Inappropriate? Indecent? Says Who?

A jr. high boy in our church brought to his mom’s attention a book that he was reading from the school’s summer reading list. The book contains frequent use of profanity as well as some sexual references. The mom was surprised by the content and went to the school to request that the book be removed from the reading list. The school has decided not to remove the book. This has sparked some local and national media attention as well as quite a bit of discussion around our church about the matter. (There are more details, but that’s basically the short version of what has happened.)

The following piece contains some of my thoughts on the question of the book’s age appropriateness and decency, particularly given that the book is on the reading list for jr. high boys and girls.

This was published on Monday, September 17, 2007, as an op ed piece in the Daily Southtown newspaper.


By many standards, language in ‘Fat Kid’ is indecent

As I’ve read and heard arguments for and against the book, “Fat Kid Rules The World”, I’ve noticed that most people are willing to admit the obvious fact that the language in the book is coarse and foul. Even people who feel that the book should stay on the school reading list seem to agree that the language is strong. But in defense of the book we hear that moral judgments in these kinds of matters are subjective.

The argument seems to rest on a relativistic concept that could be expressed like this: “Who’s to say what’s really appropriate or indecent?”

Well, let’s consider a few objective facts:

The language in “Fat Kid”, specifically the pervasive use of the “F” word would be considered indecent and inappropriate by the Federal Communications Commission and would not be allowed over the public airwaves. That word—as well as a few others which appear in the book—would get beeped on MTV, Comedy Central, ABC, NBC, CBS, etc.

The language would be deemed indecent and inappropriate and unfit for publication in this newspaper.

The language would be considered indecent and inappropriate in a court of law. The language would be considered indecent and inappropriate by the Motion Picture Association of America as evidenced by the likely assignment of an “R” rating for a work containing frequent use of such.

The language would likely receive an “M” for “Mature” rating (recommended age 17+) from the Entertainment Software Rating Board based on their content descriptor labeled “Strong Language,” which is defined as “explicit and/or frequent use of profanity.”

Perhaps most ironically, the language would be considered indecent and inappropriate by the very school that placed the book on the reading list. Neither a teacher nor a student would be allowed to use this language in the classroom.

The judgment that this language is indecent and inappropriate, by all of these groups, is not my subjective opinion. This is objectively true.

So, on what objective basis does a taxpayer-funded public school place a book with indecent, inappropriate, offensive language on a reading list for the children to whom they are responsible for, among other things, training and development of virtue and moral responsibility?

Dan Marler
First Church of God
Oak Lawn, IL 60453

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