U.S. pensioner caught censoring libary books

A decorated World War Two veteran has been charged with second-degree criminal mischief for crossing out swear words in hundreds of books at a New York library and replacing them with religious inscriptions.

Raymond Barber, a former trucker and a great-grandfather, wrote "God is Enough" inside the front covers of the books and scribbled over expletives and added religious phrases.

It seems he fought for our right to write expletives, and for his right to prevent others from reading the expletives.

www.reuters.co.uk...

I've never really understood why people are so obsessed with 'expletives' anyway. If people insist on being offended than they will always find something to be offended by. some people are offended that I wear pentagram earrings. Others are offended by people who swear. Others are offended by people who burp in public.
Sometimes I despair of people.

Indeed, your make a very valid point. We often place too much worth on society's current taboos, without really evaluating which caused more damage: the taboo or our reaction to it.

And I say "current taboos" because we are finding out that was is acceptable today, was not allowed previously.

I don't see a problem in anything written because you have a choice of reading it or not. But spoken word is another thing. I do admit I sometimes use profanity. It's a bad habit I've tried to break since changing jobs. I worked for years on a nightshift with all former male military and myself the only female. Luckily I wasn't particularly easy to offend and at times could even make them blush!

However... I try not to do it because it is offensive and I can't see a reason to offend where it's not necessary. I've been in public places before where there was someone at a seat or table nearby who was cursing liberally and it made everyone around them uncomfortable. It's considered low-brow and anti-social. Used constantly it becomes an irritant. Used sparingly in the right places, it hammers home the point. But it's true enough, somebody somewhere is always gonna be offended by something.

I have to laugh thinking of this poor old dude sitting there crossing out all the bad words. I try to picture the expression on his face while doing it. He must have gotten some good reading done! *L*