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Breathing Right

I first heard of Maus when J read it in school. It definitely made an impression on her and she highly recommended I read it to. Sadly, I have not so far but now in light of the ban, I feel that an obligation to do so. When I first read about the ban, I made a mental note to ask J next time we spoke, what might have prompted it, but learned about it on my own:

..Maus was awarded the Special Award in Letters Pulitzer Prize in 1992, the only graphic novel ever to do so to this day. Alas, these merits weren’t enough for the McMinn County Schools board, who voted to ban the book from their eighth-grade curriculum due to its use of swear words and a naked illustration of a mouse. Spiegelman himself says he is baffled by the decision and even referred to it as an “Orwellian” measure. 

I had imagined far more complex reasons than a "naked illustration of a mouse". Following that standard, innumerable illustrated children's books will be prime for the chopping block. Only Disney has animal characters in clothes and if memory serves also Jemima Puddle-duck and the cast of characters in the Beatrix Potter books. The "use of swear words" is an even more dubious standard because its upto the censor board's sensitivities to define which words are likely to given young children offense and what they need to be protected from. I feel for the kids growing up these crazy times of political and other forms of correctness where one day we may come to a point of needing to breathe just the right way or not breathe at all.

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