only go by what they’ve heard or read on social media. They whip themselves into a frenzy of hate over words and ideas.
There was another incident here in the U.S. recently where a person took books from a library and filmed themselves burning them. The books were about Jewish, African-American, and LGBTQ+ topics and the person who burned them proudly stated it was due to hatred.
Personally, I think it’s a mixture of hatred, fear of the unknown, and a cry for attention. Someone wasn’t hugged enough as a child.
On the plus side, the response to this sad event has been a drive to replace the books and add additional volumes to the library shelves. There has also been an outreach by the interfaith community to raise awareness and combat misinformation.
Burning books is just so sad.
It makes me wonder why you’re mad.
Is it because you cannot read?
Or is it attention that you need?
Just leave the books on the shelf,
And take a look inside yourself.
You’ll be surprised by what you find.
There’s something off within your mind.
Why can’t you just leave it be?
Let others decide what they will read.
There’s really nothing for you to fear,
Books will never disappear.
RB
When I worked in the children’s library, a few parents vocalized their dislike of books we displayed during pride month. The staffed upped our game on responding with patience and gentle recommendations that they read the book before judging its burn-ability by the book cover. A few parents did read the books and backed off.
That’s heartening to read, Cheryl. I can’t imagine how difficult it is for library staff to have to deal with situations like this, and my heart goes out to them.
I’m glad to know that progress can be made. Have a great weekend!
Nice poem rich. Never quite got the idea behind burning stuff.
Thanks, mate. Gotta remember that people also burned rock albums back in the day. Weird stuff.
Even The Beatles!?
😂
An excellent poem, Richard. Well done. 🙂
Thank you, my friend! Coming from you I consider it high praise!
Thank you, Richard. You’re very kind. 😊
So tragic! Love your poem, Richard. It sums it up. We live in a very sad and intolerant world. I hope one day, things will turn around and we start moving forward again.
Same here, my friend. Fingers crossed! 🙂
I could never, ever burn a book.
I think it takes a very twisted state of mind to have that urge. Thanks for commenting, Sheree.
Agreed
That’s just insane.
I know some people burned bibles and flags and stuff like that, but never regular books.
I will say that an author from a “minority group” shouldn’t be immediately praised only for that reason. It has to be actual decent writing.
But why not just leave an honest and respectful review.
What a world we live in.
Agreed…it’s crazy out there. Books are where I find my sanity. 🙂
Love the poem and the understanding behind it, Richard. Book Burning is a terrible thing and one must be part mad to want to expose that part of themself to the world.
Thank you, Pat. It’s one of those things I’ll never understand. And maybe that’s a good thing.