The Patriot Post® · The Book Bans That Never Were
The Left continues to run with the book-ban narrative to attack those who believe books containing pornographic material should not be available in public school libraries.
The critique is that conservatives are attacking the LGBT community and authors of color by removing their books from the shelves of public school libraries. The Left had been successful in laying down the foundation for its book-ban narrative until moms across the country began to read books with explicit content and illustrations out loud at school board meetings.
When the average person learns what the book Gender Queer contains, he or she immediately agrees it should not be included in a school library.
States like Florida and Tennessee have passed legislation that allow parents to know what books are in their child’s school library and classroom. Those in favor of keeping sexually explicit books in school libraries have attacked both states, claiming that teachers have resorted to keeping their bookshelves bare out of fear of retaliation.
Although these claims have been debunked numerous times, they continue to spread. One must wonder if books such as Gender Queer and This Book is Gay really have been removed from school libraries and classrooms.
According to The Daily Caller, “‘It is false that 2,532 books were removed from schools during the 2021-2022 school year,’ Madison Marino, co-author of [a Heritage Foundation] analysis and project coordinator in The Heritage Foundation’s Center for Education Policy, told the Daily Caller News Foundation.”
Marino further states, “We know this is false because Jay Greene and I examined online card catalogues and found that 74 percent of the books PEN America identified as banned from school libraries are actually listed as available in the catalogues of those school districts.” Among the 2,532 books are Gender Queer, This Books is Gay, and Flamer.
Recently, a Tennessee Moms for Liberty chapter received national attention and was deemed book-banners for voicing concerns from the community about two books that were part of an elementary school librarian’s Mother’s Day lesson. The first book, Stella Brings the Family by Miriam B. Schiffer, is about a girl with two fathers attending a Mother’s Day celebration. The second book, Mother Bruce by Ryan T. Higgs, is about a male bear that begrudgingly raises goslings after they have imprinted on him.
The librarian sent a note out to parents informing them of the lesson and gave parents the opportunity to opt out. Many parents did not agree with the librarian’s choice of books or with their children being ousted from a lesson because they subscribe to the traditional way of celebrating Mother’s Day. Although the lesson was successfully canceled, it came with attacks from the “inclusive” Left.
The battle for the minds and innocence of America’s children is in full swing. Children attending public schools are vulnerable to whatever ideologies are taught in their classroom. We once all agreed that underage children should not be exposed to pornographic content. Now we have people who champion an underage child’s access to explicit books in the name of inclusivity.