Pearls Before Swine by Stephan Pastis for May 31, 2023

I had to explain to my nephew why Mark Twain used the n-word in Huckleberry Finn.

maybe we should just let the reader decide?

I just finished putting together a puzzle of banned books. Some of the ones on there are downright weird. Captain Underpants was a challenged book because of “bathroom humor.” If you aren’t smart enough to know that a book called Captain Underpants will have bathroom humor, I’m not sure that you’re smart enough to actually read the book.

Future version of Dracula: “There was a guy who was a real pain in the neck until he had a steak. The End.”

I expect book burnings! Republicans (as an example) DeSantis. A teacher recently showed a film in her class and there was a gay character. Student ran home and told mom, bigot mom complains to school, teacher might lose job. The new America

I’m totally in favor of cancelling all of history and everyone in it prior to, oh, say, around 10:00 am tomorrow morning. Then we can start all over fresh with nothing but perfect people as determined by those who are entirely certain that they’re perfect themselves.

Yet the MEDIA, who pose as staunch ‘defenders’ of the Constitutional RIGHT to Free Speech (except for the INDIVIDUAL RIGHT, as it allows the ‘proles’ to question the actions and agendas of their ‘betters’) fully support this rewriting of the classics, because it offends their LIBERAL viewpoints, and the state approved propaganda, that they unquestioningly accept and ‘report’ as ‘Pravda’

“1984”, WE ARE HERE, and the MEDIA, along with the LIBERAL ‘educational institutions" that they are products of, are the proponents of the bookburning, not only as it was done by the NAZIs, but as was told in Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451”.

Goat is very perceptive.

I’ve heard that some people no longer use the word “Nigro” because it sounds too much like… another word.

This is my favorite kid’s book by far: https://imgur.com/a/RL4CY (this is SFW because the humans are weak.)

What’s even funnier is that in the case of Roald Dahl some of the changes aren’t even less critical. With Augustus Gloop “enormously fat” was just changed to “enormous”.

George Orwell was so right about 1984. Newspeak, here we come. So was Ray Bradbury. It’s only a matter of time. There will come soft rains…

Not that Pig is a great reader anyway…

This is fast becoming a problem in the comic pages (inability to detect sarcasm)…yesterday Luann, today PBS. What’s going on?! :D

Here’s the difference between what publishers are doing and what politicians in some states are doing: publishers are practicing the rather OLD art of reworking well-known texts for a new generation of readers. Think it’s not old? How many have read Beowolf in the original? Or Shakespeare — yes, you have the original still, but there are countless modernized versions. Huck Finn has modernized versions. Heck, Thomas Jefferson even created his own version of the bible, cutting out the bits he didn’t like. BUT the publishers are merely providing an ADDITIONAL version for those who prefer it. They are in no way eliminating the original.

Certain Politicians , on the other hand, on BANNING lots of books because they don’t like the content. That is much much worse.

All thanks too the Ignorant, backward republicans!!

This is one good case to demonstrate there are evil degenerates on both sides of the political spectrum because the book banning or altering happens for different reasons but on both sides.

“Did you know kids book publishers are great people?”

“Editors help authors.”

“YAAAAAY!”

“That’s an appropriate response.”

“Thank you.”

Revised Pearls Before Ungulates, 2025

Next Pig will no longer be Plump.

Scary stuff.

I recently collected the unbowdlerized works of Rudyard Kipling. I hear he’s not in favour any more, so I was very lucky.

How Orwellian. "1984’ in 2023. Quite hip in some circles. We know who you are…

Scary. I’m remembering a book called “Farenheit 451”…

Yes, but it’s not new. 100 years ago, it was routine to bowdlerize Shakespeare. Sometimes to get rid of the sex stuff, but sometimes because they didn’t approve of the story. King Lear was ALWAYS staged with an altered ending where Cordelia lives.

Obviously Pastis hasn’t seen or heard the current version of FE FI Fo Fum. Classic mother goose has been smothered for years!

Some new editions of the “Federalist Papers” have left out the essays regarding the 2nd Amendment. Makes you wonder what books are being “tweaked” without our knowledge.

Bottom line, I wonder if publishers are increasing book sales by doing this

It’s disgusting that a handful of idiots are allowed to erase American history, because THEY don’t like it! Banned books are only from a “few” people and the libraries cave… get a spine!

If parents would spend more time with their kids and guide them this wouldn’t be happening! Parents are bringing their kids up to be thin skinned and wuses! God forbid their feeling get hurt!

Give me a break! ☹️☹️

I actually think Pig got lost at “editors”, not “Authors.”

There is an easy way to not be offended by the contents of a book – Don’t read it.

Ignorance may be bliss, but too many people are abusing it way too much.

See? This is why we should always keep our original classic copies. I’ll never buy colored Captain Underpants books. I stick to black and white.

Theseus’ Paradox

If this is true, this is the stupidest crap I’ve ever seen.

Humanity… please… GROW A SPINE!

Agatha Christie wrote a famous mystery novel TEN LITTLE INDIANS.

You don’t want to know what it was called originally.

Sounds like only every “holy” book ever written, except they started a hooey and stayed that way.

Stephan, the self-self-owns are not necessary.

Drawing attention to any words increases their negative power. I recently helped my teen grandson catch up on his schoolwork after a long absence. When I read aloud to him, word-for-word, a national article written during the 60s integration turmoil in Birmingham, which quoted hateful comments yelled at students, my g’son’s reaction was startling. He’d never heard a white adult say ‘that word’ (we’re both white) and I explained to him we don’t change history, it’s just a quote, etc. but I suspect he’ll remember his visceral reaction to my reading words at they were printed, in a calm monotone, more than he may that history lesson. Ugh.

It appears that the year 1984 is finally upon us; albeit 39 years late.

Have any of Steph’s books been banned anywhere?

Or of the author’s original text.

Don’t you know.. it’s not the author’s vision that matters. It’s our vision of what we now wished the author’s vision to have been.

the fact their vision doesn’t meet today’s standard means it needs to be changed.

Or at least that’s how it was explained to me

The words in the second panel reflect what has happened to “The Holy Bible.” Not only has it been ‘redacted,’ there were whole gospels (see Gospel Truth) that have initially been thrown out, thanks to Pagan Roman Emperor Constantine the First. How can one believe?

The one book that should be on every school mandatory reading list is Orwell’s “1984”. Reading it today gives me chills.

Pastis needs to stop making old people angry with strips like this.

Some liberals want to edit words they consider to be insensitive and/or offensive out of books, while some conservatives want to ban certain books from schools and libraries altogether. And each side is always pointing fingers at the other. Glass houses…

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, Does anyone remember the book "Hot the Rhinoceros got his skin? I had that as a child, probably banned today!

The past only exists if it’s convenient to your narrative. As for Pig, love the guy; but Goat would have had better luck with a brick wall.

Oh, Pig! You are not getting the message. Don’t go “woke” on us!

There is no problem that can not be run away from. Facing life and learning how to live it is so passé.

That’s why editors, like I e virtually anyone in the spotlight, are so bloody scared of standing up to the woke/lefty obliviots