Recent book burnings in the West:
Quote:November, 2013: Works by Jewish and “Transgressive” Authors
As recently as fall of last year, the neo-Nazi group Magyar Nemzeti Arcvonal (Hungarian National Frontline) was orchestrating book burnings on the anniversary of Kristallnacht. The targeted literature, posted on their website (21st century book burning at its best), ranged from the obvious — “Zionist prints” — to the ironic — “chauvinistic and hate-mongering pieces.” The group wore camouflage as they tossed books, such as those by Jewish poet Miklos Radnoti, who was murdered on a death march in Hungary during the Holocaust, into the flames. Of course neo-Nazi book burnings are nothing new, but the recentness of this incident and Magyar Nemzeti Arcvonal use of technology to take their destruction to the next level is alarming.
3. July, 2012: Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James
Over the summer of 2012, two Cleveland DJs organized a Fifty Shades of Grey burning, which they said was prompted by calls to their station complaining about the novel. Participants brought their own copies of James’s work to destroy, and one woman even contributed her Nook to the cause. The local fire department was called in to ensure the safety of the book burners, who destroyed about 20 to 25 copies of the paperback. Participants cited everything from the book’s treatment of women to it being, well, just plain annoying as reasons to consign it to the flames. Literati likely aren’t weeping over the loss, but the idea of firefighters moderating the safety of a book burning hits a little too close to Fahrenheit 451 for comfort.
4. June, 2011: The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill
Angry over the word “negro” in the title of Hill’s best-selling novel, the Netherland’s Foundation to Honor and Restore Payments to Victims of Slavery in Suriname staged a public burning of the work’s cover. Prior to the event, the group contacted Hill and requested that he change the title as “it’s insulting to the black community.” The author defended his book, explaining that the name was a nod to a historical document featured in it. The novel has, however, been published under different titles in various locations; some copies in the U.S., Australia and New Zealand bear the title Someone Knows My Name and copies in Quebec are titled Aminata. The debate over Hill’s title raises questions about whether progressive causes should employ such reactionary tactics. (Our opinion, obviously, is no, they shouldn't.)
5. March, 2011: The Quran
Pastor Terry Jones burned a copy of the Quran at his Florida church on March 20, 2011 following a Facebook threat that he would burn the Muslim holy book on September 11 to commemorate the World Trade Center attacks. The September 11 event was called off following the involvement of various U.S. and world leaders, but not before it inspired similar burnings in Springfield, Tennessee and Topeka, Kansas, which in turn inspired protests in Kashmir that resulted in the deaths of 13 civilians. After Jones followed through with his burning in March, protests in Afghanistan ended with 30 casualties. Jones was later caught in 2013 attempting another burning of the Quran — 2,998 copies, one book representing every victim of the September 11 attacks — but was arrested before he could continue.
6. September, 2010: Operation Dark Heart by Anthony Shaffer
When former Defense Intelligence Agency Officer and Army Reserve Colonel Shaffer wrote a memoir about his experience in Afghanistan, St. Martin’s Press secured permission from the Army before going ahead with publication. When the C.I.A and the N.S.A, however, were given the book with all other reviewers, they demanded the text be altered, given what they felt was classified information that it contained (such as the names of officers in Afghanistan). The Department of Defense subsequently purchased and burned around 9,500 copies of the first printing of Operation Dark Heart. “Someone buying 10,000 books to suppress a story in this digital age is ludicrous,” Shaffer rightly pointed out, though a second edition of his book deleted previously included details and censored classified texts.
7. Annually Since 2009: The Bible
On October 31, 2009, the Amazing Grace Baptist Church in Canton, North Carolina planned to celebrate the evening with a book burning, complete with a sign advertising the event. Pastor Marc Grizzard had declared the night would be spent burning any media deemed “satanic,” which included ... the Bible?
The pastor and his flock, claiming that the only accurate Bible was the first King James translation, claimed all other editions were “perversions” and therefore had to be tossed into the flame. The 2009 burning was called off due to weather and protesters, and a “book-tearing” was held inside the church instead. Since their original book-shredding event, the church has held an annual destruction of “satanic” materials.
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