Is Censorship Inherently Bad?

I do not generally agree with censorship, but I can understand why certain actions are taken against particular novels, plays, movies, and art in general.  Parents try to shield their children from all of the bad things in the world in order to preserve their innocence for as long as possible.  That is censorship.  Just like school districts or teachers censor their students in order to teach them without having to expose them to bad language or disturbing content.  I think that there are different degrees of comfort, and ultimately it is up to the parent or the teacher to gauge what is appropriate for the children.  In terms of the naked man theory, I can understand why the varying degrees of nakedness could make someone more uncomfortable.  I think that there is a time and place for everything, but as adults we have to guide children and many times make decisions for them until they are old enough to make the decisions themselves.  That is censorship, but it cannot be helped. 

With the naked man theory also comes a choice.  People can choose whether they want to expose themselves to films or plays that may possibly make them more uncomfortable.  Just like people can choose what books they decide to read.  A person may feel slightly uncomfortable reading a novel that has a rape scene in it, so they may decide not to see a film adaptation that will make the whole sequence feel even more personal and uncomfortable.  I don’t think that a film should be banned so that no one can see it, but I do think that people need to make their own personal decisions about what they feel they are comfortable with, and also what is appropriate for children. 

While I don’t think that literature should be censored, I do think that sometimes it is difficult not to censor a book from a class if the content is too adult for them or if there is the potential for students to feel uncomfortable and feel like an outcast.  What I think it boils down to is, are you censoring this book from these students for the right reasons?  But then again, how do you ever know that your reasons are the right reasons?