4 ms·

I hate that the immediate reference against which a book ban should be compared is Mein Kampf. The effect will not be to ease those bans, but to ban Mein Kampf

I hate that the immediate reference against which a book ban should be compared is Mein Kampf. The effect will not be to ease those bans, but to ban Mein Kampf too, and that sets an incredibly low standard to book bans - it's a very dull book. In my university we were able to read and critique Mein Kampf and trace Hitler's intellectual claims into the broader climate of his era. He's a negligible figure in the history of ideas but a good case study for their power. This is more and more risky to do in higher education, as it prompts lynching by a woke mob. Ironically, the hordes requesting banning Mein Kampf are espousing many of its authors convictions.

troupe 4y ago
I assumed that Mein Kampf was commonly read in high school at schools with a strong great books program. Is that not the case in the US?
- metabagel 4y ago
  Why would anyone choose Mein Kampf for a Great Books program? It’s not a significant intellectual or creative work of literature.
metabagel 4y ago
It may be dull, but it’s also anti-Semitic. “Ironically, the hordes requesting banning Mein Kampf are espousing many of its authors convictions.” This strikes me as being complete nonsense. Anyway, citation needed.
- manholio 4y ago
  > It may be dull, but it’s also anti-Semitic. Yes, so? That's relevant because antisemitism is wrong? Really, in a thread about banning books you bring up wrong ideas? > This strikes me as being complete nonsense. Anyway, citation needed. I could give you a citation, but you banned the source material, remember. That's double plus ironic because Hitler's work is absolutely full with vitriolic ramblings about how the Jewish media is spreading wrong ideas poisonous for the soul of the nation. "The bigger the lie, the most likely it is to be belived", he laments, and explicitly calls for the suppression of such speech. He would get to enact those ideas in a few short years. Antifascist activists who are looking at book bans as a weapon for their fight should probably take a good hard look in the mirror; they might see some disturbing semblance.

troupe 4y ago

I assumed that Mein Kampf was commonly read in high school at schools with a strong great books program. Is that not the case in the US?

metabagel 4y ago
Why would anyone choose Mein Kampf for a Great Books program? It’s not a significant intellectual or creative work of literature.

metabagel 4y ago

It may be dull, but it’s also anti-Semitic. “Ironically, the hordes requesting banning Mein Kampf are espousing many of its authors convictions.” This strikes me as being complete nonsense. Anyway, citation needed.

manholio 4y ago
> It may be dull, but it’s also anti-Semitic. Yes, so? That's relevant because antisemitism is wrong? Really, in a thread about banning books you bring up wrong ideas? > This strikes me as being complete nonsense. Anyway, citation needed. I could give you a citation, but you banned the source material, remember. That's double plus ironic because Hitler's work is absolutely full with vitriolic ramblings about how the Jewish media is spreading wrong ideas poisonous for the soul of the nation. "The bigger the lie, the most likely it is to be belived", he laments, and explicitly calls for the suppression of such speech. He would get to enact those ideas in a few short years. Antifascist activists who are looking at book bans as a weapon for their fight should probably take a good hard look in the mirror; they might see some disturbing semblance.