Utah parent turns tables on Republican censorship laws, demands Bible be banned from schools as "pornographic"

[Kishkumen]

I see why you might think this would work, but the standard for pornography was always subjective and determined partly by context. Mere references to explicit acts do not constitute pornography. There is a huge difference between the images in a hardcore porn movie and the text of the KJV.

[Alphus and Omegus]

The issue isn't whether the Bible is equivalent to hardcore porn, but rather that fundamentalist Christians who totally control the Republican Party are trying to redefine obscenity in order to censor political views they hate.

The true equivalency here is between the Bible and novels like "The Bluest Eye," both of which have considerable literary merit but have some graphic language. They should both be legal in school libraries but only one side of the political spectrum believes this.

[Kishkumen]

The issue isn't whether the Bible is equivalent to hardcore porn, but rather that fundamentalist Christians who totally control the Republican Party are trying to redefine obscenity in order to censor political views they hate.

The true equivalency here is between the Bible and novels like "The Bluest Eye," both of which have considerable literary merit but have some graphic language. They should both be legal in school libraries but only one side of the political spectrum believes this.

If these judgments were made by logic, you would be on solider ground. I mean, I am happy to see you make a reasonable point here on this forum. In real life, I don’t see this going very far, but that doesn’t mean I disagree.

[malkie]

The underlying issue, I believe, is identical to the one that you see with public prayers, religious displays, support for religious schools, etc.

Those drafting the legislation are so blinded by privilege that they cannot imagine how others would be able to take advantage of the law. They demand, for example, to be able to offer a prayer at the start of a meeting, and then are horrified when the Satanic Temple asks for their turn.

Woops!! That'so not what we had in mind. We only meant to have Christian prayers.

[Alphus and Omegus]

The underlying issue, I believe, is identical to the one that you see with public prayers, religious displays, support for religious schools, etc.

Those drafting the legislation are so blinded by privilege that they cannot imagine how others would be able to take advantage of the law. They demand, for example, to be able to offer a prayer at the start of a meeting, and then are horrified when the Satanic Temple asks for their turn.

Woops!! That'so not what we had in mind. We only meant to have Christian prayers.

Good point. Overwhelmingly the people who push these sorts of forced displays of religiosity tend to be people who are in the majority in their local region. It's why Utah Mormons tend to have a lot more right-wing extremists in their ranks than Mormons who grew up "in the mission field." If all you've ever known is Mormon demographic power, that is very myopia-inducing.

[Alphus and Omegus]

The issue isn't whether the Bible is equivalent to hardcore porn, but rather that fundamentalist Christians who totally control the Republican Party are trying to redefine obscenity in order to censor political views they hate.

The true equivalency here is between the Bible and novels like "The Bluest Eye," both of which have considerable literary merit but have some graphic language. They should both be legal in school libraries but only one side of the political spectrum believes this.

If these judgments were made by logic, you would be on solider ground. I mean, I am happy to see you make a reasonable point here on this forum. In real life, I don’t see this going very far, but that doesn’t mean I disagree.

My hope (which may be naïve) is that when people oppose state censorship by exposing its utterly idiotic implications, they will continue making the argument to the legal system in which there are at least a few conservatives who oppose Christian nationalist censorship such that it could be overturned as unequal protection of the laws.

Florida provided another example of this serious censorship problem yesterday when the principal of Florida’s Tallahassee Classical School was fired after a 6th grade class was not given a trigger warning letter before being shown Michelangelo's "David" sculpture.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/florida- ... f15248d867

DeSantis and his minions are deliberately trying to destroy the state's educational system and replace it with Christian nationalist propaganda created by a diploma mill called Hillsdale College, all while lying and saying that the professors and teachers who have been in their communities for decades are some sort of extremists.

I hope that the fired Tallahassee principal sues to get her job back.

[Kishkumen]

My hope (which may be naïve) is that when people oppose state censorship by exposing its utterly idiotic implications, they will continue making the argument to the legal system in which there are at least a few conservatives who oppose Christian nationalist censorship such that it could be overturned as unequal protection of the laws.

Florida provided another example of this serious censorship problem yesterday when the principal of Florida’s Tallahassee Classical School was fired after a 6th grade class was not given a trigger warning letter before being shown Michelangelo's "David" sculpture.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/florida- ... f15248d867

DeSantis and his minions are deliberately trying to destroy the state's educational system and replace it with Christian nationalist propaganda created by a diploma mill called Hillsdale College, all while lying and saying that the professors and teachers who have been in their communities for decades are some sort of extremists.

I hope that the fired Tallahassee principal sues to get her job back.

It doesn’t look to me like she wants her job back. Let’s consider some important facts here. The Tallahassee Classical School is a charter school that is partnered with the super-conservative Hillsdale College. Before Ron DeSantis came along, Florida had set up loosey-goosey rules for charter schools so that there would be wacky right-wing Christian education for kids.

So, aside from the fact that it is entertaining to see the stupidity that ensues when someone throws a reality grenade at a christo-fascist cosplay party, I don’t see much of a story here.

I am fully aware of what is going on in Florida. It is a cynical ploy to capture as many Trumpers and right-wing Christians as possible before the GOP primaries so that DeSantis can run for the presidency. After the nomination you will see the big pivot away from this craziness, and Florida will be left to its own devices.

As someone who has a big stake in the outcome and has already been discomfited markedly by the lunatic campaign, I am plenty angry about it, but there are parts of it, such as this David business, that are just clickbait.