The practice of book burning can be traced back centuries, from the Confucian scholarly works in 213 BCE China to Jewish manuscripts in 1244 France. The primary objective of book burning, mostly situated in totalitarian and regressive societies, is to censor and erase the political, cultural, or religious opposition. The deliberate destruction by fire has been given an upgrade in these modern times, with wokeologists, today’s paragons of virtue, eviscerating history to achieve the objectives of silence and ignorance. But while incinerating the written word has been concentrated in oppressive states, the archaic act, whether Maoist or Orwellian, has arrived in North America wrapped in the flag of inclusivity.
Tintin Gets Burned
(Photo by Imagno/Getty Images)
Since 2019, an Ontario school board has hosted an educational program that includes burning as many as 30 books and symbolically using the ashes as fertilizer in the spirit of “reconciliation” for the nation’s Indigenous. Conseil Scolaire Catholique (CSC) Providence, the school district that functions as a French-language school board for the southwestern region of Ontario, claimed that its aim was to “[replace] books in [CSC Providence’s] libraries that had outdated content and carried negative stereotypes about First Nations, Métis and Inuit people.” In addition to destroying the books — which included Tintin in America and a biography of Jacques Cartier, a French explorer who mapped the St. Lawrence — approximately 4,700 books were removed from library shelves.
“We bury the ashes of racism, discrimination and stereotypes in the hope that we will grow up in an inclusive country where all can live in prosperity and security,” a video prepared for the students stated.
The “flame purification” ceremony has been ongoing for the last two years, but Radio Canada’s report has sparked a national interest. During a recent campaign stop, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters that non-Indigenous people do not have the right “to tell Indigenous people how they should feel or act to advance reconciliation.” However, it was discovered that one of the leaders, Suzy Kies, the former co-chair of the Indigenous peoples’ commission of the Liberal Party of Canada, does not possess status with the Indigenous Services Canada. In other words, she is not an Aboriginal person.
Meanwhile, Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole revealed he “strongly condemns the burning of books.” Yves-François Blanchet, leader of the Bloc Québécois, noted at a press conference that “we don’t burn books.” Jagmeet Singh, head of the New Democratic Party (NDP), thinks this is time for “reflection.”
Because the “give back to the earth” has become so controversial, CSC Providence confirmed to CTV News Toronto that it has started to “rethink” its library review process.
Millennials Become the Firemen
Be it on college campuses or city streets, America routinely hosts Two Minutes of Hate sessions where activists, students, and Antifa light a match on literature they deem is offensive to (insert victim group here) or they merely oppose. In 2013, two San Jose State University professors burned a book they disagreed with: The Mad, Mad, Mad World of Climatism. Journalist Abigal Shrier published a so-called anti-trans book titled Irreversible Damage that chronicled the dangerous trend of female minors seeking gender-reassignment surgery, which prompted a University of California professor to urge her Twitter followers “to steal [the book] and burn it.”
Thankfully, not every young American endorses this antediluvian and ignorant behavior. An October 2019 College Pulse study discovered that a small minority of students believe it is acceptable to burn books if the contents are inappropriate or the reader disagrees with the book’s argument or the author. However, the majority averred that it is wrong to burn books, contending that it is an unproductive form of free speech.
Leftists and cancel culture cultists have embraced other methods akin to book burning: bans, boycotts, and incessant whining that force post-secondary administrators to restrict authors from speaking on campus. From J.K. Rowling‘s Harry Potter series to Ben Shapiro talks, the left’s perpetual howling at the moon has gained significant momentum nationwide. But these infantile temper tantrums are found throughout the advanced world as the vocal minority cannot grasp differing opinions, forcing the adults in the room to capitulate because they can no longer listen to the puerile shrieking like a toddler demanding cookies at the supermarket.
Orwellian or Maoist – The Great Leap Backward
The Canadian book-burning affair maintained the hallmarks of Mao Zedong’s Cultural Revolution, prompting militant students to destroy the country’s history, like books, statues, and paintings. At the same time, it also shared an Orwellian chill, requiring children to carry out the wishes of the party for the greater good. Either way, kids were exploited as pawns, and the left’s nescience was on display. Ottawa has already capitulated to the progressives, arguing that white supremacy is meritocracy and individualism. It is only a matter of time until the left redefines reality, inevitably having a euphoric feeling of burning material the petulant mini-Mao proletariat loathes for triggering cognitive dissonance.
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