Ask Lemmy

You're right. I specified that because there are things like protection for minors, and I didn't want someone to defuse my argument by arguing about one exception from the rule that could be construed as banning books. And I think that's a fake argument. Obviously you don't read an erotic novel to your 8yo kid. But at high-school age you're pretty much allowed to start making own decisions. At least well-equipped to read about diversity and how other parts of the world work. Or telling fact from fiction or consuming art.

And I think at college lever or once you're officially an adult, there is little to no reason to keep information from you. That's something the nazis did, the Taliban does and other suppressive regimes and dictatorships. And these days we're discussing to do that in the USA, at least to the people who actually have time at hand to read books and learn about the world. Which becomes more difficult once you're older, have a stressful job etc. So that's exactly how to deal maximum damage without going full autocracy on all citizens.

And this kind of behaviour is something I struggle to relate with. I live far away from the USA in Europe. And while we certainly have idiots here, I don't see a major debate on keeping school-kids stupid, by stripping away their access to information. And I mean it's not where someone is from, everyone from the USA I've talked with also wouldn't accept that. I guess I'm just not talking that much to the idiots an bigots.