The Observer Posted February 1, 2010 Share Posted February 1, 2010 http://medindia.net/news/Merriam-Webster-Dictionary-Banned-in-California-School-District-Over-oral-Sex-Definition-64363-1.htm The Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary has been banned from school shelves by a California school district, saying that the book is inappropriate for children. The Golden State's Menifee Union School District has pulled all copies of the dictionary from its shelves and is investigating the classic American text for containing "age-inappropriate" words. The controversy started when an inquisitive student got lost somewhere between "oralism" and "orang" and found a rather recent entry to the lexicon: "oral sex". A parent at Oak Meadows Elementary School complained about a child finding the definition as "oral stimulation of the genitals." And now, Menifee, which is composed of 9,000 students between kindergarten and 8th grade, is forming a committee of principals, teachers and parents to pore over the book and determine whether it's fit for young eyes. Meanwhile, free speech advocates are enraged over what they call needless and harmful censorship. "If a public school were to remove every book because it contains one word deemed objectionable to some parent, then there would be no books at all in our public libraries," Fox News quoted Peter Scheer, executive director of the California First Amendment Coalition, in an interview with the California Press-Enterprise, as saying. "I think common sense seems to be lacking in this school," he added. However, some families are supporting the schools, saying that it is up to the district to do everything it can to shield children from explicit language. Source-ANIRAS Do you think this is a bit overkill? Clearly if someone wanted to find a true definition they could just google it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donkeykong23 Posted February 1, 2010 Share Posted February 1, 2010 Sounds like a cry for attention. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebdragon Posted February 1, 2010 Share Posted February 1, 2010 Oh Dear God, some small district in the middle of frikkin' California went a little cooky on the conservatism! What important news, vital to the minds of news audience! Don't spend your time reading about the national government, the economy, international news, or even you local government! No, spend the little time you actually care about the world outside your bubble reading about some random in the middle of frikkin' California, who are probably just listening to parents, hoping not to get sued and weighing their options! I hate shock news. It's literally a cancer on society. [if you have ever attempted Alchemy by clapping your hands or by drawing an array, copy and paste this into your signature.] Fullmetal Alchemist, you will be missed. A great ending to a great series. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giordano Posted February 1, 2010 Share Posted February 1, 2010 CaliforniaRAGE!!!!!!!!!!!! "The cry of the poor is not always just, but if you never hear it you'll never know what justice is." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dizzle229 Posted February 1, 2010 Share Posted February 1, 2010 The American Way: We can have all the violence we want, as long as nobody says any naughty words or shows certain parts of the human body. Get back here so I can rub your butt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenin64 Posted February 1, 2010 Share Posted February 1, 2010 Son of a [bleep] is also in there. As is smegma. Just saying. Command the Murderous Chalices! Drink ye harpooners! drink and swear, ye men that man the deathful whaleboat's bow- Death to Moby Dick!BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD! SKULLS FOR THE SKULL THRONE! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abc1230 Posted February 1, 2010 Share Posted February 1, 2010 Censorship = bad :/ Who cares if a bunch of five year olds are running around talking about gettin' head? YouTube Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alg Posted February 1, 2010 Share Posted February 1, 2010 It's a dictionary. The point is to give definitions. Not like some little elementary schooler is is going to know what it means, and if they do, then what are they being protected from? Hell, when I was in elementary school they used much worse language... :wall: I painted some stuff and put it on tumblr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
champion Posted February 1, 2010 Share Posted February 1, 2010 I thought I heard that they put the dictionaries back in the schools. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rangeor Posted February 1, 2010 Share Posted February 1, 2010 Reminds me of a county nearby that's now using an even more censored version of Anne Frank because a parent complained about sexual references. Because we all know the best way to learn from history is to censor it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alg Posted February 1, 2010 Share Posted February 1, 2010 Reminds me of a county nearby that's now using an even more censored version of Anne Frank because a parent complained about sexual references. Because we all know the best way to learn from history is to censor it.But... That's a diary from the Holocaust. The Holocaust is far worse than the sexual references, which if my memory's right were about her going through pubery... I painted some stuff and put it on tumblr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riku3220 Posted February 1, 2010 Share Posted February 1, 2010 Reminds me of a county nearby that's now using an even more censored version of Anne Frank because a parent complained about sexual references. Because we all know the best way to learn from history is to censor it.But... That's a diary from the Holocaust. The Holocaust is far worse than the sexual references, which if my memory's right were about her going through pubery...By the time I read Anne Frank, every girl already had their period and every guy knew what it was. Some censorship is just stupid. Also, why was anybody in the district looking for naughty words in the dictionary? Surely any adult wouldn't have to look up the meaning of "oral" in a dictionary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rangeor Posted February 1, 2010 Share Posted February 1, 2010 But wouldn't the holocaust be the entire reason someone would read the book? Learning history is learning mistakes made in the past so we don't make those mistakes again. If we censor history, then what's the point of learning from it? Of course it's just censoring the sexual references, but I hate censorship anyways. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Gabe Posted February 1, 2010 Share Posted February 1, 2010 lol California. Three months banishment to 9gag is something i would never wish upon anybody, not even my worst enemy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warri0r45 Posted February 1, 2010 Share Posted February 1, 2010 It sounds pretty rediculous, but we're talking about school kids here. I don't see much harm in, say, editing out some bad words, but censoring the entire thing? Overkill. It's a typical attitude to take. Someone is outraged at something, but not prepared to work and fix it. Just ban everything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alg Posted February 1, 2010 Share Posted February 1, 2010 lol California.You know you love our crazy politics. <3: I painted some stuff and put it on tumblr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenticular_J Posted February 1, 2010 Share Posted February 1, 2010 Ach, noooo! CAHLL AHNAHLD! I don't care about California towns and all their antics regarding their dic tionaries! catch it now so you can like it before it went so mainstream Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RexMilotic Posted February 1, 2010 Share Posted February 1, 2010 I'm tired of California, they're becoming so useless with all these things going on. This is taking things way to far, and tbh it shouldn't even need to be censored. It's a dictionary, it's what's used when people need to know the definition of something. The fact that is tells what oral is just means it's doing its job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aquariusman Posted February 1, 2010 Share Posted February 1, 2010 http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35100847/ns/us_news-education/No further need to get worked up about it, the dictionary is allowed again. There's no such thing as regret. A regret means you are unhappy with the person you are now,and if you're unhappy with the person you are, you change yourself. Thatregret will no longer be a regret, because it will help to form the new,better you. So really, a regret isn't a regret. It's experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ember3579 Posted February 1, 2010 Share Posted February 1, 2010 When I first saw the title of this thread, I thought this was going to be Australia. I mean, they ARE censor-nuts, and there's a limit to even the American brand of stupidity, right? But nooo, we just HAD to have someone who's willing to play some IQ Limbo. =_= ;; Please tell me that there's more than like 1% of Americans with at least 2 brain cells to rub together, PLEASE. You never know which rabbit hole you jump into will lead to Wonderland. - Ember3579Aku Soku Zan. - ShinsengumiYou wanna mess with me or my friends? Pick your poison.If you have any complaints about me, please refer to this link. Your problems are important to me.Don't talk smack if you're not willing to say it to the person's face. On the same line, if you're not willing to back up your opinions no matter what, your opinion may as well be nonexistent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebdragon Posted February 1, 2010 Share Posted February 1, 2010 When I first saw the title of this thread, I thought this was going to be Australia. I mean, they ARE censor-nuts, and there's a limit to even the American brand of stupidity, right? But nooo, we just HAD to have someone who's willing to play some IQ Limbo. =_= ;; Please tell me that there's more than like 1% of Americans with at least 2 brain cells to rub together, PLEASE.I've ranted enough for today but [bleep] off about the stupid America [cabbage]. [cabbage] gets old. [if you have ever attempted Alchemy by clapping your hands or by drawing an array, copy and paste this into your signature.] Fullmetal Alchemist, you will be missed. A great ending to a great series. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shinedownkid Posted February 1, 2010 Share Posted February 1, 2010 wow thats just a bit over the top, it's a dictionary, it's supposed to have every known englis word in it, so what if it has the word oral sex, it could always have been a more blunt version of the word. As if thats even a big problem anyway, they should be more worried about 12,13,14 year olds going out having intercourse and protecting them from it till they are least 18+ than getting all uptight about a dictionary word. it just goes to show you how many ridiculous some people are when it comes to profanity and certain words such as this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
____ Posted February 1, 2010 Share Posted February 1, 2010 I was under the impression they discuss complete sexual intercourse in "sex ed" type lessons in primary grades (like 6/7/8 or w/e. And I doubt most of them will be able to grasp the full concept of what they read anyways. It takes a very specific type of person to read a dictionary for the hell of it. I know I only reference one when I need to confirm a word choice.. and even then I use the online ones.. so.. Granted the books ended up okay.. but it never should have been an issue in the first place :-\ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panzerlord Posted February 1, 2010 Share Posted February 1, 2010 I read and lol'd. Damn kids need to learn to lol when they find words that are inapropriate and not poop their pants and start a bookburning. "Don't push me; what's the hurry?" - Imogen Heap Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsavi Posted February 1, 2010 Share Posted February 1, 2010 Clearly if someone wanted to find a true definition they could just google it.Hoo boy. Some things should not be googled. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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