Jane Coaston

No. No. Absolutely not. https://t.co/akW4dGz1V3

I read "Maus" when I was nine years old and it changed my life. It made me a better person, a more empathetic and compassionate person. I think "Maus" should be as widely read as possible.

Yes, the Holocaust was neither wise, nor healthy. And yet. https://t.co/7772evbabc

The meeting minutes are here: https://t.co/R9tJAFnSR3

As far as I can tell, somehow the biggest problem in the book "Maus" is that the words "damn" and "bitch" are used and that there is... mouse nudity? https://t.co/pNHuCdDHyZ

I'd like to note here that this is what the "nudity" in "Maus" looks like. https://t.co/JrJfDKEpxx

There's a part of Book 1 in which Art's father (Vladek) finds a comic Art drew about coming to terms with his mother's death by suicide. In one panel, you seen a small drawing of his mother in the bathtub after her death.

That's it.

The book is dedicated to Art's brother, and to his mother. Art's brother died when his caretaker gave him poison, and took poison herself, rather than going to Auschwitz. https://t.co/w8Bo9RcsWM

I just went through both books trying to see what these people apparently did. I can't find it. Maybe because it isn't there.

I keep being struck by the remark that the book shows the killing of children, because... the book shows that the Nazis murdered children. Because they did. That's what happened.

Another thing about "Maus" is how extensive its depiction of Auschwitz is. Vladek was tasked with taking apart the gas chambers before the Soviets arrived, and he describes what they looked like in detail. The place where his family died. https://t.co/UJPuFd1z4m

I am incensed over this. No book has played a larger role in my life than "Maus." If I hadn't have read "Maus," I'd may have never written my thesis, or thought deeply about the moral crime of anti-Semitism, or the role of evil, my life might be entirely different.

Someone also made the point: what is the concern here for the kids, exactly? That they'll be overwhelmed by the... mouse nudity? Or the use of words that can appear in a PG-13 movie? That they'll be horrified by the Holocaust? A horrifying thing?

When I read "Maus," I wanted to know how something so horrifying could ever happen, so I went to the library and read books like "Parallel Journeys" and learned more about Nazism, and then learned more about the history of anti-Semitism https://t.co/fLdOVeoun7

I learned a lot about the Catholic Church's role in the Holocaust and in religious anti-Semitism, which made me feel awful. My church contributed to something truly evil, and I remember being so upset.

But notably, I was not the victim here. Me being upset was not the issue.

"My kid will be sad learning about something awful that happened" is not a reason for your kid not to learn about it!

Seriously, read “Maus.” And talk about it with your kids.

Thu Jan 27 00:28:39 +0000 2022