Hitler, Marx, Glenn Beck, Michael Moore: The Book Banning Experiment

I came across this interesting social Experiment in which random crowds on the streets were willing to ban U.S. Right-Wing books by Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck, but were unwilling to Ban Hitlers "Mein Kampf" and "The Communist Manifesto".

Whats sad about this is not only that recent History seems to have been forgotten, but that none of the participants in the Experiment appears to have said "I dont believe in banning books, this is free speech America".

Note: This is not an endorsement of the books suggested for banning. It is an endorsement of free speech, that a certain segment of American society no longer values.

Watch the Experiment Here:



While I am not a fan of any of the books voted for banning, I would never dare even suggest book bannings.

How and Why have people become this ignorant of what free speech means?

Just off to have a watch...

I'm not sure who said it, but when people start burning books they end up burning people and I wonder how that works with banning books? do they end up banning people or just their views.. hope i never get to find out.

edit for clarity.. too rushed today.


edit: just watched and am shocked anyone would want to ban even a single book on that list.. while none are in my top million books I would like to read free speech is an important and integral part of a healthy society.

reply to post by Skyfloating


Books should not be burned. People should be educated to understand that all literature of a political nature is designed to pitt people against each other so that the elite can go about their business while the cavemen fight to the death. Divide and rule.

I read almost every book on that list and dont like a single one of those books. but the idea of banning books is insane. Someone smart (I dont know who) once said:

If you dont believe in tolerance for the people you dislike, you dont believe in tolerance at all

I could never support the banning of a book!

I may not like the content in some but that is their right of free speech to write that book. Nobody said I have to read it! It's what you choose to do with the information that matters imo.

I love books and love to read. I am not a fan of e-readers, can't stand them actually. I'd rather have the actual book!

I have been reading "Mein Kampf" for months, it's long and kind of a heavy read but a few people I know have said that book shouldn't be sold. I couldn't understand their thought process on this because it is actually interesting to me and historical in nature in a sense. I like to read everything, esp books that are controversial in nature, they tend to be pretty darn good! I read about half of Albert Pikes "Morals and Dogma" and that was a bit much...required google while reading. A friend had a copy and let me borrow it..It was interesting I must say the parts I read.

I remember looking for a book I found on ATS, can't think of the name but not ONE bookstore in my area carries it or can even order it. I think I found it online on ABE books and it was a couple hundred bucks! Apparently it's highly controversial because of the subject matter. I found it in a thread of controversial books on here. If I can find the link I'll add it.


S&F!

reply to post by mblahnikluver


I read "The Communist Manifesto", "Mein Kampf" and yes, even "Morals and Dogma" and I am glad I did because I now really know what Im talking about when trying to debunk Marx or Hitler. "Mein Kampf" is outlawed in some countries and thats sad because it does not stop people from reading it, it just makes them more defensive of it.

Anyway...I agree that Morals & Dogma can get heavy and boring at times.

hi op
i hate to see a book banned
there a brilliant book by king under the psudonym steve bachman
its called rage and was requested by king to ban it
its the story of a highschool student who takes his whole class hostage
it was an excellent book and im finding it hard to get a copy

Originally posted by davesmart
hi op
i hate to see a book banned
there a brilliant book by king under the psudonym steve bachman
its called rage and was requested by king to ban it
its the story of a highschool student who takes his whole class hostage
it was an excellent book and im finding it hard to get a copy

Diabolical PR move there!

As much as I hate communism/marxism....how will you recognize it if you dont know what it looks like?

Originally posted by davesmart
hi op
i hate to see a book banned
there a brilliant book by king under the psudonym steve bachman
its called rage and was requested by king to ban it
its the story of a highschool student who takes his whole class hostage
it was an excellent book and im finding it hard to get a copy

Are you implying that reading the book could cause harm?

If so, I believe its up to me whether I act upon information or not.

It's sad, it seems like people have no knowledge of modern history and demonstrates how simple it will be for history to repeat itself.



Those who burn books will end up burning people.

But, in recent American history, it was deemed fine to burn records of artists the mainstream didn't like. Disco Demolition night.
en.wikipedia.org...

Originally posted by Skyfloating

Originally posted by davesmart
hi op
i hate to see a book banned
there a brilliant book by king under the psudonym steve bachman
its called rage and was requested by king to ban it
its the story of a highschool student who takes his whole class hostage
it was an excellent book and im finding it hard to get a copy

Are you implying that reading the book could cause harm?

If so, I believe its up to me whether I act upon information or not.

hey op
im not implying that whatsoever
im merely pointing that there was copycats whom had this book in their possesion
its on wiki
plz dont be rude because you misinterpreted what i posted
regards
dave

reply to post by Skyfloating

I came across this interesting social Experiment in which random crowds on the streets were willing to ban U.S. Right-Wing books by Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck, but were unwilling to Ban Hitlers "Mein Kampf" and "The Communist Manifesto". Whats sad about this is not only that recent History seems to have been forgotten, but that none of the participants in the Experiment appears to have said "I dont believe in banning books, this is free speech America".

When I was coming up, the general thing was that... I may not agree with what you say, but I'll fight to the death for your right to say it.

But just over the last 30 years or so, this has changed... mainly because our news media migrated away from neutral independence and became vested gears in the political machines that paid their way. As a result, we reflect the purposeful polarization of our information services that were basically turned into partisan propaganda machines.

Today, we are a thin-skinned, intolerant, narrow-minded culture that has no notion of civil discourse or accepting any opinions that don't mesh perfectly with our own. We can't debate issues without resorting to verbal insult barrages and slander based on the stereotypes, slogans and half truths we get from our favorite news network political personalities.

Hitler, Marx... Stalin are all long enough gone that those who were alive during WW2 (or before) are dying off and less able to directly influence contemporary thought and policy.

Our schools do not turn out people who are capable of interacting with the rest of society. We have devolved from a nation of learned, free people to that of an audience at the Roman arena... or a pro wrasslin smack down. Our minds are not filled with good, useful information but rather, hammered perceptions so that we automatically respond in a certain way to certain situations.

So... if the thought of banning books no longer upsets us, it's because we can't form the basic understanding of what that would mean to ALL and not just us... or the 'me'.

reply to post by davesmart


Didnt mean to be rude, just asking.

In any case, King doesnt have a chance of hiding that book. As long as there is Internet its unlikely that you can hide books. As long as the Internet is free that is...

reply to post by woodwardjnr


The Nazi book burning is sad.

When I was younger I was not much interested in History. Today I understand that those who dont know History are destined to repeat it. All the people in the Experiment mentioned in the OP disregarded Hitlers "Mein Kamp" and Marx as if they were unfamiliar with History.

First. I find it interesting that several of the posters in this thread feel the need to stress that they don't subscribe to the content of a certain book, or would never read said book, but do think that people should be able to... This is the literary equivalent to the 'I am not a communist, but...' defense of the mccarthyist era. It shows that this is a contentious issue, even though it shouldn't be.

Just because you read a book, it does not automatically follow that you agree with it, as some people seem to believe. It simply suggests that you are interested in greater/deeper understanding of a subject, than can be had from wikipedia.

Reading 'Das Kapital' or 'Mein Kampf' gives you a greater understanding of the timeperiod of the book, the society of that time, and the ideas and concepts that were part of that time. It doesn't automatically turn you into a communist or a nationalsocialist.


Second. The video seems seductively simple and straightforward, but it is, in a sense' a trick.

Listen to the carefully crafted way that the offer is stated. 'If you guys are interested in having any of these books banned, you can vote for up to three'.

By asking this way, he is seeding the mind of the people he approaches, with a premise that states 'burning books is perfectly fine'. Then to ensure that their mind won't focus on the premise, he offers that they can vote for up to three, which tricks the mind into focusing on the selection of votes and not the premise.

The whole thing is presented in a tone and bodylanguage that is casual and nonspecific, and designed to send the message that the voter should not think too much about it. Most people will comply with his nonverbal instructions and will soon vote their three choices.

In advertising you learn that people will lose interest the more effort they have to apply. This is why advertising is about concenntrating the message and placing it at the top, or right below breasts, behinds or faces. Here we have 11 bookcovers, with the most recent at the top. As you can see, most people expend their 3 votes before ever reaching the second row, because they act on impulse and emotion.

All in all a clever little experiment in deception and misdirection.

reply to post by Skyfloating
Truly disturbing OP.
Never would I have thought that this could occur. But I see this as a symptom of a larger problem. As a society, we've become passive. Allowing issues like TSA, Patriot Act et al to exist.
"If it doesn't affect me, then why should I care?"

Banning books.

I don't like olives. We should ban those next. To hell with those of you who like them.

This myopic view and passive display is an insult to every single person who values and embraces freedom.

I am disgusted beyond compare.