The other day, I came across an article about a group of Catholic priests in Poland who held a book burning ceremony and were experiencing backlash as a result.
Churchgoers were told to bring in items that had “evil forces” in them, and were encouraged to cleanse their homes of them.
An African wooden mask, figurines of elephants and books on personality and magic, books from the Harry Potter series were among the items depicted in photos.
I’ll admit, I paused on the article when I saw that the book franchise was included, and that got me thinking about the history of books burning. What’s the point of damaging something after someone has already purchased it? While it may harm the one you have, it doesn’t stop others from consuming the messages in their own copy.
During my research for this edition of the Henry Hype, I came across book burnings that happened in Germany and Austria by the Nazis in the 1930s. The main targets were books that went against or represented ideologies that were opposed by Nazism, such as those written by Jewish, anarchist, or socialist authors.
I remembered watching movies depicting these events when I was younger, long before I learned about the Second World War, but my question remained the same: why are they burning books?
Recently, I’ve noticed many people turn to fire when they want to destroy something that no longer brings them joy or they want to make a statement.
In response to Nike’s campaign with Colin Kaepernick, who protested racism in the United States by kneeling during the anthem, people burned their personal Nike products and swore to never buy another object from the company. I didn’t understand this protest because the company already had the consumer’s money, and weren’t really being affected by it being damaged.
It reminded me of when J.K. Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter series, criticized President Donald Trump, and her response to a fan who said they were going to burn her books and movies. In a tweet, she said, “Well, the fumes from the DVDs might be toxic and I’ve still got your money. So, by all means, borrow my lighter.”
Other than getting attention and upsetting some people, what does this really accomplish? It doesn’t stop the message from getting out, and it just seems like a waste of what’s being ruined.
