We recently discussed a book burning organized by a school district in Canada. Now, members of the Spotsylvania County School Board have called for the burning of books with “sexually explicit” content from school libraries. There has been a disturbing rise in calls for censorship, bans, and removal of books from book stores and other forums. Book burning is the most grotesque manifestation of censorship and view intolerance.
Board member Rabih Abuismail at Monday’s meeting referenced books with homosexual scenes and declared “I think we should throw those books in a fire”, according to The Free Lance-Star.
Board member Kirk Twigg added that he wants to “see the books before we burn them, so we can identify within our community that we are eradicating this bad stuff. There are some bad, evil-related material that we have to be careful of and look at.”
Even if these members say that they were merely using hyperbolic rhetoric, it is still rhetoric is still reckless and sends a terrible message to children that book burning is a way to express one’s values.
The burning of “bad stuff” is the siren’s call of every authoritarian movement in history. While the media has been selective in its outrage (including open or implied support for book banning of conservative authors), all such movements are threats to the every essence of free speech in our society.
The controversy in this school board was triggered by the discovery of the young adult novel, 33 Snowfish by Adam Rapp, NBC Washington reported. A parent in the district, Christina Burris, voiced these concerns with the school board because of the story of homeless teens who experience sexual abuse, drug addiction, and sex work. The book includes LGBTQ storylines. The book is recommended for readers ages 15 and up.
Schools clearly exercise control of what books should be included in classes or libraries. School boards historically exercise oversight on such questions. The school should be allowed to address the educational value of such books and explain any limitations placed on access to such material.
I am not familiar with this book but I favor giving deference to schools on the inclusion of material in libraries. There are LGBTQ students in all high schools who want to read books that speak to their lives. Conversely, the mandatory assignment of such material in classes raise difficult issues and legitimate concerns over what is appropriate for a lesson plan or a particular age group. We should be able to have civil discussions on such issues as parents. However, to call for book burning is to yield to the darkest impulses of history.
I disagree with book burning. However, I do think that books inappropriate for school children should be removed from school libraries.
Parents across the country have discovered books that include graphically describing pedophilia and rape in school libraries. In fact, one parent was censored by a school board when she began to read from one. She was ironically told to stop because “children were present.”
An example of such a book is Lawn Boy, which graphically described two 4th grade boys engaging in sex acts.
Nope. This does not belong in a school library. It’s the kind of thing you’d expect a pedophile to have. Discovering that such injurious books are located in the taxpayer funded school library will rouse a fierce protective instinct in parents. Public schools are beginning to learn they have gone too far with their far Left agenda. Loudin county was a spark that lit a unifying conflagration. Moderate Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, Independents, white, black, Asian, Latino…they all have risen up to protect their children from harmful hard Left ideology. It’s enough.
Quite obviously literature in school libraries needs to be age-appropriate. It is responsible to audit a school library and remove works.
It is my understanding that some of these works are considered pedophilia porn, and therefore raise issues that perhaps they should be destroyed rather than donated. If an inappropriate book is legal, then it should be donated. If there are concerns that the contents constitute pedophilia material, then have it reviewed by the police department.
Ironically, book burning and banning has become quite normalized in public schools and universes, where white authors such as Shakespeare, Chaucer, and Mark Twain are culled and at times actually burnt.
Best to just pass a book along if you don’t like it.
Karen S says:
“Ironically, book burning and banning has become quite normalized in public schools and universes, where white authors such as Shakespeare, Chaucer, and Mark Twain are culled and at times actually burnt.”
Undoubtedly, Christian and Conservative schools have banned books more so than Secular and Liberal schools. And as Turley counsels: censorship is a graver threat to freedom of speech than bad speech.
Accordingly, the best recourse to a bad book is a good book.
What schools need are more good books not less bad books!
Jeff exhibits the very reason why we need to break the far Left’s influence on schools. These people argue for the inclusion of books that include graphic descriptions of pedophilia in school children’s libraries. Hard core porn videos are one example of the free speech of adults that is not permitted to be shown to children. Children are not allowed into rated R movies, either.
They don’t get it. They don’t want to understand. And people like this feel entitled to promote their personal views to children during school hours.
As for what passes for his reasoning…
The Aztecs tore the beating hearts out of an inconceivable number of terrified men, women, and children. Do you think you should do the same with the excuse, well, the Aztecs did more of it?
Lawn Boy quite literally describes the sex acts of children and pedophiles. It’s not Shakespeare. It’s not “cancelled” due to the race or time period of its author. It’s not a work of literary significance. It’s pedo porn. I’ll leave it to law enforcement and legal scholars as to whether it’s legal to publish. If it is legal, then it can be published, but it is inappropriate for children. Anyone who thinks a book describing sex acts with children is appropriate to have in a children’s library should never be allowed around children. If school administrators disagree, then parents should vote with their feet and remove their kids from school.
Karen S says:
“Jeff exhibits the very reason why we need to break the far Left’s influence on schools. These people argue for the inclusion of books that include graphic descriptions of pedophilia in school children’s libraries.”
Turley said:
“I favor giving deference to schools on the inclusion of material in libraries. There are LGBTQ students in all high schools who want to read books that speak to their lives.”
So do I, but Karen and the Radical Right want to burn books they don’t favor. As Turley said, “to call for book burning is to yield to the darkest impulses of history.”
It’s up to the parents what material they want their children to read.
Are you saying that you believe LGBTQ students should be allowed to read about sex acts with children and pedophiles? Are you trying to say that stories graphically portraying pedophilia would appeal to LGBTQ? If so, then you have a very dim view of the LGBTQ community that would actually be more in line with alarming propensities.
If a school decides that including such stories is a grand idea, then many parents no longer defer to their judgement. Then those parents get fed up, vehemently object during school board meetings, vote the entire school board out or have them recalled, and/or remove their children from public school. Parents that think their kids reading about sex acts with 4th graders can leave their kids in those schools, and advocate on behalf of the existing school board.
Children belong to parents, not the state. The Left has overstepped by angering parents of all races and creeds. Go after kids, you get shoved back hard. Sending the FBI after upset parents is going to blow up in their faces. However, it was a perfect illustration of the totalitarian tendencies of the Left. Fail to comply with the Democrat Party Line, they’ll use the power of the government against you.
Karen S sincerely asks:
“Are you saying that you believe LGBTQ students should be allowed to read about sex acts with children and pedophiles?”
Are you saying that you want to round up Leftists whom you loath and coral us into Extermination Camps?
ALL PUPPETS ON DECK!
Half the comments on this thread are written by the same tired bore. And he’s furious because Professor Turley can’t condone book bans.
So, let me get this straight…
It’s illegal for an adult to possess child porn, but child porn in a school library is perfectly acceptable (and any effort to remove that child porn is denounced as censorship).
And, while children can be expected, or assigned, to read child porn from the school library, it’s not acceptable for a child’s parent to read the same child porn at a school board meeting because it’s considered too explicit by the school board itself.
Spanky, I think your splitting hairs.
Here’s another piece of wisdom being taught to our students. The documents containing this information should not be burned. The reason we should allow them to exist is so that the danger of this thinking can be exposed. Two good examples would be the writing of Lenin and Hitler that we are still allowed to see. I present a more contemporary example. https://nypost.com/2019/05/20/richard-carranza-held-doe-white-supremacy-culture-training/. I say publish anything you want about CRT and LBGT philosophy but just don’t teach it to our children behind our backs.
We should burn bibles out on the sidewalk, on a stand, in front of cat o lick churches.
The people who said the books should be burned were amazingly stupid. There would be no hullabaloo if they would have just said that the books should be removed from the school library because they are inappropriate. Some say that young adults already know about drugs, alcohol and porn so what’s the fuss. Does this mean that we should just hand them drugs, alcohol and porn because the are aware that they exist. The good Professor whom I more often agree with says that he is not familiar with one of the books in question. Maybe he should become more aware of the nature of these books. This is a can’t see the forrest for the trees moment. I too agree that the use of burning books is egregious hyperbole but we can’t use missing the forest as an excuse for not knowing the content of the actual indoctrination of our youth. I hereby present the evidence to support my premise. https://theiowastandard.com/shocking-images-from-book-gender-queer-which-is-stocked-in-school-libraries-across-iowa/. It is up to you to decide if this is what you want your children to be taught. Your decision will be heard at the voting booth.
The tragic part of all this is that our public schools seem to have, by default, become a place to instill codes of moral behavior. Where are the parents’ role in educating their own children in these areas so that there would be no need for this type of info to be available within a forum that should be concentrating on teaching the basics first.
I don’t know where you are or what you personally believe, and I intend no offense, but you seem to be oblivious: a great many parents in our country seem to think it is perfectly fine and absolutely legitimately a school’s responsibility to instill those values in kids, to raise them, not a parents. Until we discuss parenting, and as a good parent, that may legitimately baffle you – we will get nowhere. This all starts at home, even if it is as simple as never challenging your children on quite literally anything. If you do not encounter this, then your community is either very, very insular, or you are very lucky, as this is basically the norm. An alarming number of parents in this day and age believe that children, ‘learn values at school”, not our job, and we won’t bother to invest the time’. Our little cookies were baked perfect. They don’t need to learn anything from us. That may raise shock, defensiveness, and indignation within you, but it is the truth.
Welcome to Youngkin’s Virginia, where parents decide which books get burned and which don’t.
Letting parents decide what gets taught in schools has consequences.
That would be a problem when you have parents who are more ignorant than their own children.
Dr. Turley should familiarize himself with the book.
Screw the parents, those kids belong to the state.
I don’t think any reasonable person agrees to book burning but not all books are appropriate for all ages. School libraries are not the location for books that parents deem inappropriate to expose their kids.
“There are LGBTQ students in all high schools who want to read books that speak to their lives.” Well, high schoolers have easy access to public libraries in every state where you can find books on all topics.
With students in the U.S. low in math, science and reading skills we should be concentrating and exposing our kids to books to make them the next Einstein.
@jeffsilberman
Oh, please Mr. Silberman!! Tell me with a straight face that you do not support speech codes and other “hate speech” laws. You would be the first to support book burning if it were of materials slightly to the right of Chuck Schumer.
According to leftists, when book burnings or other censorship is done by righteous leftists, it is not only allowed but commendable. But when people want to get rid of communist or degenerate material, they are “nazis”. Actually in leftist parlance, a “nazi” is anyone who disagrees with a leftist.
For whatever is worth, I do not support book burning of censorship of any kind, guess that makes me a “nazi”, right? Just like JT. Had a s@@tlib recently tell me JT was an “alt-right” guy, I think he would be surprised by such designation.
I want a divorce.
antonio
The problem with free speech is you have to put up with someone else’s BS.
Independent bob says:
“The problem with free speech is you have to put up with someone else’s BS.”
Not at all. Just walk away. Speech is no less free just because no one is listening.
Antonio accused me:
“Oh, please Mr. Silberman!! Tell me with a straight face that you do not support speech codes and other “hate speech” laws.”
Antonio, look me straight in the eye! Ok, now watch me say without breaking a smile:
“I do not support speech codes and hate speech laws.”
Did it!
I don’t support governmental discrimination of any speech except with respect to inciting imminent violence. I do advocate private discrimination of any speech short of book burning.
Jon, this time you’ve lost it. You’re too young to remember that up until about 1970, books with explicit sex were considered to be adult and were not, as a rule, included in school libraries. For that matter, publishers didn’t publish them. In fact, even today some publishing platforms identify books as unsuitable for those under 18. Sometimes they slipped in. There was a book in my school library about a ceramics engineer in the space program but it contained explicit passages describing cunnilingus. I seriously doubt that the librarian had a clue what was in it. She no doubt bought it because it was about rocket motors. (Exhaust nozzles are lined with ceramics.) I never forgot that book. In fact, I’m currently working on a novel about two teenagers who read the book and decide to try what they had read about themselves and the girl naturally becomes pregnant then spends the next three years hiding the child from the boy, who had been appointed to the Air Force Academy and would be kicked out if he married her. The facts are that juvenile reading material WAS censored until all hell broke lose in the 60s and we became a world of anything goes. Books like even J.D. Salinger’s A Catcher in the Rye were kept out of school for many years. (I just read the book again – Holden Caulfield fans seem to forget that he was institutionalized in the end.) I read damn near everything in my school libraries as a child and teenager. I only remember one with explicit sexual content, the one just mentioned. Remember that Betty Friedan was a dedicated Marxist. Books are weapons; they are used to control thought.
If “books are weapons [that] are used to control thought”, then the reader is either stupid, naive and/or has no moral compass. We were required to read “To Kill a Mockingbird” in high school, and in the book Bob Ewell describes Tom Robinson “rutting on” Mayella Ewell. It also contains the “N” word. Does that mean it should be banned because of these details, depriving the reader of the overall message and theme of the book? Even the Bible contains racy stuff. In Ezekiel, it describes the “big-membered Egyptians” that Israel was prostituting itself for, and that Israel made dildoes out of precious metals to be used for purposes of prostitution, too. It also says that Israel “spread its legs” for all comers at the city gates. This analogy to prostitution was used to express the Lord’s displeasure with His chosen people worshipping idols of other countries, but the language is very explicit. I mean, come on. Are children this delicate these days?
Natacha, this isn’t about the fragility of the children. Hitler said, we will take the children from their parents and in one generation the parents will not recognize their children. This is not about the fragility of the children, it’s about the taking of the children and educating them according edicts of the state. Is this really where you stand?
They shouldn’t be too delicate, but too many of them need safe places. For once Natacha( I can’t believe I’m saying this) I agree with you. Where’s the mouth wash?
Natacha, in the churches we are taught that David committed murder so that he could have another mans wife. These types of things are taught in age appropriate classes. The explicate sexual details on fellatio and cunnilingus that may have occurred are left out. In books now presented to teenagers these details are not only not left out but are explicitly displayed. The interesting thing is that it’s done in comic book form to attract the young. If it was done in actual pictures of the acts it would be called pornography. You think this is ok but would you be happy seeing it on the nightly news designed for the consumption of adults? Your common answer is always, “what’s the big deal?” Some consider child porn to be a big deal. The intent is to make this kind of content mainstream and you will have to excuse us when we say it ain’t happening. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caligula
Children should be taught about pornography, and that it’s not proper for their consumption, along with use of profanity, the “N” word and other things they may come across, like public nudity. I recall a young relative in my family who, at a family gathering when someone said the “F” word in her presence, she stuck out her finger and said to the person: “That’s in-a-pope-e-at”. She meant “inappropriate” and couldn’t pronounce the word, but knew that such words shouldn’t be used around young girls. They should be taught by their parents to look away from or disregard these things and where the boundaries are for their age group. Kids know more than you think they do, and they do know when a line has been crossed. They don’t need to have their books burned.
Children should be taught about pornography,…
Or they could save money and the brown bag at 7 Eleven, and read your stuff here.
😜
Hey Natch, did you watch Dave Chappelle’s recent show? It was awesome. The last 15 minutes were touching where he discussed his friend, a MTF Trans Comedianne, Daphne Dorman, who committed suicide after being bullied on Twitter by Trans.
https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/dave-chappelle-daphne-dorman-comedy-special-the-closer-transphobic-172503363.html
Kids are going to get whatever they want – tobacco, liquor, porn. Banning only slows the acquisition or makes it more expensive.
Far better that kids get exposure under the guidance of responsible adults.
Get a kick out of the Lefties posting all the Turley “gotchas”; they actually think that Turley cares what they think.
“ Far better that kids get exposure under the guidance of responsible adults.”
Agreed.
“Far better that kids get exposure under the guidance of responsible adults.”.
There lies the problem….Teachers in today’s educational system are becoming anything but “responsible” in the context of what you offer.
If parents want to expose their children to such material in their own homes, at their own expense – fine. This book, like a number of others challenged by parents, is nothing more than grooming posing as literature.
Mistressadams says:
“This book, like a number of others challenged by parents, is nothing more than grooming posing as literature.”
The Bible is another it could be argued in light of the hundreds of thousands of young boys who have been sexually abused by preists.
Monument says:
“Get a kick out of the Lefties posting all the Turley “gotchas”; they actually think that Turley cares what they think.”
One thing is for sure: Turley cares about what people think more than do you.
In the vast majority of cases, high school students are still minors in the eyes of the law, and the local elected school board is still the arbiter of what is appropriate content in textbooks or literary works in school libraries. Parents absolutely have the right to protest objectionable content, but they cannot do that without transparency on the part of teachers concerning what is contained within the books they plan to use.
School boards should (and indeed must) take an active role in approving (or not) those things in school libraries. Even public libraries age-restrict certain materials. The reason is the same: there are some things we as a society have decided are inappropriate for minors. Censorship based on local community standards for what should be in a school library is not the same as censorship used against the adult population.
One big clue to all this “outrage” by parents is that it’s only the parents who are freakin out.
Nobody pays less attention to what they’d kids are doing then parents because they are busy with work or have their own social circle that are totally insulated from the social culture of teenagers or students. Think about it. High school students already know about homosexuality, transgender issues, drugs, porn, violent movies, cartoons, etc. etc. they are all well aware of these things. But parents seem to be oblivious to what their kids already know. Notice no students are complaining. It’s the parents who are often the ones shocked or dismayed upon learning things their kids have known for a long time and menu don’t really have an issue with them.
Nobody is asking the students for themselves what they think. Especially the high school students who oftentimes are not given enough credit for being more rational than their parents.
In Fairfax County, approval of such material is delegated to a Deputy Superintendent.
The issue is one of the govt attempting to delve into the moral education of children. Something that rests 100% with the parents and the community as defined by the parents. Schools are tools in the hands of parents.
We know from decades of experince, the government fails 100% of the time they delve into parenting.
I dont see how schoolboard members setting the standard for what literature is curated in the school library equals censorship
A conservative is someone who complains about cancel culture at the book burning.
The irony
Yes, LGBTQ students and others deserve to identify with literature. That said, there is nothing inherently deviant in those people as children that makes them dysfunctional perverts, and that literature can be age appropriate rather than pornography. An awful lot of gay folks do not grow up on the street turning tricks – that is a human issue, not a ‘gay’ one. The professor seems to miss that it’s the content, not the demographic, that is at issue.
Certainly the bible is on the list of books to be burned. David lusting after Bathsheba. He even had Bathsheba’s husband killed so he could have sex with her. That book is filled with sex and violence. Burn it!
I never saw a Bible in a library.
Can’t wait for the next Turley-ism decrying the “book censorship” of not printing or publishing books that don’t fit the current “le plat du jour”
Let me repeat Turley said,
“I am not familiar with this book but I favor giving deference to schools on the inclusion of material in libraries.”
Did you hear that loud and clear?
It’s re-assuring that Turley did not overlook this case of book-burning, but he conspicuously did not mention that these two book-burners were CONSERVATIVES! Imagine that! Conservative book-burners! And you Trumpists thought only Leftists burned books….
Jeff Silberman, I noticed the only time he mentioned conservatives was in deference to conservatives being censored. He didn’t mention that those calling to have books burned are conservative board members.
He could have stated his article as conservative board members call for burning books by liberal authors. Here you have liberals being censored.
The problem seems to be Turley is being careful not to overly alienate his blog readers too much.
Svelaz says:
“The problem seems to be Turley is being careful not to overly alienate his blog readers too much.”
True, but he can’t avoid it forever. Turley has said little about the 1/6 commission except criticizing its wholesale serving of subpoenas several weeks ago as a “fishing expedition.”
https://thehill.com/opinion/judiciary/570111-democrats-jan-6-subpoena-palooza-sets-dangerous-precedent?amp
On the other hand, he has said that Bannon does not have a leg to stand on:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/january-6-thompson-bannon/2021/10/18/89169018-2fc2-11ec-9241-aad8e48f01ff_story.html
Accordingly, Turley must support the criminal contempt prosecution of Bannon though it remains to be seen whether he will say so publicly here and risk infuriating his Trumpist followers who don’t want to hear it because it’s a win for the Democrats. Instead, Turley may decide to pander to them by commenting on the fact that Trump had 2 civil lawsuits dropped against him today- a win for them.
It’s a delicate balancing act for Turley to protect his academic bona fides (lest he winds up like the disgraced academic Eastman) while remaining useful to his employer Fox News by catering to its false narratives.
We;re pilgrims in an unholy land
https://i.makeagif.com/media/9-11-2016/Kti9FE.gif