I think Banned Books Week got moved to October this week because it’s getting scary out there for our freedom of expression.
Now, normally I post the top ten most banned to kick off Banned Books Week. But that’s been done to death. We know what got banned. More importantly, we know what kind of books get banned.
Books about queer people get banned.
Books about black people get banned.
Books about Native people get banned.
Books that make kids think about someone outside of their experience get banned.
This isn’t surprising. It’s just disgusting that it’s getting portrayed as protecting children. The only ones protected by book banning are the people threatened by children’s learning.
We know the kind of people who are doing this. Since they seem to want so much attention, let’s call them out by name. Ron DeSantis seems to be on a mission to wipe out literacy and basic human decency in Florida. It’s gotten so bad there that rather than having a list of banned books, there’s a list of allowed books because that’s shorter.
Then there’s the great state of Texas, which according to Axios leads the nation in book ban attempts.
Everything really is bigger in Texas, including the assholes.
Of course, the real star of the book-banning show is the organization called Moms For Liberty.
That name is just some pure doublespeak for you. And if you get that reference, it’s because of a book called 1984, which Moms For Liberty doesn’t want you to read.
Moms for Liberty has a very specific view of the world, and certain things just don’t fit. By those things I mean children who aren’t white, straight and conservative.
Whether they say it out loud or not, their message is clear. Black children, brown children and LGBTQ+ children might exist in our schools. But they are not welcome there.
But that’s the point of all of these book bans. Do not ever believe that the intention is to protect children from inappropriate material.
The book bans are step one. The final point is a final solution. To remove LGBTQ+ people from our society. To segregate our schools. To make a world where only a certain kind of person feels safe. Where there is a right way to love, a right way to look, a right way to pray.
A right way to exist.
I am not just being dramatic. I am not alone in these feelings. The Southern Poverty Law Center has labeled Moms For Liberty as an extremist group.
My God, Banned Books Week used to be a celebration. Pride used to be a celebration. For a few shining years, we were making some progress.
But here we are. Please, I am begging you to write to your politicians. Show up and counter-protest if Moms For Liberty creeps in where you live. Learn and sit with uncomfortable parts of our history. Protect trans kids. Protect kids of color. Stand up for drag performers. Show up for the next generation.
And read banned books.
Paper Beats World 