Kishkumen wrote: ↑Mon Mar 20, 2023 10:39 am
The link and subsequent comments are dealing specifically with Florida schools supposedly stocking their book shelves with pornography. Because MG is trolling he can’t keep his narrative straight, he was unable to verify whether or not any of these schools in Florida were actually identified as having any of these pornographic books. Instead, he moves off the Florida piece and claims he was talking about all sorts of schools across the country.
Why link Kish back to a link and comments about Florida then?
It’s because he was just baiting Kish into nonsense with links and comments that aren’t actually grounded in fact, but rather assertion by religionists who’re making claims they haven’t backed up, but are readily gobbled up by people like the Mongrel.
- Doc
I could be mistaken, Doc, but some replies included links to library databases that appeared to show school libraries do hold some of these titles. In any case, I fully understand what DeSantis is up to, probably better than most here. Without spending time tracking down this stuff to prove the case, I can say that in principle I think material of this type should not be in public school libraries for the reasons I stated, if it is. All the nonsense about pornography and grooming is disgusting garbage designed to dehumanize others. Sadly, extremists on the Right are getting a lot of mileage out of provoking panic through tactics like these, as you know. I know that too. That said, I see nothing wrong with staying my view about the appropriateness of such material in a public school environment.
The problem is that I see conservatives saying these books linked on page 19 were in schools, but I can’t track down any specifics like what specific school were they in, who authorized those specific books, etc. I see the claim of someone holding a book up for a Twitter post and nebulous claims these and other ‘pornographic’ books were in schools. My problem with the claims is the accusation exists without proof. It shouldn’t be hard to state that:
“The book Gender Queer was found in Osceola Middle School in Ocala, Florida. The librarian confirmed it was part of their LGBTQ+ section, and the books available were approved by the school board for FY 2022. Other books authorized by the school board and that were found at the middle school were x-y-z. They were removed at so-and-so’s request.”
If conservatives didn’t have a history of lying constantly to move their agenda fwd I might take their claims with regard to these books at face value, but they’ve lost all credibility, so I need specifics and specific people who are involved in this sort of thing.
What I’m seeing when I type this into a Google search:
“inappropriate books found at florida middle school”
is a hit like this (second result):
https://www.fox13news.com/news/16-inapp ... -officials
Polk County Public Schools is conducting a review of 16 library books whose content has been formally challenged.
The group County Citizens Defending Freedom said in a statement posted on its website that the books "imprint obscene, violent, pornographic, drug abuse, sexual abuse and suicide-related content upon the minds of minor students."
…
Two committees of educators, students, advocates, medical professionals and others will now review the books and make recommendations to the school board.
Here’s the list:
The following books have been identified for review:
"Almost Perfect" by Brian Katcher
"Beloved" by Toni Morrison
"The Bluest Eye" by Toni Morrison
"Drama" by Raina Telgemeier
"Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" by Jonathan Foer
"George" by Alex Gino
"I am Jazz" by Jessica Herthel & Jazz Jennings
"It’s Perfectly Normal" by Robbie Harris
"The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini
"More Happy Than Not" by Adam Silvera
"Nineteen Minutes" by Jodi Picoult
"Real Live Boyfriends" by E. Lockhart
"Thirteen Reasons Why" by Jay Asher
"Tricks" by Ellen Hopkins
"Two Boys Kissing" by David Levithan
"The Vincent Boys" by Abbi Glines
Taking the most salacious sounding title above, “Two Boys Kissing" by David Levithan, I googled:
“Two Boys Kissing" by David Levithan inappropriate passage”
and the best I could come up with was this result (top result):
https://booksbird.wordpress.com/2019/09 ... s-kissing/
Two Boys Kissing was challenged in the Fauquier High School library in Warrenton, Virginia by parent Jessica Wilson who launched a campaign after judging the book by its cover (you’re not supposed to do that right?), which unsurprisingly features two boys kissing.
Wilson used the school’s own policy regarding ‘public’ displays of affection to object to David Levithan’s book appearing in the library and demand its removal from Fauquier High School. A quote from The Falcon, the High School’s student newspaper, reads; “My first thought was that I was shocked. My second thought was, ‘who purchased this book for the library and why?’ My issue is with the teenage celebration of sexuality throughout the book. At my home, we can talk about what [my children] are going to watch or read, but this book just kind of felt snuck in the library. It also made me wonder, budgetary-wise, if the school is spending money for the proper resources. I cannot imagine that there wasn’t another, more appropriate book that could have been purchased that would’ve appealed to a wider audience.”
An internal review committee met to decide the fate of Levithan’s book in the school’s library and a majority decided the book should stay, however, Wilson appealed the decision forcing a second committee meeting to be called. During the second meeting, several people shared their opinions and several letters were read aloud including a letter from the author himself. Some in the meeting agreed with Wilson, suggesting the book is obscene while others defended the book arguing that the story could have a positive effect on LGBT teens (and perhaps others who need to show more empathy towards the LGBTQIA+ community). The review committee finally came to a unanimous decision to keep the book in the school’s library.
I’m getting the feeling that this story of ‘porno’ books in school libraries may not be the rager conservatives claim it is. That said, I think it’s healthy a parent can object to a book, and a committee reviews the objection. But is the list above really that horrific? “Beloved”? Really?
- Doc
Hugh Nibley claimed he bumped into Adolf Hitler, Albert Einstein, Winston Churchill, Gertrude Stein, and the Grand Duke Vladimir Romanoff. Dishonesty is baked into Mormonism.