I have seen a lot of hype on the Internet today about Sarah Palin. I figured since she was chosen as a running mate for McCain that I should research what she is all about. Funny thing is I keep stumbling upon articles that discuss the possibility that she attempted to get books banned from the public library when she was mayor of a small town in Alaska. This peaked my interest because it is a subject that is near and dear to my heart. It most certainly would affect my opinion of her if she were involved in banning books from public libraries based upon her religious beliefs.
I searched high and low today to see if I could find some kind of proof that she was involved in banning books. I couldn’t find any. The story as I can piece it together is that she requested information about the process that one would use if they were wanting to try to get books banned. There is talk of a list of books that she wanted to be banned but all of the ones I have seen disclose that some of the books on their list were not even published when she was mayor.
What does this mean for me? It means that I continue to search for some sort of verification on her stance on banning books. I for one would love to know how she feels about government (big or small) intervening in the choices people have on what books to read. I agree that there are books that children should not read but I feel it is the responsibility of each parent to control what their children read. While I hold some of the same religious and political beliefs of Sarah Palin I would never condone someone presuming that they could make the choice for me or anyone else on reading material based upon those beliefs.
For now I am going to hold my opinion on the matter until I can get more information. You can be sure though that I will be closely watching her actions with regards to the matter because it is a matter that I find to be utterly important .
10 responses so far ↓
1 Kimberly @ AllAboutKimberly // Sep 5, 2008 at 9:50 pm
WOW! I haven’t heard anything about this, but please do keep us posted on anything that is merited that you find out. This won’t impact my voting for McCain and Palin, but it would be a nice bit of knowledge to have.
2 DWalla // Sep 8, 2008 at 3:00 pm
Just so you know… the list of books that is floating around is totally bogus.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/palin/bannedbooks.asp
3 Cate @ Pink Ritas & Lip Gloss // Sep 8, 2008 at 4:18 pm
Interesting! I hadn’t heard about this yet and would be interested to know what books she was interested in banning. I wonder if they are the usual ones banned at most libraries or if there are other ones.
Sadly, I find there is a growing trend for the government to be responsible instead of us being responsible for ourselves/our children. As much as I hate censorship and government involvement I bet this will be something that we see more of in the future.
4 Kim // Sep 9, 2008 at 2:54 am
Hi! I’m from Alaska, and I can tell you that “Sarah Palin is a book banner” is a big, fat lie being spread across the Internet.
The manufactured “controversy” stems from over a decade ago, when a Wasilla librarian was asked (in the “vetting” process, to coin a popular term!) what she would do if she were asked to ban a book.
The recounting of this event by people not even involved has morphed into the LIE that Palin fired the librarian because she refused to ban books that Palin found objectionable.
1) No books were ever banned.
2) No banning was ever requested.
3) The librarian was not fired, although she did resign her position while Palin was mayor of Wasilla.
As always with politics, there are grudges and agendas driving the airing of this “scandal.” You can research the many opinions on the matter at adn.com or read a list of “Separating Palin Fact from Palin Fiction” at pajamasmedia.com
5 janet // Sep 9, 2008 at 8:50 am
Hi guys! I am glad to see some response to this post as I am truly interested in knowing the truth about the situation which is why I posed it as a question. I would hope that my post did not come across as sounding as though I was spreading a lie since I did point out that I had yet to find credible evidence that it is true. I appreciate information of all types because information is what helps us all make informed decisions. I appreciate the information provided by all of you and I would hope that we could keep this discussion going. While I have come to believe that Sarah Palin did not actually ever ban a single book or provide a list of books to anyone that she would have wanted to see banned I also believe that she was perhaps considering doing so. Thanks again.
6 Kim // Sep 9, 2008 at 12:55 pm
Here’s a “big, fat” SORRY! as I did not mean to suggest you were spreading rumors–your post was well-written and your tone even-tempered, which I really appreciate after all the viciousness that’s been seeping into political discussions these days. I even gave your post a vote over at the Mom Blog Network!
I do want to point out that the librarian did not bring up this issue; rather, a woman who has been quite vocal recently in her dislike for Palin has demonstrated a remarkable ability to quote conversations from 12 years ago without the use of written notes.
Until another person from those days, either from Wasilla’s city council or library, can substantiate her implications that Palin supports book banning or was plotting to remove specific titles from the Wasilla library, I maintain my confidence that Sarah Palin is not interested in banning books.
7 Sandy // Sep 9, 2008 at 10:07 pm
I believe that Palin could very well ban books that displease her, as I am finding that she seems to distort the truth about some things. Just because she is beautiful, doesn’t mean she has anything else going for her, besides being a wonderful mother.
8 Jamie // Sep 10, 2008 at 12:03 am
This link is to an article in the Anchorage Daily News that gives a good background into this story.
http://www.adn.com/sarah-palin/story/515512.html
Recent news reports have debunked the internet rumors that there was a list of books that Palin wanted removed from the library but, as the above article evidences, her intent is very murky.
However, whether or not there was a list of specific books that Palin asked to be banned is not my concern. I am shocked that an elected official would even consider or raise the issue of removing books from the shelves of a public library. Censorship is a blatant violation of the 1st amendment of the Constitution - the very same constitution she would be pledging to protect if elected.
http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/basics/Default2272.cfm
9 Tricia // Sep 14, 2008 at 5:15 pm
Looks like this issue isn’t over yet. This is from the New York Times today:
But in 1995, Ms. Palin, then a city councilwoman, told colleagues that she had noticed the book “Daddy’s Roommate” on the shelves and that it did not belong there, according to Ms. Chase and Mr. Stein. Ms. Chase read the book, which helps children understand homosexuality, and said it was inoffensive; she suggested that Ms. Palin read it.
“Sarah said she didn’t need to read that stuff,” Ms. Chase said. “It was disturbing that someone would be willing to remove a book from the library and she didn’t even read it.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/14/us/politics/14palin.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
10 janet // Sep 14, 2008 at 10:10 pm
It would seem that drama follows her everywhere she goes. I see issues with every aspect of everything she has done. Even her family life has drama. It makes one consider if maybe that is the point?!? Difficult to focus on the economy when we are focused on her unmarried teenage pregnant daughter. Very disheartening indeed. Maybe I should see if she will answer an email interview from me about this book banning thing. I WANT answers dang it!!!!
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