Banned Books

I was recently recalling to L a very interesting conversation I had with a woman about the banned books table last year.
She did NOT understand what a banned books table was. "Why are these books here? What are they banned from? Are they banned from the store?"
"Well," I said, "they're books that have been from schools and libraries." And duh, of course they're not banned from the store....CAUSE THEY'RE ON DISPLAY. Unless, of course, I look like some hell-raiser who makes a display and finds a company-generated sign with the words "banned books" and then sneaks them onto a table. Cause I really have the time for that.
"But why have they been banned?"
Okay, I have to pause here to ask, is this concept so hard to understand? Has anyone not ever opened the paper to see the headline "HARRY POTTER banned for witchcraft implications!" or "HUCK FINN is racist!" or "Parents object to sex in ROMEO AND JULIET." I read about 40% of books from critics' "top ten" lists (somehow I slipped through an English major and master's degree without reading Anna Karenina or Lolita), but I have definitely read almost every book on the "100 most banned books" list.
"Well, they usually contain sex or violence or drug use...things that parents will object to."
The woman considers this, and then says, "Well, if they're banned, why would we want to buy them?"
"Well, some people like reading books that others find controversial. And these books are really fabulous works of literature."
The woman kind of shrugs, "I guess," and walks away.
This is one of those times...I just tried my hardest and I have no idea what else she wanted. She didn't seem that interested in actually learning about banned books. She clearly didn't want to buy any. Was she just playing dumb? I just don't get it...