Palin Wants Harry Potter Banned
September 8, 2008 – 10:15 amErrata: This article has been updated
According to a TIME article, Palin tried to ban books from the library.
Stein says that as mayor, Palin continued to inject religious beliefs into her policy at times. “She asked the library how she could go about banning books,” he says, because some voters thought they had inappropriate language in them. “The librarian was aghast.” That woman, Mary Ellen Baker, couldn’t be reached for comment, but news reports from the time show that Palin had threatened to fire Baker for not giving “full support” to the mayor.
When the article was published, it set off a firestorm, especially from critics. The internet immediately tried to search out a list of books that Palin requested banned. A list of commonly attacked books surfaced. These books were typically attacked by evengelicals for their heritical nature (ala Harry Potter), or their pro sex-education nature (Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret). However, this list ended up not being verifiable as books that Palin had openly attacked.
Where previously a list of “Palin’s banned books” were published, we are now publishing a list of books that are most frequently attacked by the right as too pro-education, anti-Christian, or dissenting. This list is created by the American Library Association.
1. Scary Stories (Series) by Alvin Schwartz
2. Daddy’s Roommate by Michael Willhoite
3. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
4. The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
5. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
6. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
7. Harry Potter (Series) by J.K. Rowling
8. Forever by Judy Blume
9. Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
10. Alice (Series) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
11. Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman
12. My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier
13. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
14. The Giver by Lois Lowry
15. It’s Perfectly Normal by Robie Harris
16. Goosebumps (Series) by R.L. Stine
17. A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck
18. The Color Purple by Alice Walker
19. Sex by Madonna
20. Earth’s Children (Series) by Jean M. Auel
21. The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson
22. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
23. Go Ask Alice by Anonymous
24. Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers
25. In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak
26. The Stupids (Series) by Harry Allard
27. The Witches by Roald Dahl
28. The New Joy of Gay Sex by Charles Silverstein
29. Anastasia Krupnik (Series) by Lois Lowry
30. The Goats by Brock Cole
31. Kaffir Boy by Mark Mathabane
32. Blubber by Judy Blume
33. Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan
34. Halloween ABC by Eve Merriam
35. We All Fall Down by Robert Cormier
36. Final Exit by Derek Humphry
37. The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
38. Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
39. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
40. What’s Happening to my Body? Book for Girls: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Daughters by Lynda Madaras
41. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
42. Beloved by Toni Morrison
43. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
44. The Pigman by Paul Zindel
45. Bumps in the Night by Harry Allard
46. Deenie by Judy Blume
47. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
48. Annie on my Mind by Nancy Garden
49. The Boy Who Lost His Face by Louis Sachar
50. Cross Your Fingers, Spit in Your Hat by Alvin Schwartz
51. A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein
52. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
53. Sleeping Beauty Trilogy by A.N. Roquelaure (Anne Rice)
54. Asking About Sex and Growing Up by Joanna Cole
55. Cujo by Stephen King
56. James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
57. The Anarchist Cookbook by William Powell
58. Boys and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
59. Ordinary People by Judith Guest
60. American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
61. What’s Happening to my Body? Book for Boys: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Sons by Lynda Madaras
62. Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
63. Crazy Lady by Jane Conly
64. Athletic Shorts by Chris Crutcher
65. Fade by Robert Cormier
66. Guess What? by Mem Fox
67. The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende
68. The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline Cooney
69. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
70. Lord of the Flies by William Golding
71. Native Son by Richard Wright
72. Women on Top: How Real Life Has Changed Women’s Fantasies by Nancy Friday
73. Curses, Hexes and Spells by Daniel Cohen
74. Jack by A.M. Homes
75. Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo A. Anaya
76. Where Did I Come From? by Peter Mayle
77. Carrie by Stephen King
78. Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume
79. On My Honor by Marion Dane Bauer
80. Arizona Kid by Ron Koertge
81. Family Secrets by Norma Klein
82. Mommy Laid An Egg by Babette Cole
83. The Dead Zone by Stephen King
84. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
85. Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
86. Always Running by Luis Rodriguez
87. Private Parts by Howard Stern
88. Where’s Waldo? by Martin Hanford
89. Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene
90. Little Black Sambo by Helen Bannerman
91. Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
92. Running Loose by Chris Crutcher
93. Sex Education by Jenny Davis
94. The Drowning of Stephen Jones by Bette Greene
95. Girls and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
96. How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell
97. View from the Cherry Tree by Willo Davis Roberts
98. The Headless Cupid by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
99. The Terrorist by Caroline Cooney
100. Jump Ship to Freedom by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier
More:
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29 Responses to “Palin Wants Harry Potter Banned”
So how did you get it? Do you have a photocopy of the meeting minutes to share? That’d be the smoking gun.
Featured at Sarah Palin’s Church Works to Pray The Gay Away by Jay Andrew Allen
By Jay Andrew Allen on Sep 8, 2008
This is outrageous - I don’t know how to respond to this. What’s next? Book-burnings in the Oval Office broadcast live via Fox?
By Gurur Sarbanoglu on Sep 8, 2008
This looks like a similar book-banning list the Right Wing Evangelicals put out some years ago (before Harry Potter appeared). They would like to ban anything Wiccan/Pagan, or anything intellectual for that matter.
These are no-science, no-thinking allowed people. Watch out America. Intellectuals are the first to be slaughtered when the thought police come to town…
By Kat on Sep 8, 2008
What the hell is the Digg censorship team? [ADDENDUM] It wouldn’t be the first time that a religious zealot tried to ban knowledge — its just one more point to add to the already long litany against Sarah Palin …
By AvangionQ on Sep 8, 2008
Lets recap with a short list: Sarah Palin has a horrible track record for women’s rights, is against abortions, even including those for cases of rape and incest; she denies human involvement in global warming, even as the permafrost melts under her feet; she has limited executive and foreign diplomatic experience, for which either she or her staff have lied about; she’s a historical revisionist who thinks ‘In God We Trust’ was written by the Founding Fathers; she was involved in the `bridge to nowhere` scandal) and has a horrible track record of excessively using earmarks; racism against African Americans, Native Americans and Eskimos — now add censorship of public libraries to the already impressively long litany … personally, I find her appointment to vice presidential running mate to be a mockery of our political system meant as a desperation tactic to attract low-information female voters and the minority of those amongst the Evangelical Christian religious denomination … what a bad joke!
By AvangionQ on Sep 8, 2008
BWAHAHAHAAA!!
FAIL!
By hunter jones on Sep 8, 2008
Yes! Ban Harry Potter. (Or at least, ban it for adults.) Let’s get back to good writing!
By Nedski on Sep 9, 2008
I did my bit and emailed Digg. I Googled the first 13 titles on the list and so far there are 77 websites covering this. Here’s the Google search URL http://tinyurl.com/68ffmv
This has to go truly viral. I also posted it on the website where I’m a columnist, Capitol Hill Blue.
By Hal Brown on Sep 9, 2008
Sarah the patsy Judas goat
Shoves twisted views down people’s throats
Her lies are fascist in extremis
She claims rights on your cunt or penis
Her friends are babbling psychopaths
Who pull insane Gods from out their ass
And all the while she’s lying, smearing
The boys for Bush are clapping, cheering
Four more years of war and plunder
Of boot in face, the people under
Of shrinking jobs, diminishing hope
of being reviled by telegenic dopes
life becomes a lying sneering trope
led by Sarah, the patsy Judas goat.
Irony has been replaced by the grotesque repetition of Fascist blockheads burning books.
By waldo on Sep 9, 2008
Some posting here apparently don’t get it. Palin absolutely did pressure the chief Wasilla librarian to agree to ban books for her, without mentioning which books, and then try to fire her when she didn’t cooperate. This fake list is being used by the fascists to claim that Palin NEVER had any plans to ban books, because the list is clearly faked. Unless you’re working to get Palin in the White House, bury this damn hoax.
By Mike on Sep 9, 2008
Just another piece of evidence to the obvious conlusion: Sarah Palin is a bad person.
By Phuckface digitalis on Sep 9, 2008
Unfortunately, it doesn’t matter if this list is true or not .. it will only serve to make her more popular .. just like her “God wants us to bomb Iraq and build pipelines” did. Face it we live in a nation full to the brim with morons.
Featured at Republican Bizarre-O Land by Kmuzu
By Kmuzu on Sep 9, 2008
I fully agree with the ridiculous nature of this list. But really, her biggest offense here is that she wants Harry Pooter banned? That’s what you chose to headline this? I’m far more offended by the fact that a DICTIONARY should be banned, nevermind the fact that most of these books are written by authors far more talented and deserving than J.K. Rowling. Honestly if that’s your biggest gripe about this, then I’d rather you both stop wasting the oxygen and for the rest of us.
By Dr. Marmalade on Sep 9, 2008
Perhaps the dictionary she wants banned defines marriage as a union between TWO people and not a man and a woman. LOL
By Abby on Sep 10, 2008
though she did ask about the librarian’s reaction to the idea of banning books, the above list is not accurate… the date of the latest harry potter on the list is after the date she supposedly made the ban request…
not that i like this chick.
i think that her “loyalty tests” that she exercised with most of the people under her speak volumes to the kind of person we are dealing with.
i mean, seriously, a loyalty oath?!?
she has so very many issues attached to her…
we do not need this person in the head of our government.
that’s all i am sayin’.
By girl on Sep 10, 2008
this is bogus. and any savvy person would know that by now. and i would so do her.
By ubidubi on Sep 11, 2008
Quite obviously untrue… who would attempt to ban a dictionary or The Color Purple? It would be social, political, and moral suicide, and anyone who believed that this list was even remotely accurate is bordering on idiocy.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/09/09/politics/animal/main4430259.shtml
By Befree on Sep 11, 2008
Snopes has this covered — Palin never submitted a list. She **did**, however, speak to the librarian and (IIRC) before the town council about censoring books, but her request for the librarian’s resignation caused such an uproar that she rescinded the resignation and didn’t bring up the book-banning again. It’s not that she’s against banning books — she just had other, tastier and easier, fish to fry.
By Barrayaran on Sep 12, 2008
Thank you for your post it is valuable information for me
By mp3 download on Sep 12, 2008
SARAH PALIN IS A CUNT! Buy the t-shit and wear it with pride!
http://www.cafepress.com/palin_is_a_cunt
By FreeAgent on Sep 15, 2008
The great thing about Sarah Palin is that we are closer to the day when the media will recognize Paris Hilton as a legitimate candidate. Its obvious that Paris is more qualified on every level and now maybe the MSM will stop holding her good looks and sex appeal against her. And don’t forget Britney!
The writer is spot on. Forget experience! We need someone who can turn men on and get them to stop thinking with anything but what they have between their legs!
By Lew Firpin on Sep 18, 2008
I agree generally with Dr. Marmalade about the nature of this list, But to headline the Harry Potter banned issue is reasonable because it will “bring” a lot of readers.
By hats maniac on Sep 21, 2008