Duke freshmen refusing to read Alison Bechdel's 'Fun Home' - Polidicks

[quote]Fun Home is an autobiographical story about Bechdel’s childhood, with memories about growing up as a lesbian interlaced with memories about her occasionally abusive father and his (closeted) homosexuality. It’s has won numerous awards, the most prestigious of which is its inclusion in The A.V. Club’s list of the best comics of the ‘00s. Prestige aside, though, it does have sexual themes and use of nudity, so—according to The Duke Chronicle—a handful of the school’s incoming freshman have declared that they refuse to read it on the grounds that it is new and scary. Or, as one such freshman put it on his Facebook: “I feel as if I would have to compromise my personal Christian moral beliefs to read it.” That same student said that Duke’s decision to put Fun Home on a recommended reading list was “insensitive to people with more conservative beliefs,” adding that it was “like Duke didn’t know we existed.” The Duke Chronicle quotes another student as acknowledging that it “discussed important topics,” but she “could not bring herself to view the images depicting nudity.” One guy explained that the sexual content is fine and that he “might have consented” to read it in print, but the fact that it has drawings of boobs or whatever “violates [his] conscience.” Another student even suggested that Fun Home shook her entire perception of Duke, saying that she asked herself what kind of school would do something as horrible as suggest that incoming students read an award-winning book about a woman’s struggles with sexual identity. [/quote] [url]http://www.avclub.com/article/duke-students-refuse-read-alison-bechdels-fun-home-224339[/url] Encouraging everyone to take offense to everything is backfiring as conservatives begin to use it to their advantage? Never saw this coming.

Maybe conservatives using it will be what it takes for everyone else to realize this is retarded.

And where is the source?

[QUOTE=Taggart;48533579]And where is the source?[/QUOTE] Forgot to include it, though you could have easily found it yourself considering that it mentions "A.V. Club" in the second sentence.

[QUOTE]“The nature of ‘Fun Home’ means that content that I might have consented to read in print now violates my conscience due to its pornographic nature,” he wrote in an email.[/QUOTE] Are they seriously making an allegory to rape here?

People don't want to expose themselves to views they disagree with. Christ, just suck it up and try to enlighten yourself with different views and perspectives. [QUOTE] saying that she asked herself what kind of school would do something as horrible as suggest that incoming students read an award-winning book about a woman’s struggles with sexual identity.[/QUOTE] This ironic style is nice.

those incomming book asignments are always overblown anyways, i had to read some dumb book of people's life stories and litterally all we did was answer 3 questions about it. its all just a way to force freshmen to report to some stupid meeting during orientation, and at least at my school had no actual academic weight, i forgot to go to like 3 of these meetings and nothing ever happened because nobody cares. they probably just throw the reports out after people fill them out

I can understand to some extent where they may be coming from; at the same time, they're adults, as such they should have to get into the mindset of discussing difficult topics that they'd otherwise be squeamish to approach. This is, unfortunately, a seemingly growing issue with young people these days, they refuse to face difficult issues and discuss them objectively.

I'm a Christian (albeit probably not a very "good" one, but I'm modern), and this kind of thinking is insane. I really don't get the "everyone has to believe the same things I do" mentality. My family's like this. They'd rather pretend stuff like homosexuality, sexuality and atheism don't exist, and are almost offended when people do that sort of thing. My aunt actually censored Anne Frank for her kids, who are in high school. I don't really care what you do, so long as you're not harassing me. Usually it's other Christians that end up harassing me, though.

[QUOTE]“I feel as if I would have to compromise my personal Christian moral beliefs to read it.”[/QUOTE] With all due respect to personal beliefs, this way of thinking is the foundation for ignorance and fundamentalism. The key to wisdom is to be well red in any kind of opinion, philosophy and point of view, and based on all that shape your own. You can't write something off without making yourself familiar with it.

[QUOTE=proch;48534082]With all due respect to personal beliefs, this way of thinking is the foundation for ignorance and fundamentalism. The key to wisdom is to be well red in any kind of opinion, philosophy and point of view, and based on all that shape your own. You can't write something off without making yourself familiar with it.[/QUOTE] Here's my thoughts. If you're so unsure about your faith that you feel like you would be threatened by the mere acknowledgement of opposing views, do you really believe what you say you do? These sorts of viewpoints are created by a distilled fear that arises from the way Christianity is taught in the west. It's remarkably unstable, and requires almost a cult-like environment for most people to actually believe in it. They need something tangible, like the environment of a church, and they build their beliefs around that. As soon as that warm, fuzzy feeling goes away, they interpret that as some sort of loss or guilt, and you end up with people that can't accept other viewpoints for fear of what they'll find in themselves.

What? I'm conservative and I'm fine with this. [editline]24th August 2015[/editline] [QUOTE=woolio1;48534007]I'm a Christian (albeit probably not a very "good" one, but I'm modern), and this kind of thinking is insane. I really don't get the "everyone has to believe the same things I do" mentality. My family's like this. They'd rather pretend stuff like homosexuality, sexuality and atheism don't exist, and are almost offended when people do that sort of thing. My aunt actually censored Anne Frank for her kids, who are in high school. I don't really care what you do, so long as you're not harassing me. Usually it's other Christians that end up harassing me, though.[/QUOTE] Exactly, just because we're Christian doesn't mean we shouldn't acknowledge stuff like this.

[QUOTE=woolio1;48534007]I'm a Christian (albeit probably not a very "good" one, but I'm modern), and this kind of thinking is insane. I really don't get the "everyone has to believe the same things I do" mentality. My family's like this. They'd rather pretend stuff like homosexuality, sexuality and atheism don't exist, and are almost offended when people do that sort of thing. My aunt actually censored Anne Frank for her kids, who are in high school. I don't really care what you do, so long as you're not harassing me. Usually it's other Christians that end up harassing me, though.[/QUOTE] Sometimes, i think its way worse to have your children "hidden" from homosexuality, atheism, etc. Considering they would be more mind blown later on. (kinda funny since i didn't know what the hell atheism meant until i was in 8th grade.) For me, it was easy explaining to my brothers what it meant (for the record, not homophobic or anti-atheist at all). Its better explaining that people have a different understanding than we do, and we should let them be instead of shoving it down their throats. In other words, they are humans, we are humans. We are all different.

Hey, a conservative SJW. Lesbians trigger them. :neat: I'm gonna laugh at this for a little while.

It's spooky how spineless parts of the current generation are. They think if they read a simple book they'll be tainted somehow. Reminds me of Mein Kampf being banned for the longest time, people literally thought it would convert people to Nordic superiority overnight.

[QUOTE=ZenZill;48535544]It's spooky how spineless parts of the current generation are. They think if they read a simple book they'll be tainted somehow. Reminds me of Mein Kampf being banned for the longest time, people literally thought it would convert people to Nordic superiority overnight.[/QUOTE] Ya not wanting to change their worldview or be edumicated is a problem of this and only this generation....as if evolution has only been controversial for the last 10 years...this is learned behavior from parents who censor what they and their family are exposed to

Then fail the students... problem solved.

[QUOTE=unrezt;48537443]Then fail the students... problem solved.[/QUOTE] They can't because these book assignments are not part of any class

[QUOTE=elfbarf;48533541][url]http://www.avclub.com/article/duke-students-refuse-read-alison-bechdels-fun-home-224339[/url] Encouraging everyone to take offense to everything is backfiring as conservatives begin to use it to their advantage? Never saw this coming.[/QUOTE] No, people will just take offense to conservatives taking offense, and it all becomes a big race to see who can be the most offended.

[QUOTE=V12US;48537523]No, people will just take offense to conservatives taking offense, and it all becomes a big race to see who can be the most offended.[/QUOTE] Pretty sure Donald Trump wins that competition

This is a whole lot more of an opinion piece than a news article. [QUOTE=Rangergxi;48533694]People don't want to expose themselves to views they disagree with. Christ, just suck it up and try to enlighten yourself with different views and perspectives.[/QUOTE] [QUOTE=-Ben_Wolfe-]This is, unfortunately, a seemingly growing issue with young people these days, they refuse to face difficult issues and discuss them objectively.[/QUOTE] [QUOTE=proch]With all due respect to personal beliefs, this way of thinking is the foundation for ignorance and fundamentalism. The key to wisdom is to be well red in any kind of opinion, philosophy and point of view, and based on all that shape your own. You can't write something off without making yourself familiar with it.[/QUOTE] Did you guys not read the piece? They said nothing about not wanting to read something that has views that disagree with them. They literally just said they don't want to look at naked people.

[QUOTE=sgman91;48538393]This is a whole lot more of an opinion piece than a news article. Did you guys not read the piece? They said nothing about not wanting to read something that has views that disagree with them. They literally just said they don't want to look at naked people.[/QUOTE] [t]https://i2.wp.com/www.infiniteunknown.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Michelangelo-Sistine-Chapel-Adam-.jpg[/t] Is nudity in art now forbidden to Christians? That's a new one.

[QUOTE=woolio1;48538507]Michelangelo sculpted and painted hundreds of naked men and women, which are foundational pieces of Church art. Artistic depictions of naked people for art's sake are fine in Christianity. If they weren't, the Vatican wouldn't have them on display.[/QUOTE] Last I checked, these people weren't equivalent with all of Christian history and/or the vatican. Also, there is definitely a difference between artistic nudity and sexual nudity, both morally and legally.

[QUOTE=elfbarf;48533608]Forgot to include it, though you could have easily found it yourself considering that it mentions "A.V. Club" in the second sentence.[/QUOTE] A.V. Club is part of The Onion... edit I just read their 'about us' [QUOTE]The A.V. Club features real interviews, reviews, features, and other entertainment-related articles.[/QUOTE]

You're in a college, a place where you should expect to be confronted with different ideals and beliefs as part of your education. This guy is like, nah, don't like it, shouldn't have to learn about it. I wish I could've said that to my general requirements for being forced to take a second language like Spanish, or having forced diversity courses. Didn't work like that though.

"Quit oppressing me!" cry would-be oppressors. [editline]25th August 2015[/editline] [QUOTE=Bradyns;48538555]A.V. Club is part of The Onion... edit I just read their 'about us'[/QUOTE] There are a number of alternative sources available, with a quick search. [url]http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2015/08/24/incoming-freshman-duke-university-fun-home-alison-bechdel/32290321/[/url] [url]http://myfox8.com/2015/08/24/duke-students-refuse-to-read-award-winning-novel-say-its-against-christian-moral-beliefs/[/url] [url]http://www.dukechronicle.com/article/2015/08/freshmen-skipping-fun-home-for-moral-reasons[/url]

[QUOTE=sgman91;48538532]Last I checked, these people weren't equivalent with all of Christian history and/or the vatican. Also, there is definitely a difference between artistic nudity and sexual nudity, both morally and legally.[/QUOTE] Hold on, I never posted that. I revised it before I ever posted that. Why are you seeing that?

[QUOTE=sgman91;48538393]Did you guys not read the piece? They said nothing about not wanting to read something that has views that disagree with them. They literally just said they don't want to look at naked people.[/QUOTE] Honestly that's even more pathetic, IMO.

[QUOTE=sgman91;48538393] Did you guys not read the piece? They said nothing about not wanting to read something that has views that disagree with them. They literally just said they don't want to look at naked people.[/QUOTE] " I agree that looking at naked people for the purposes of education is fine " " I don't agree that looking at naked people for the purposes of education is fine " I didn't even catch this gem the first time around, like you are one of those shameless contextual semantics people eh?

[QUOTE=WarriorWounds;48539688]" I agree that looking at naked people for the purposes of education is fine " " I don't agree that looking at naked people for the purposes of education is fine " I didn't even catch this gem the first time around, like you are one of those shameless contextual semantics people eh?[/QUOTE] You want to learn about art from ancient Greece, the renaissance, etc? Well, in that process you MUST look at artistic depictions of naked people. Without doing that you won't be able to get a full understanding of art during that period. You want to learn about the lesbian experience? You don't need to look at drawings of naked women laying together and giving each other oral sex (what's depicted in the comic).