Outrage on Social Media Over BV High School Book Spurs Discussion as Banned Book Week Begins

Editor’s note: Ark Valley Voice notes that some of the language used by social media participants on The Buena Vista Water Cooler Facebook page in this news story are spicy themselves, exhibiting language that we would not normal repeat, let alone print. But because this is a matter of current public interest, we are quoting directly from The Buena Vista Water Cooler.

Banned Books Week runs from September 22 through September 28. In an ironic twist, calls for censoring one book used in the Buena Vista High School (BVHS) have overtaken a local social media page.

According to the American Library Association (ALA) Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF), there were 414 attempts to censor library materials and services between January 1 and August 31 of this year with 1,128 unique titles challenged.

Not all bans or book challenges are reported to the ALA, so the data represents a snapshot rather than a full picture.

According to the OIF’s data from 2023, forty-seven percent of titles targeted for censorship represented LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) individuals.

The book in question in Buena Vista (BV) is The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie. The book, written by a Native American novelist, was published in 2007.

It is a semi-autobiographical, coming-of-age story narrated by the protagonist Arnold Spirit Jr. (called Junior), a Native American boy living on the Spokane Indian Reservation in Washington. The story is written in a diary format and discusses Junior’s decision to attend an all-white high school. It explores themes of identity, cultural assimilation, and the pursuit of dreams.

The novel won the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature in 2007 and is known for using humor to address challenging topics.

Common Sense Media which rates books, magazines, TV, movies and podcast for parents and families, rates the book five-out-of-five. It says the novel is for ages 14 and up, which coincides with the age range of students who were assigned this text.

The local controversy appears to have begun on Wednesday, September 18 when Steven Nold posted an excerpt from the book on The Buena Vista Water Cooler Facebook page. The excerpt, presented with no context, featured the narrator talking proudly about masturbation.

At the time of writing, the post featured 103 comments. Some social media comments feature profanity and devolve into attacks on others. Others call for electing a new school board. One comment, from Jane Hegstrom, states that parents should “wake up and speak up.”

BV local Carle Linke specifically calls for the teachers who selected the book to be punished. “Taylor Drusch, the teacher needs to be held accountable for the indoctrination of these young souls,” wrote Linke.

“Has anybody looked at How [sic] much of your property tax $$$ [money] goes to public schools? The money Should Follow [sic] the student, can you imagine how many great teachers we would actually have that care about what the kids actually learn,” continues Linke. “The competition alone would make great teachers and schools, instead of this Saul Alinski radical communist destruction of mortality [sic] in America Starting [sic] with our children?”

One commenter, Mark Berson, asked if anyone reacting had read the book. Nold responded, “Don’t need to.”

“Yeah, it’s just outrage porn then,” replied Berson.

“Why would I?” replied commenter Rebecca Hinds when asked later in the comment thread if she had read the book. She appeared to suggest books like this were the cause of anxiety and depression. “Does the rest of book negate the vulgarity of this passage? I doubt it,” commented Hinds.

“If you’re going to ignite fires on controversial subjects, you should probably educate yourself on the subjects,” commented Hanah Liardon. “It’s a great book with substantial lessons that has one inappropriate excerpt and, quite frankly, an inappropriate excerpt that’s much less harmful and inappropriate than what most kids encounter on the internet and in news and TV and all the other things. You’d probably benefit from reading the book actually, you might learn something.”

Other reactions appeared to take the outrage and carry it over to other topics. In a discussion of another book, Catcher in the Rye, a commenter suggested John Lennon deserved to be murdered.

Commenter Geneva Ortega wrote, “I think things should be taught like running a checkbook, building a savings account, a savings account, things that will benefit you in life rather than whether you are a boy or a girl or if you have a ding a ling or a who haw.”

Other commenters defended the book selection and spoke against censorship.

“Censorship of books, music, movies, art, etc… Is the destruction of culture,” wrote Daniel Willey. “Who cares what they read, watch or hear. When you blame others for what a child does your [sic] not teaching a kid the consequences of choice or to be responsible for their actions.”

“The teacher who assigned this as reading is brilliant, and should be commended for bringing truth into the classroom,” wrote Willey. “It’s good to know there are teachers who are not afraid to teach the kids about what the world is really like. Ban censorship and support the arts and culture.”

In response, Nold suggested Willey was “okay with grooming kids.”

Another social media commenter Kathrine Perry said, without evidence, “the teacher is making them read it out loud and teacher is snickering.”

Nold posted screenshots of negative reviews of the book. Positive reviews were not shared.

Of 54 parent reviews on Common Sense Media, the book is rated four-out-of-five. Overall, parent reviews agreed with the 14 and up recommendation. Of 102 reviews from kids, it is rated four-out-of-five and recommended for ages 13 and up. Many of the reviews written by kids highlighted its educational value.

“It was probably my favorite book that I have had to read during my years at school for many reasons,” wrote fourteen-year-old Nate in a Common Sense review.

“First of all, this taught me a little bit about how people have to deal with racism in their everyday life,” continued Nate. “It also talks about many serious subjects; however, Sherman Alexie did an outstanding job on keeping the novel humorous and interesting. Finally, this book is not for all age groups and definitely needs to be read by someone with a certain amount of matureness but, I suggest to everyone to read this novel.”

Marshall University details a history of attempts to ban this book. Complaints range from profanity, sexual content, to sexual assault allegations against the author.

Near the end of the comment thread, Nold makes the claim that, “The school has paused the reading and will not be continuing with the book.”

Ark Valley Voice (AVV) has reached out to Superintendent Lisa Yates to confirm the school has stopped the reading and assignments related to this book. AVV also asked if this topic is expected for discussion at the BV School Board meeting this evening, Monday, September 23.

This article will be updated when a response is received.

The BV school board will first meet at 5:00 p.m. this evening (Monday, September 23) with a linkage meeting between the Board and the Town of BV, law enforcement, and Chaffee County Fire. The regular meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. at 113 North Court Street.

For some context, AVV reviewed other posts on the Water Cooler site and found that Nold has a history of sharing misinformation and potentially offensive posts as a “top contributor” on that page. Previous posts have targeted trans people, equated Islam with explosions, and have used sexually explicit imagery involving a cucumber to target those who believe in climate change.

One recent post from September 21 shows a racist meme that states “Garfield gets adopted by Haitians.” The meme features Jon with skin color darkened, eating Garfield.