{"id":31788,"date":"2022-10-15T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-10-15T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pwoodford.net\/blog\/?p=31788"},"modified":"2022-10-12T06:48:36","modified_gmt":"2022-10-12T13:48:36","slug":"you-cant-read-that-110","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pwoodford.net\/blog\/?p=31788","title":{"rendered":"You Can&#8217;t Read That!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>You Can\u2019t Read That! is a periodic post about book banning. YCRT! features news and opinion roundups, commentary, and reviews.<\/p>\n<h5><strong>YCRT! Banned Book Review News<\/strong><\/h5>\n<p><em>I read and review banned and challenged books that appear in YCRT! news roundups and to date have published nearly 70 reviews. I really should build an index with links to each review, but until I do, my <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/review\/list\/4882193-paul?ref=nav_mybooks&amp;shelf=banned-book\">&#8220;banned book&#8221; shelf at Goodreads<\/a><\/strong> will serve as one. \u2014 Paul<\/em><\/p>\n<h5><strong>YCRT! News &amp; Opinion Roundup<\/strong><\/h5>\n<p><em>If this Twitter thread doesn&#8217;t get you out of your chair and into the narrow dusty aisles of your local independent book store, you&#8217;re dead inside.<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet tw-align-center\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Okay WOW. Just WOW.<\/p>\n<p>My 19yo daughter found it. She found the labyrinthine magical bookstore that you thought only existed in stories. This place is WILD and clearly chock full of forbidden tomes that open portals to other worlds.<\/p>\n<p>Get cozy and come with me on a magical journey. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/DFS1n2Sv9z\">pic.twitter.com\/DFS1n2Sv9z<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Melissa Caruso (@melisscaru) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/melisscaru\/status\/1574836243640324129?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 27, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><em>Sometimes all it takes to reduce a school board to sniveling submissiveness is a single complaint.<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet tw-align-center\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Stop &amp; consider what&#8217;s happening in Escambia, FL.<\/p>\n<p>116 books are being &#8220;restricted&#8221; in libraries just b\/c one person threw them on a list, parlayed from online reviews.<\/p>\n<p>ZERO due process. No one even READ the books first. ? <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/o41AJuXt9Y\">https:\/\/t.co\/o41AJuXt9Y<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Jonathan Friedman ? (@jonfreadom) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/jonfreadom\/status\/1576299846465560577?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 1, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><em>Guess I know which banned book I&#8217;m going to read &amp; review next!<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wkrg.com\/northwest-florida\/escambia-county\/florida-teacher-wants-review-of-over-100-books-discussing-sexual-political-and-lgtbq-topics\/\">Florida Teacher Wants Review of over 100 Books Discussing Sexual, Political and LGBTQ Topics<\/a><\/strong> (WKRG.com)<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">Vicki Baggett has been teaching for 31 years, 20 in Florida and 11 in Alabama. She said she received a classroom novel set that came to her class before the school year ended last year. The set was Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. \u201cIt was a book that I had never heard of before,\u201d said Baggett. \u201cWhen I preread this book, I found that it was full of questionable, age-inappropriate material, including a lot of oral sex, bestiality and things of that nature.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><em>Great investigative work by a humble blogger (like me!), detailing a local hate group&#8217;s campaign to whip up a book-banning frenzy in a Texas school district.<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/frankstrong.medium.com\/35-books-in-conroe-isd-6135faf5b7df\">35 Books in Conroe ISD<\/a><\/strong> (Frankstrong Blog)<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">I\u2019ve seen enough to know that the goings-on around book challenges in Conroe ISD can tell us a lot about the methods and motivations that characterize pro-censorship groups, and the collaboration between the members of these groups, local right-wing media, elected officials, and current candidates for school board positions.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><em>Minding what&#8217;s going on in my own back yard.<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.azcentral.com\/story\/news\/politics\/arizona-education\/2022\/10\/02\/arizona-school-book-bans-what-know-house-bill-2495\/10454106002\/\">What to Know about a New Arizona Law and How It Could Ban Books in School Libraries<\/a><\/strong> (azcentral.com)<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">&#8230; during a March Senate Education Committee meeting, Hoffman cited the availability of materials that had drawings of male and female organs and &#8220;hundreds of reference materials provided to Arizona children directing them to resources like, and I&#8217;m quoting, dry humping saves lives, it&#8217;s OK to have sex with a lot of people, how to view porn and other equally concerning topics.&#8221;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><em>Fantastical allegations about sex education in a teabagger screed, with nary a link or citation by way of proof.<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wisconsinrightnow.com\/2022\/10\/05\/jim-krause\/\">\u201cI Will Not Embrace the Chaos\u201d: a Letter from a Former Wauwatosa Teacher<\/a><\/strong> (Wisconsin Right Now)<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">\u201cSixth-graders would define different types of sexual activity, \u201cvaginal, oral, and anal sex and other forms of sexual (masturbation).\u201d The same grade would learn about \u201ca range of identities related to sexual orientation (e.g. heterosexual, bisexual, lesbian, gay, queer, two-spirit, asexual. Pansexual).\u201d<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><em>Nice to see a school board follow established procedure instead of immediately caving to public pressure.<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/westportjournal.com\/education\/school-board-bans-public-review-of-banned-book-display\/\">School Board Bans Public Review of \u2018Banned Books\u2019 Display<\/a><\/strong> (Westport Journal)<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">The Board of Education refused Monday to publicly discuss a \u201cbanned books\u201d display in the Staples High School library that several members of the public charge was inappropriate and dangerous.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><em>That was yesterday&#8217;s Supreme Court. Pretty sure today&#8217;s Supreme Court will ignore precedent when it takes up one of these porno-in-our-schools cases.<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/missouriindependent.com\/2022\/10\/03\/did-you-ever-think-you-would-see-widespread-book-banning-in-america\/\"><strong>Did You Ever Think You Would See Book Bans in 21st Century America?<\/strong><\/a> (Missouri Independent)<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">In 1982,\u00a0the Supreme Court weighed in\u00a0on the issue of students&#8217; right to read when they ruled on a case in New York brought by students when their school board banned books it deemed anti-American, anti-Christian or in other ways thought objectionable. The Supreme Court explicitly ruled: \u201cLocal school boards may not remove books from school libraries simply because they dislike the ideas contained in those books,\u201d citing students\u2019 First Amendment rights.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><em>The Stupids want to pull us all down to their level.<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/book-ban-lgbtq-jamestown-michigan-library\/\">Michigan Library Could Close after Town Votes to Defund It over 5 LGBTQ-Themed Books<\/a><\/strong> (CBS News)<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">A small Michigan town is locked in a war over words. The battle in Jamestown Township is over five books with LGBTQ+ themes.\u00a0The books include &#8220;The Breakaways,&#8221; two books from the &#8220;Heartstopper&#8221; series, &#8220;Kiss Number 8&#8221; and &#8220;Spinning.&#8221;\u00a0A group called the Jamestown Conservatives recently led a successful drive to essentially defund the town&#8217;s library and remove the books from shelves.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><i>In 2021 a <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.essence.com\/entertainment\/sc-police-angie-thomas-hate-u-give-removed-high-school\/\">South\u00a0Carolina police union called for the banning of The Hate U Give<\/a><\/strong> in schools, and this year there&#8217;ve been reports of <\/i><strong style=\"font-style: italic;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxcarolina.com\/video\/2022\/09\/27\/police-called-travelers-rest-library-branch-investigate-obscene-material\/\">cops showing up at public libraries<\/a><\/strong><i> to investigate reports of pornography on the shelves. Is it any wonder when I see stuff like this in a law enforcement newsletter I get concerned?<\/i><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.lawenforcementtoday.com\/library-group-whines-about-ban-of-sexually-explicit-books-in-schools\/\">Library Group Whines about \u201cBook Banning\u201d While They Support Explicit Books in School Libraries<\/a><\/strong> (Law Enforcement Today)<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">This year is the second year in a row where parents, seeing enough of what they feel is brainwashing or indoctrination of their kids have sought a record number of books to be banned. The ALA said last year, \u201c729 attempts were made that targeted 1,597 book titles,\u201d which they said was a \u201crecord.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><em>Authors targeted by book banners may have the clearest understanding of what&#8217;s going on.<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/changing-america\/enrichment\/arts-culture\/3675842-banned-book-authors-say-new-wave-of-censorship-is-most-dangerous-yet\/\">Banned Book Authors Say New Wave of Censorship Is Most Dangerous Yet<\/a><\/strong> (The Hill)<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">Perez said that she has looked at Facebook pages of groups that have contested her young adult novel \u201cOut of Darkness\u201d and has been shocked to see members tell others to \u201cnot talk about race\u201d or bring up homosexuality when trying to push for a ban and instead \u201cjust talk about sex and curse words.\u201d To her, comments like that reveal that targeting specific themes in books is just a pretext for targeting specific books that promote the inclusion of people of different races and sexual identities. \u201cThese groups know they cannot send parents to school board meetings to say I don\u2019t want queer kids in my kid\u2019s school. I don\u2019t want them sitting next to a Black kid,\u201d said Perez. \u201cThey can\u2019t say those things in 2022 but they can hold up a copy of \u2018Out of Darkness\u2019 with the Black and Mexican main characters on the front and say this is filth.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>You Can\u2019t Read That! is a periodic post about book banning. YCRT! features news and opinion roundups, commentary, and reviews.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[2266,48,2267],"class_list":["post-31788","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-banned-books","tag-bannedbooks","tag-censorship","tag-challengedbooks"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pwoodford.net\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31788","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pwoodford.net\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pwoodford.net\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pwoodford.net\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pwoodford.net\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=31788"}],"version-history":[{"count":29,"href":"https:\/\/pwoodford.net\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31788\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31976,"href":"https:\/\/pwoodford.net\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31788\/revisions\/31976"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pwoodford.net\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=31788"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pwoodford.net\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=31788"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pwoodford.net\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=31788"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}