Tennessee school board’s move to ban Holocaust novel Maus met with bafflement and anger

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. “There is some rough, objectionable language in this book,” the school’s director, Lee Parkison, is recorded as saying in a board of education meeting earlier this month. Board member Tony Allman agreed that the “vulgar and inappropriate” content should be removed, adding: “We don’t need to enable or somewhat promote this stuff.” Allman clarified he was “not denying” that the genocide and murder of six million Jews during the second world war was “horrible, brutal, and cruel”, but said it is “not wise or healthy” for children to be shown a book that “shows people hanging” and “shows them killing kids”. There’s something going on very, very haywire there.” Neil Gaiman, author of Good Omens, tweeted: “There’s only one kind of people who would vote to ban Maus, whatever they are calling themselves these days.” New York Times journalist Jane Coaston posted: “I read Maus when I was nine years old and it changed my life. “Teaching about the Holocaust using books like Maus can inspire students to think critically about the past and their own roles and responsibilities today.” Actor Carrie Coon wrote: “They can’t read Maus, but they can have access to an AR-15.” Art Spiegelman in 2012 “Maus is a graphic novel that tells a Holocaust survivor’s tale.