Somewhere, George Orwell is shaking his head.
This week, a Florida school board voted to remove a graphic-novel adaptation of 1984 from a school library.
Yes, 1984. The dystopian novel about censorship, government control, and the manipulation of information.
And yes, during Banned Books Week.
You can’t make this stuff up.
To be fair, the Duval County School Board didn’t ban Orwell’s original novel. The district’s roughly 200 copies remain available. The board removed its sole copy of Fido Nesti’s illustrated adaptation because of concerns about its sexual imagery.
That distinction matters. But so does the irony.
Orwell gave us “Big Brother,” “thoughtcrime,” and “doublethink” to describe a world in which authorities control information and decide which ideas people are permitted to encounter.
Eighty-seven years after the fictional events of 1984, a Florida school board is debating which version of 1984 its students should be permitted to read.
I understand that schools have a responsibility to consider age-appropriate materials. Parents should have a voice in their children’s education. And reasonable people can disagree about where to draw those lines.
But there’s also a difference between protecting children from inappropriate content and deciding that the best response to uncomfortable ideas or images is to make them disappear.
Orwell understood that distinction. That’s part of what makes this story so remarkable.
Perhaps the most important lesson of 1984 isn’t what happens when a government controls what people can read.
It’s why we should remain skeptical whenever anyone decides that less access to information is the answer.
Here’s what I read this week that you should read, too.
Maybe Don’t Ask ChatGPT How to Make Emails Disappear During Litigation Eric Meyer’s Employer Handbook Blog
Beyond the Prompt: The AI Sandwich and Other Practice Tips for Litigators Privacy & Data Security Insights
McDonald’s sued for alleged antitrust violations by using AI tool to determine pricing for franchises The Guardian
Sirius XM beats allegations of AI-fueled racial bias HR Dive
Authenticity Is Still Key — and Lawyers Can Start by Listening Real Lawyers Have Blogs
Your Workforce Isn’t Fighting AI. It’s Drawing the Blueprint for It. Harvard Business Review
The Customer Isn’t Always Right. Sometimes Great Managers Tell Them to Leave Improve Your HR by the Evil HR Lady, Suzanne Lucas
EEOC Set To Revoke Guidance On Workers’ Criminal History Law360
Stop Treating FMLA Certifications as If They are a Hard Cap on Leave! Jeff Nowak’s FMLA Insights
Can DEI Survive Under Another Name? The Chief Organizer Blog
US bars Microsoft, Adobe, and major IT firms from green card program for skilled foreign workers TechCrunch
I can’t fire a terrible employee Ask a Manager
174 Layoffs Expected Next Month Due to Baltimore Guinness Open Gate Brewery Closure Brewbound
