#let freedom read

[azhmodai]

#banned books #banned books week #let freedom read #lovecraft #cthulhu #hp lovecraft #call of cthulhu #horror

[blogthebooklover]

This guy hits THE NAIL on the head about why we need to support public libraries now more than ever.

#books #reading #public libraries #libraries #books and libraries #literature #support your library #support your public library #support your local library #banned books week #banned books week 2023 #let freedom read #Youtube #I also want to thank my mother for instilling a love of the library in me #she wanted to be a librarian at one point

[runningoutofbooks]

Banned Books Week starts tomorrow and I wanted to share this infographic from the American Library Association because it is staggering:

That jump in titles is ridiculous, and it is only getting worse.

The ALA’s Office of Intellectual Freedom (OIF) recently released their report for Jan 1st - Aug 31st 2023 and it records a 20% increase of documented book challenges from the same period in 2022. Source. That is a lot of books…

According to the OIF censors target books by and about people of color and books by and about members of the LGBTQIA+ community.

Censorship is rising rapidly. Censors want to limit the knowledge that is available to you and they want to suppress your first amendment rights. They are trying to take things away from you. They are silencing voices.

I have so much more I could say about censorship and book banning but the numbers speak for themselves. And the source above from the OIF as great information if you want to learn more about what books are banned, statics by US state, and other recourses. This link also takes you to the ALA’s website and it has recourses and information about getting involved and what you can do to fight back against censorship.

#banned books week #american library association #office of intellectual freedom #censorship #book banning #let freedom read

[tomorrowusa]

It's banned book week, an annual event to examine which books are being challenged by anti-freedom Nazis in the US.

Banned Books Week celebrates the freedom to read and spotlights current and historical attempts to censor books in libraries and schools. For more than 40 years, the annual event has brought together the entire book community — librarians, teachers, booksellers, publishers, writers, journalists, and readers of all types — in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas, even those some consider unorthodox or unpopular. The books featured during Banned Books Week have all been targeted for removal or restriction in libraries and schools. By focusing on efforts across the country to remove or restrict access to books, Banned Books Week draws national attention to the harms of censorship. In a time of intense political polarization, library staff in every state are facing an unprecedented number of attempts to ban books. ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom ALA documented 1,269 demands to censor library books and resources in 2022, the highest number of attempted book bans since ALA began compiling data about censorship in libraries more than 20 years ago. The unparalleled number of reported book challenges in 2022 nearly doubles the 729 book challenges reported in 2021. Of the record 2,571 unique titles targeted for censorship, most were by or about LGBTQIA+ persons and Black, Indigenous, and people of color. The theme for Banned Books Week 2023 is "Let Freedom Read." When we ban books, we're closing off readers to people, places, and perspectives. But when we stand up for stories, we unleash the power that lies inside every book. We liberate the array of voices that need to be heard and the scenes that need to be seen. Let freedom read!

One bright spot this year is Illinois – the first state to ban book bannings.

Illinois becomes the first state in the U.S. to ban book bans

But some states, Texas and Florida in particular, have ramped up book bannings and censorship.

A reminder that people aged 13 to 21 anywhere in the US can obtain access to the Brooklyn Public Library's Books Unbanned program.

Books Unbanned | Brooklyn Public Library

Read books that Ron DeSantis, Greg Abbott, and local MAGA bigots don't want you to see.

#banned book week #american library association #ala #books #reading #let freedom read #book banning #illinois bans book banning #greg abbott #texas #ron desantis #florida #censorship #republicans #big brother gop #republican authoritarianism #brooklyn public library #books unbanned #election 2024 #vote democratic to fight book banning

[morebedsidebooks]

Top 13 Most Challenged Books of 2022

The American Library Association tracked 1,269 challenges to library, school and university materials and services in 2022. Of the record 2,571 unique titles that were challenged or banned in 2022, here are the top 13 most challenged.

1. Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe

Challenged for: LGBTQIA+ content, claimed to be sexually explicit

2. All Boys Aren't Blue by George M. Johnson

Challenged for: LGBTQIA+ content, claimed to be sexually explicit

3. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

Challenged for: depiction of sexual abuse, EDI content, claimed to be sexually explicit

4. Flamer by Mike Curato

Challenged for: LGBTQIA+ content, claimed to be sexually explicit

5. (tie) Looking for Alaska by John Green

Challenged for: LGBTQIA+ content, claimed to be sexually explicit

5. (tie) The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

Challenged for: depiction of sexual abuse, LGBTQIA+ content, drug use, profanity, claimed to be sexually explicit

7. Lawn Boy by Jonathan Evison

Challenged for: LGBTQIA+ content, claimed to be sexually explicit

8. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

Challenged for: profanity, claimed to be sexually explicit

9. Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Perez

Challenged for: depictions of abuse, claimed to be sexually explicit

10. (tie) A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

Challenged for: claimed to be sexually explicit

10. (tie) Crank by Ellen Hopkins

Challenged for: drug use, claimed to be sexually explicit

10. (tie) Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews

Challenged for: profanity, claimed to be sexually explicit

10. (tie) This Book Is Gay by Juno Dawson

Challenged for: LGBTQIA+ content, providing sexual education, claimed to be sexually explicit

(courtesy of American Library Association)

#banned books week #banned and challenged books #top ten challenged books #let freedom read

[lilibetbombshell]

📖 #bannedbooksweek 📖

🌟LET FREEDOM READ🌟

The American Library Association (ALA) 2022 data documented "...1,269 demands to censor library books and resources in 2022, the highest number of attempted book bans since ALA began compiling data about censorship in libraries more than 20 years ago. The unparalleled number of reported book challenges in 2022 nearly doubles the 729 challenges reported in 2021.

A record 2,571 unique titles were targeted for censorship, a 38% increase from the 1,858 unique titles targeted for censorship in 2021. Of those titles, the vast majority were written by or about members of the LGBTQIA+ community and people of color.

Of the reported book challenges, 58% targeted books and materials in school libraries, classroom libraries or school curricula; 41% of book challenges targeted materials in public libraries.

The prevalent use of lists of books compiled by organized censorship groups contributed significantly to the skyrocketing number of challenges and the frequency with which each title was challenged. Of the overall number of books challenged, 90% were part of attempts to censor multiple titles. Of the books challenged, 40% were in cases involving 100 or more books

Prior to 2021, the vast majority of challenges to library resources only sought to remove or restrict access to a single book." (ALA website)

See the ALA's Book Ban Data page for more data, infographics, and information on how you can help: https://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/book-ban-data

#ala #americanlibraryassociation #bannedbooks #bannedbooksweek #books #letfreedomread #freedomofspeech #bookish #readers #bookworms #authors #writers

#Ala #american library association #banned books #banned books week #books #let freedom read #freedom of speech #bookish #readers #writers #authors #bookworms

[elisecaitlyn]

read what you want.

#let freedom read #bannedbooks #bannedbooksweek #uniteagainstbookbans #bookbans #read what you want #no judgement #books and reading #freedom for reading

[lgbtq-history-museum-cfl-intern]

Click the GIF for this week's post!

I've decided to try recording my thoughts this week instead, in a little conversation about censorship and book banning as Banned Books Week 2023 comes to a close!

Resources and Ways to Resist Book Censorship:

Stay informed and educated on the issue of censorship

Read, Rent, Purchase, Borrow, Lend, and/or Donate Banned/Restricted Books

Encourage others to read banned books or just a diverse collection of narratives

Support young readers' curiosity

Get involved!: Volunteer at your local library or with organizations fighting censorship in your area.

Follow the links below for more ways to resist book banning and censorship!

#history student #internship blog #public history intern blog #history intern blog #public history internship #education #internship #museum internship #student internship #college student #university student #student life #banned books week #banned books week 2023 #let freedom read #censorship #book bans

[singingcicadas]

The beginning of the Decepticons according to Megatron:

The beginning of the Decepticons What Actually Happened:

That it could ever be called a revolution of the oppressed is a joke. Megatron's philosophy is purely pugno ergo sum. I fight, therefore I am. His first recruitment speech was a promise for power, made to the most bloodthirsty audience he could dig up from the dregs of society. Those people were there because they thrived off the bloodsport. They wanted audition to join Megatron in the pits. Megatron offered them something even better: turn the entire planet into our gladiatorial arena, and we take.

Ever since the beginning Megatron viewed the Decepticons as nothing but a tool, to be used and thrown away. He wanted them to be as ruthless as possible in order to wipe out all opposition, but once his end goal's achieved, well, there's no place for ruthlessness in a perfect society under his absolute control. Therefore, remodelling and recreating. It doesn't sound like he wants to rule over actual people with individual personalities, he wants a bunch of mindless drones programmed for obeisance and peace and hardcoded to Do What Megatron Says.

Ravage and Tarn. It's interesting how they both use the word "emancipated" when lauding Megatron's accomplishments, when it's clear that Megatron did so for the practical purpose of bulking up his army. He overthrew those in power because he wanted to be the one in power. The only one. The people he "emancipated" were just exchanging one set of shackles for another, as they had no choice other than to join the Decepticon army. Not fighting was not an option. Cowardice was punishable by traitor's wheel. Going neutral was also not an option. Soundwave had specific anti-neutral pogroms for those.

I wonder if they knew what "the Megatron they loved" had in mind for the Decepticons after they won the war. The remodeling and recreating. Or maybe they thought that's just for the lowly genericons. That they would be exempt from such treatment because they were confident of their privileged places at Megatron's side. After all, if you're rooting for someone whose motto is peace through tyranny, you'd do so with the expectation that it's only Other People who are going to get tyrannized.

It's true that he did rise against an oppressive government, despite it being the goal to replace it with himself as the tyrant.

But he also thought the single admirable quality about Zeta was his ruthlessness. As in trying to kill an entire city of his own people to fuel his vamparc ribbon. And he said that in front of Hot Rod, who was forced to bomb his own city to stop Zeta from winning. Even disregarding the twisted values here, this is still fifteen levels up the insensitivity lane. No wonder Hot Rod didn't want to join up.

Torture's for fun and domination. It takes a special kind of sadistic streak. And this is before the war even officially started.

Thundercracker's view on the Decepticon cause, when he defected to save humans from the nuke:

"Everything we have done here" - Just here? He'd either been living under a rock for the entirety of the war or has some serious misunderstandings about what the Decepticon name is.

Or just been willfully blind for four million years and the deaths of a hundred billion lifeforms until the day he decided to grow a conscience. Same with Soundwave.

Tarn's a really good case study because he's the poster boy of Megatron's Decepticon propaganda. Megatron probably spoonfeeds him the stuff by the gigabytes and he regurgitates them with twice the zeal and tenfold the pretentiousness. He's also the embodiment of the vices and tragedy of the Decepticons as a whole, as created by Megatron. A sadistic hypocrite, a glorified thug, a delusional fanatic, a customized tool for use and dispose. Crippled by the blinkering desire to be superior, to be part of a greater cause.

Megatron cares nothing for Tarn, just like how he cares nothing for the Decepticons. During the war they were a means to an end. After Megatron's defection, their "toxic loyalty" became a personal burden, a blemish from his past that he would like to cast aside and move on from but annoyingly refuse to leave him alone.

The road-sweepers and the haulers. The miners. What were they to Megatron during the war? Disposable cannon fodder. A pretty banner to hide behind. For a movement that likes to justify itself as a revolution of the oppressed, the emancipation of the disenfranchised, there's certainly a distinct lack of those classes among the upper Decepticon ranks. Megatron said in his recruitment speech that he wanted strength and power. Then where did that leave the weak and sick, the empties on the streets?

Nowhere but the smelting pool, to be recycled into something useful for the great Decepticon cause. They should be honoured, really.

Freedom fighters? No, freedom won't be missed. Probably has something to do with the remodelling and recreating part.

Starscream's only partially right. It was absolutely Megatron's intent to tap into that well of rage and resentment, and he meant for the riot to happen. Of course it got away from him in the end - that's what happens when you cobble an army out of bloodthirsty power-hungry degenerates, half of which were on board for the violence, half for their own scheming agendas, and the rest stitched together by charisma and fear - but he'd shaped the events enough to come a hairsbreadth away from winning multiple times. People like Shockwave and Scorponok were treacherous, but they weren't the reason that Megatron lost the war.

It was his own blind arrogance that led to his downfall.

No he didn't lose his way. He's exactly where he set himself out to be, from the moment he gave that speech in the arena. Perhaps even earlier, to that gradual slide when killing his opponent in a match no longer felt like a guilty burden but instead brought him the sweet rush of satisfaction. There was no revolution. There was no righteous cause. There was no for the people and never has been, because he did not care about other people. Four million years and countless deaths, and it was only really about one insanely self-centered person and his deluded ambition of peace through tyranny.

Hence his breakdown, because he'd just been hit in the face with the realization that he was Wrong. And has been wrong for the past four million years. He wasted everyone's lives. He wasted his own life, wasted it on anger and destruction and hatred, with nothing but regrets to show for it.

I believe that Megatron believed he's telling the truth here. I believe that he meant every word he said, except for that one "we" on the second last line.

Because that "we" should really be "me".

The Megatron who wrote about pacifist rhetoric, who was compassionate enough to share his fuel with the injured, who cared about others and had genuine friendships, that Megatron died a long time ago in the pits. Ever since then, every murder, every atrocity he'd committed in the name of "the people" was just facist rationalization.

I'm sure that he likes the sound of "emancipation of the people" or "freedom of choice" as a concept. But when it comes down to individual people? With actual, real choices that conflicts with his desire for absolute rule? Nope. He's the only one who should get to make choices. The only one who should have choices. Because he knows best.

Form dictates your function ❌; Megatron dictates your function ✅

Function dictates your fate ❌; Megatron dictates your fate ✅

Great minds must think alike, because Megatron and the Functionalist council in the Functionalist universe did a lot of the same stuff. Massacring the Senate. Recycling people who are deemed useless burdens. Remodelling and recreating. Imperalism and genociding organics. Killing all dissenters. The Functionalists even got pretty close to Megatron's ideal of peace through tyranny with 99% of the planet fitted with brain bombs and kissing the ground at their feet. They even managed to do it while maintaining a habitable planet and full population. And Megatron took one look and was disgusted.

Megatron wasn't a misunderstood revolutionist who had his heart in the right place when he started his war. The Decepticons didn't start out well-meaning and turned bad somewhere along the way. At no point in their movement were they ever true freedom fighters. They were always Facists, through and through. They were worse than the Functionalists they hated and the Senate they overthrew. And it's important to acknowledge this because (other than it's weird to see such an obvious Facist analogy being associated with freedom fighters) otherwise you don't get the whole depth of Megatron's redemption arc, especially in the Functionalist universe.

Like the impact of this scene wouldn't be fully apparant unless you take into account that when Megatron first formed the Decepticons, all he cared about was their fighting strength. He did not care about his troops, he did not care about individual people. He considered himself above everyone and everything. He would have sneered at such a weak, ineffective form of protest. Now he's actually being supportive and seeing people as people, instead of pawns to be used.

Here he's genuinely happy to see the Decepticons, even those in the very bottom of the pecking order, taking enough care to greet them each by name. And also Fulcrum, who he sentenced to death twice.

For once in his life he's actually trying to do the Right Thing instead of focusing on himself, either on his ambitions or his remorse. The people in the Functionalist universe have nothing to do with him, yet he wants to help anyway. And he's finally appreciating the value of self-determination for what it is, instead of trying to twist it to serve his own purposes or turn it into Megatron-determination.

"No one can decide how you live your life except for you." Back before, he was going to remodel his entire army to achieve his peace through tyranny. Autonomy and free will were considered things that won't be missed.

Megatron learned to care about other people! Peace through empathy is such a groundbreaking step for his character because he used to have no empathy! He stayed true to his ideals for eight centuries despite the hardships, despite his personal losses, despite the AVL being driven to near extinction and not knowing if he would ever return to his own universe. During all those years he could have had ten million chances and excuses to break his vow of pacifism or leave on the Last Light, taking the easy way out, and there would have been no one to stop him.

But he didn’t.

#transformers #idw transformers #maccadam #megatron #also he tossed his Decepticons out the back door at first chance in exchange for his freedom and legacy #the trial on Luna 2 #his frowny face when reading the surrender speech wasn’t for letting the Decepticons down it was for his own humiliation

[moonpaw]

Fighting DEMONS rn trying not to get invested in one piece to figure out wtf you're posting about!!!!

come here cyber.... we have this thang

‎

#mp answers #i've been trying so hard not to be annoying to my bnha friends but if you will allow me to push this for this ask let me say 🙏 #if you're afraid of the episode count for one piece the manga is a lot quicker read while being just as enjoyable because the art style is #an actual delight. its great its fantastic im absolutely in love with it #the series is soooo good and i know luffy can seem unappealing to people before they start but he's just SUCH a great character & continues #to be even now. the story is SO GOOD the characters are SO GOOD... theres so much lore and world building that its insane #if you read the manga we get 'cover stories' on what's going on with previous characters to see what theyre up to even though we moved on #from where we left them. a lot of these cover stories blend into the main story so well its just seamless #there's one where we get introduced to a character we dont see hundreds of episodes into the anime and they show up like; during the second #saga. the series is about traveling to other islands and every single arc has been tied to another in some way or form that shows up later #even if its sagas and sagas later- it still becomes relevant again!! it's a huge ongoing story and there isnt a single arc that feels like #it has no purpose (sans filler in the anime-but even then!! some filler arcs are really entertaining!) #it's emotional! its sad! its downright stupid and silly but GOD... you can feel the love that oda put into this series and his characters #and the emotions in the expressions and the messages the story gives off it just makes me UEUHGHHAHGHH!!! #it's all about the adventure and the romance of it all! its about the freedom it brings and bringing freedom to others! #its a series where treasure should be a focus given its pirates and the its a giant treasure hunt for the one piece and yet! and yet so man #of the characters treasures are things that are not coins and gems but people and promises and family and and #im going to EXPLODE i love one piece

[chiptrillino]

Fkssbcjdn you mentioned Jet in the tags of a post reblogged from ME and I’m sorry but that means I am now going to talk abt him

Listen listen listen. Fire Nationals need to see the sun to keep themselves sane, doesn’t matter if they’re benders or non-benders. Water Tribesfolk need to be around water for similar reasons. Put an Air Nomad in a cave without air circulation and eventually they’re gonna go spare. Jet, Jet is Earth Kingdom. He needs the earth to stay sane, bender or not.

Why was he insane in the forest of Gaipan? Because he stayed in the trees. Away from the earth, which would have stabilised him. Close to the sky, the open air, his direct opposite element.

I’m not surprised he went crazy. His circumstances, combined with cutting himself off from his grounding (ahehe) element… yeah, no wonder.

“But what about in Ba Sing Se?” Well. Does anyone really think nearly a decade of deprivation from one’s core element wouldn’t leave a deep mark? Yes, he was a little saner on the ferry, a little more reasonable, because he had already been travelling on the earth for a few months - give or take - and it had helped him a little bit. But a few months of grounding does not fix a near-decade of cracking. The fact that he flipped back into obsession and negativity so fast when he connected Iroh’s suddenly hot tea (mere moments after loudly complaining how cold it was) to firebending is testament to that.

If Jet hadn’t made that connection, I’m pretty sure he could have healed a little more in the city instead of spiralling, and the second half of Book 2: Earth would have looked very different.

RANT OVER,, sorry the long ask ahaha 😅

chip gives thoughts?? (also I love your art <333)

oh gosh by all means yell about jet as much as you like! I am so glad when I get to see a positive post about him! and I adore this headcanon! like so much!!! especially how this basically can be summarised with… jet should chill and touch some grass!

okay so… emergency earth therapy for jet!!! (long shot want to make sure that jet has as much earth contact as possible!!! I think this is the best option to be buried on earth rather than the canon one…)

[ID: digital drawing form longshot (left) jet (centre) and Smelerbee (right) from avatar the last Airbender. jet is lying on the ground buried in earth unable to get out or move. his head peaks out of the earth hill he is glaring up towards Smelerbee, angry biting on a wooden stick. jet's head is resting on Longshot's leg. who is sitting behind him massaging Jet's temples. longshot is looking questioning and doubtful toward Smelerbee. Smelerbee sits on the earth hill above jets abdomen. she is leaning forward. pointing an accusatory finger at him. her expression is angry and serious. around them are many orange and yellow leaves. End ID.]

#chip!ask #atla #freedom fighters #jet #longshot #smelerbee #kind of pain me to let this ask go into the wild now #i wanted to keep it #you have no clue how often i have read and reread it!!! #i love this #really with my whole heart #in this house we agressivley love jet and make sure he is taken care for!!! #smelerbee agressivley caring for jet gives me life! #also longshot is such a sweet boy!

[figuringthengsout]

The further north they went, the less traffic they had to contend with, and Jean could worry less about getting mutilated in a crash and more about the world unfurling all around him.

Oh, he thought. It’s so big.

#1. i love her #2. let's talk about how jean _oh_ moment is for freedom #3. i KNEW he would ride a bike #i KNEWWEW #aftg #tfc #reading tsc #tsc #jean moreau #cat alvarez

[roguemaki]

My issue of Shuukan Bunshun Enta+ featuring G Witch and Seed arrived!

Quite a lot of G Witch content in there… literally the first 2 pages are SuleMio character bios and screenshots/quotes.

Then there's…

Interviews

Ichinose Kana and Lynn

Noto Mamiko

Ogata Naohiro (executive producer on G Witch and SEED Freedom)

And a bunch of mook stuff including a (very confusing) attempt at diagramming the entire series' plot and character interactions, mobile suit info, and an English lesson using on-screen text from the show.

#g witch #mobile suit gundam the witch from mercury #not sure when i'll get the chance to read/tl but i'm looking forward to noto-san's interview in particular #i let the experience of watching destiny filter out from my memory a long time ago lol #so i'm sorry but i'm not gonna post about the seed-related content at all because my interest level in freedom is zero

[icy-book]

I need him gone, please and thank

#let's make an already actively hostile disability benefit system even harder to access #and deny disabled people financial freedom by only giving them services and not money #ignore the fact that disabled people who can't work may need the money from those benefits to pay rent because guess what #they literally can't work #also this article was editted since i first read it to include a lot more stuff from disability charities which i find interesting #i'm just so so sick of him #uk poli #uk politics

[july-19th-club]

nooooo not your first two reasons for staying in the city you are legally trapped in instead of absconding forever with billions of dollars worth of stolen art being the married couple who have slowly but surely absorbed you into their relationship and welcomed you into their life. a guy who has never had a place he wasn't obligated to leave feeling at first trapped by his circumstances but then coming to enjoy the idea of a permanent home and unwilling to be pressured away from it . surely no further events will transpire that might cause him to lose faith in this ideal and, feeling it necessary, strike out once again into the lonely world as a traveling thief with no port of call and no living name

#ive read the wiki!!!!! im not cool right now im not cool at all #can we PLEASE get this guy some stability and a chance at a future untethered to either institutions or sudden flight . can we please #white collar #dont let all the fun capers fool you this show is in many ways actually sort of a tragedy #people can change but the world and society might not. and in the end even though you would LIKE to have others. and they would like #to have you. the only thing you can fully expect to have at all times is yourself #therefore it is imperative that you get comfortable with your own company: someday it may be all you have left #home safety and family are wonderful things. sometimes they have chains on. #the freedom to go where you wish and do what you want without any strings at all is also a wonderful thing. sometimes it has no parachute #whats that thing jones says in as you were about all choices being sacrifice? #and neal's like whoa whoa slow down WHY. why CANT we have it all #and it's like well because any time you make a choice. ANY time. you must set aside one thing you want. for another thing you want more #every time you choose you have to decide which thing is the one you want more. oftentimes you will choose wrong #but not realize it until it is too late to take the choice back #this will continue as long as you live #good luck

[daydream-believin]

tfw when i get a little too into what im writing and i forgot im supposed to be generalizing this as an “x-reader” and i accidentally involve my specific issues and whoopsie sorry it’s like professor plutonium breaking the vat of chemical x

#when i said im trying to get away from the genre this is why tho #like i gotta get more specific it’s hard to write something good that’s also generic #if you want fiction to be good you gotta allow it to be a little fucked up #you can’t get that in generic fan service #i need creative freedom #works are called pieces bc ​it’s gotta have a little piece of your soul in it in order for it to come alive #anyhoo #haven’t decided if i’m rewriting this but #bc i doubt more than 4 people are gonna read it. lol this blog is dead #why not let my troubles shine through #never stopped me before #danes.exe