Reply to Why are book banners showing up at FCPS SB meetings

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I consider myself to be very liberal and am an avid reader who thinks all books should be available. I don't generally worry about what my kids are reading, I'm happy they are reading and being exposed to many viewpoints. I've read Lawn Boy and have zero issue with it being included in a school library. The graphic novel Gender Queer does give me pause. Seeing detailed pictures of blow jobs prompts a different reaction for me than reading about the same thing. There is more escape when it is words and you supply your own imagination to make the picture. It's also easier to skim through or ignore if it's triggering for you. But seeing the oral sex happening on the page feels different and I can understand why parents would prefer this be available in a public library, but not in their school's library. 
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What’s refreshingly reasonable response.  Quite different from the erroneous screams of “pedophilia!” And “pornography!” I agree that comic books / graphic novels are different in terms of visual literacy.  The question is whether the book has merit on its own despite the potentially problematic frame.  Professional school librarians who make these difficult choices decided for whatever reason that there was a need within their school community for a comic book style treatment of a non-binary teen.  A reasonable committee of teachers, parents, students, and others can assess the book and see if they agree or if the book, on  the whole, would be better as a voice in the public library only.  Screams of “filth” and “smut” are a ridiculous outsized reaction to a book that sensitively portrays a person’s feelings toward their body, gender expression, relationships, hopes, and dreams.  No trainable person reading either could conclude that they are porn or promotion of anything, from sex to gender identity to sexual orientation.  They are heartfelt stories.  Maybe one doesn’t belong.  Maybe it does.  But a reasonable person like you could email a principal or librarian and say, “I was concerned about a book in your collection so I read it in it’s entirety.  I am concerned that the illustration on page 76 is unsuitable for a high school library.  I would like to request that the title be reconsidered.”

That would trigger a committee’s review and the book might be removed.  But THIS….this was a circus deigned to make people start freaking out that, “Democrats on the School Board are buying porn and books with pedophilia for school libraries rather than building new schools or teaching cursive!”  Just look at the reactions here from people who haven’t even read the books.  It’s a crazed witch hunt.[/quote]

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