Kinda related, but not about Stephen King....
A parent has challenged a book on the required reading list for the sophomore honors English class at the local high school.
The book is The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende.
The parent has taken excerpts of the book and based her challenge solely on those......she has not read the book, and does not care about the context of the story. She cites the subject matter to be unacceptable for her 15-year old son to read.
A committee upheld the use of the book for the class, and the parent has now appealed to the school board.
I don't agree with this parent..... all the reviews I have seen for the book give it 4 out of 5 stars.
Along the same lines, when I was in college (as an older, nontraditional student in a night class full of older, nontraditional students) We had a married couple refuse -- FLAT AZZ REFUSE -- to read
Grapes of Wrath. These were adults. Yes, they have a right to read what they want, but as far as I'm concerned, you signed up for a class where reading was required and the syllabus was in place before said class started. If you were opposed to reading anything during that class, don't sign up for the class! I'm sure there was a waiting list of people who wanted to take the class. I think it's rude to expect the teacher to cater to your agenda. I was furious because dammit! I HAD TO READ GRAPES OF WRATH! (but I'm glad I did.)
And yes, this wasn't the only literature class that would have fulfilled their requirements. As far as I'm concerned, if you have not read the book you have NO RIGHT, NO SAY in it at all. Read it and then complain and I will respect you. But UNTIL YOU READ IT, your words don't mean crap to me.
Don't you want to expand your mind? Challenge your thinking? Evolve into something higher?