Irony alert: Texas dad wants "Fahrenheit 451" banned

Posted by Melissa McEwan at 7:12 AM on October 3, 2006.

Misty at Expostulation found this gem:

Alton Verm, of Conroe, objects to the language and content in the book. His 15-year-old daughter Diana, a CCHS sophomore, came to him Sept. 21 with her reservations about reading the book because of its language. "The book had a bunch of very bad language in it," Diana Verm said. "It shouldn’t be in there because it's offending people. ... If they can't find a book that uses clean words, they shouldn’t have a book at all."

Dearest Diana, I'm not sure you want to set the precedent of censoring anything that's offensive to someone's sensibilities. I can think of at least one person who isn't thrilled with self-righteous teenage girls who turn their noses up at important works of literature because she doesn't like naughty words.

"It's just all kinds of filth," said Alton Verm, adding that he had not read 'Fahrenheit 451.'

Now, see, some people might think it's unfair of Mr. Verm to criticize a book he's never read, but I won't go there. I mean, I've never met Mr. Verm and already I don't like him.

Misty makes the pertinent point:

Was his daughter forced into reading F451? No, of course not. She was offered an alternative book to read. Does that satisfy these people? No, of course not. They want a book they have never read banned from the schools because it is against their religious beliefs so that everyone must be punished for their blatent, offensively high stupidity.

Simply not reading a book, not watching a TV show, not seeing a movie, not getting an abortion, not marrying a person of the same sex...such easy solutions never seem to appeal to the Culture Warriors.

Somewhere the saving and putting away had to begin again and someone had to do the saving and keeping, one way or another, in books, in records, in people's heads, any way at all so long as it was safe, free from moths, silver-fish, rust and dry-rot, and men with matches. -- Fahrenheit 451

(Expostulation)

Melissa McEwan writes and edits the blog Shakespeare's Sister.