“Knowing truth is important. Right and wrong are truth, not feelings. And they are the same for everyone. Our creator is the source of the rules for right and wrong and they come from his character.”
(Member of the public library advisory board)
Citizens appointed by local government are policing which books held in the public library can be read by children. The local newspaper documents offending titles, along with the censor’s comments about each book. Reported summaries and excerpts of comments follow.
“Sex Is a Funny Word,” by authors Fiona Smyth and Cory Silverberg
“‘Introduce[s] ideas about sexuality, transgenderism and sexual activity… Would ‘cause confusion for children who read it and put sexual ideas that they are not mature enough to handle.’”
“Making a Baby,” by authors Rachel Greener and Clare Owen
“…Illustrations of White and racially mixed gay, lesbian and straight couples with children… ‘The pictures of naked adults and the sex act are not age appropriate for children….’”
“Queer: The Ultimate LGBTQ Guide for Teens,” by authors Kathy Belge and Marke Bieschke
“If a teen is confused about their sexuality (the book) may cause them to embrace a lifestyle they may regret… A public library should… refrain from opening doors to children that should not be opened.”
“Red: A Crayon’s Story,” by author Michael Hall
“Ideas of transgenderism [are] damaging… ‘It could twist the cognitive learning development in a child.’
“Teens and LGBT Issues,” by author Christine Wilcox
“‘…Boys who are sexually abused by men want to get rid of their genitalia because in their mind they feel like if their genitalia is gone they won’t be sexually abused again… Girls who are sexually abused often want to become boys as a way to show power so they will be feared… Why would we want this deviant behavior to mold and shape the minds of our youth?’”
(Tamara Diaz, “3 city approved library board members filed LGBTQ book complaints,” http://www.victoriaadvocate.com, 9-22-22)
(c) 2022 JMN — EthicalDative. All rights reserved
EthicalDative 
Making those books available in libraries is politically motivated and not in the best interest of the kids. Boys or girls that want to go transgender will find even worse abuse from society than the sexual abuse they already went through. Those books want the kids to think it will be accepted.
As kids, my sister and I were reading Playboy and Penthouse which my Dad conveniently left out for us to read after school. We didn’t get any attention from our parents. If an adult would have told us we were better than tits and ass it would have been good but they didn’t. What is the difference between pornography that ruins a girls self esteem and books that tell kids it’s good to be transgender? Both damage kids. for life.
My sister might still be alive today if so many men didn’t have the chance to use her because she thought that was the way to get a man and keep him.
Exposing kids to that kind of literature before they’re mature enough to read it critically is not going to help. And social engineering in schools never works. Remember “Just say no?” as an example.
Adults that want to expose kids to that crap need to be given a reality check and stop their selfishness.
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We can disagree. I tread cautiously around this sort of controversy. It triggers passions, but my instinct, occasionally, is to expose to sunlight such language as that used in our local event. It speaks for itself.
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It’s political propaganda. That’s the drawback to freedom of the press. Propaganda comes at you from all sides and people take it for the truth. Like mass shootings are the drawback to the right to bear arms. People that holler “first amendment rights!” are political pawns. Kids are political pawns too. Thanks for letting me opine.
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No thanks required, Chris. I welcome your participation here. We have mutual respect, which is the important thing where opinions may differ. As I write this I hope you are enjoying a productive plein-air art outing in the great state of Maine!
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Thanks J! I’m having some problem getting to Maine. Tomorrow, for sure!
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The trouble with censorship is that censored books become more exciting to read (and people will always get hold of them). I think the real point here is that the censors are not experts/psychologists/academics, but just local citizens with opinions based on their own religious beliefs. I worked as a librarian in a university and we had concerns about including racist propaganda in our collection. It was resolved after discussions with academics by creating a research section of this sort of material where it couldn’t be stumbled over unwittingly by anyone.
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Your take is wise and insightful, Sue. I worry that a mythos of threat and aggression on the part of non-conforming minorities buttresses the interventions of presumably well-meaning private individuals who feel entitled to enforce their views. Coincidentally, my mother was a university librarian as well. Good “librarianship” was a high ideal for her. She founded a public library in the little town she retired to and meticulously catalogued its first collection using Library of Congress taxonomy. She had spent part of her childhood there chafing at the lack of access to good books.
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Your mother sounds like my sort of person! I applaud her.
I wonder if the ‘well-meaning individuals’ ever look at their actions and compare them with intolerant countries like Iran or Afghanistan?
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I thank you on my mother’s behalf! Our thoughts run in similar veins. There’s distinct irony in what appear to be efforts to establish something like a theocracy here in the face of other countries’ experience of that mode of rule. The gender issue is only one leg of the campaign to create an “enemy” of right-thinking folk. Fabrications involving religious persecution, voter fraud, and the interpretation of history are others.
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Yes – well said. Bit depressing to think that this is where we are. All the best. Sue
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