Out of Our Element
Editor: Grace Corey
Book burnings can no longer be ignored
By Izzy Rutherford
A book burning is the deliberate destruction, by fire, of books or other written materials, typically carried out in a public setting. It’s considered to be one of the most extreme forms of censorship and something that people don’t seem to know is still common nowadays. When most think of book burnings, they usually think of the most infamous one that took place on May 10, 1933. It was carried out by groups of university students and Nazi party members in Germany to get rid of books that weren’t of the “German spirit.” The books that were burned were found to be written by intellectuals, scientists, and other cultural figures, many of whom were Jewish.
Nowadays, most book burnings are held by religious groups that strongly disagree with religions that are not their own or who protest the contents found in certain books. These book burnings are regarded as an extreme form of censorship that targets certain forms of literature based on whether the contents disagree with their beliefs.
While book burnings are not exactly common, they do seem to be making a return alarmingly fast. The internet and social media have played a huge role in the return of these. People can broadcast their beliefs on these books and organize groups of people with similar beliefs on the situation. While it's perfectly acceptable to gather people to express opinions on certain matters, there have been a couple of occasions where these viewpoints have been voiced in a way that suppresses the viewpoints of others of opposing opinions.
Take Tennessee, for example. Tennessee pastor Greg Locke organized a book burning to burn books, like those in the Harry Potter series, for containing elements of witchcraft. This, unfortunately, is not the only instance where books have been burned as a form of protest, but it’s one that definitely made it into the headlines.
The Harry Potter book series has been met with plenty of backlash. While also being regarded as a banned book, Harry Potter has had six recorded burnings held since it was published. A lot of people would love to see these books gone, believing that their contents will make their kids grow up wanting to be the witches and wizards that they read about. It’s been a book that has been challenged for its central theme and even banned in certain schools.
There are, however, many who find the idea of burning books appalling. Books are sources of knowledge, an outlet for those to make their beliefs known and to share their ideas with the world. English teacher Mrs. Mona Brown said, “I don’t see the purpose in burning books. If you don’t like something, that is your decision, but don’t go to extreme measures to make sure nobody else can read it.”
Parents, of course, have the ability to censor certain books from their children based on what they may contain, but to take these books and burn them to protest the ideas of someone else goes above and beyond that. “It’s like Fahrenheit 451 all over again,” English teacher Mrs. Lynne Cowherd, commented.
There’s nothing wrong with restricting books based on age-appropriateness. If anything, it’s better to allow kids to mature more before reading anything too graphic. That being said, this form of censorship is one that many hope won’t last. It destroys vital elements of literature that bring up controversial topics that should be discussed. These books allow for people to take part in discussions and recognize the errors of the past. Writing is meant to be a form of expression that allows all who take part in it to showcase their talents and point of view.
These burnings suppress the creations of the authors who’ve made these works of fiction to entertain and inspire a younger generation. These books touch upon topics that some look upon with disdain and allow for people to view them and understand the meanings that they hold. Books both old and new are met with hate for touching upon controversial subjects such as violence, drugs, depictions of the supernatural, racism, LGBTQ+, and more. Some of it is because people find these topics to be ones that shouldn’t be touched upon when in reality, they should be. These books are works that need to be acknowledged for all that they represent.