Parent criticizes book 'Fahrenheit 451'

Alton Verm, of Conroe, objects to the language and content in the book.

His 15-year-old daughter Diana came to him Sept. 21 with her reservations about reading the book because of its language.

"The book had a bunch of very bad language in it," Diana Verm said. "It shouldn't be in there because it's offending people. ... If they can't find a book that uses clean words, they shouldn't have a book at all."

Alton Verm filed a "Request for Reconsideration of Instructional Materials" Thursday with the district regarding "Fahrenheit 451," written by Ray Bradbury and published in 1953.

He wants the district to remove the book from the curriculum.

"It's just all kinds of filth," said Alton Verm, adding that he had not read "Fahrenheit 451."

"The words don't need to be brought out in class. I want to get the book taken out of the class."

He looked through the book and found the following things wrong with the book: discussion of being drunk, smoking cigarettes, violence, "dirty talk," references to the Bible and using God's name in vain.

He said the book's material goes against their religions beliefs.

But this guy probably voted for President Bush, so it's OK for them to blow the limbs off babies in Lebanon, or to cause war because of greed for oil, or to invade a country to enforce their social beliefs onto countries deemed to be a threat to security. The self installed peacekeepers of the world are mimicking the mentality of a certain Adolf Hitler, if history serves me right?

How long are we just going to sit back and take this? We shouldn't be thinking along the lines of 'us and them' at any level, be it racism, xenophobia or prejudice that causes it.

Shouldn't it be 'us', as a species?