Banning books at schools is just one step in the right wing strategy to control curricula and ensure students learn to conform to the conservative worldview. Maus is the latest book on the right’s “do not read” list. A Tennessee school board recently voted to ban the Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel about the Holocaust because of what it called objectionable language and nudity. Similar campaigns all over the country label books “pornographic” when, really, the right wingers are concerned about depictions of Black or LGBTQ characters.
This battle is part of the same war pitting creationism against science-based stories about the history of the universe. We’ve been down this road with conservatives many times. They take a stand on free speech until it’s inconvenient to the worldview they espouse.
And of course we know that they are merely hypocrites because they don’t want to ban the Bible. They are for free speech, but they are banning books because of violence and nudity and all these things, but not banning the Bible. There’s murder in the Bible. There’s incest in the Bible. There’s genocide, there’s sexual content. There’s extramarital affairs.
I mean, what, it’s all in the Bible. And if you describe it to right wingers, and in fact, there’s videos of this being done. If you say, listen, there’s a book available in school libraries right now. And it contains a story of murder and of a guy who killing his brother, you know, incest genocide, should we have that book? And they go, absolutely not. And they say, oh, that book is the Bible.
They say, oh no, no, no. Different rules apply.
And so I recognize that to some degree, especially with kids, banning these books is going to make them interested in the books, but the bigger problem is the total control that these people want.
Horrifying, absolutely horrifying. And this is why when we say voting for president, very important. Senators, of course, very important. What’s happening at the state and municipality level, school, board, state, senator, state representative.
This stuff impacts the day to day for children, high school students, college students, and more. And so we can’t forget to remain active at the local level.
There’s a new right wing movement in the United States which is just like an offshoot. It’s a branching movement off of the movement focused on making what students around the country learn conform to the right wing worldview and ideology through the control over textbooks and curriculum.
One battle within this war was whether creationism would be taught alongside, science-based stories about the history of the universe. That’s the, that’s the war that we’re talking about.
A new battle that conservatives are now waging is that of trying to ban books from school libraries. And, this is an area of significant projection from the right, the right in the United States has taken over the last many years to pointing to the left and saying, you want to censor, you want to suppress, you want to stop the dissemination and discussion and debate around ideas. When in reality, it is they who overwhelmingly want to do that.
And unfortunately, this is a common thing with the right where they have their principles one of which is free speech until it’s no longer convenient to the worldview that they want to espouse.
Social media regulation is a really good example. When we saw at the start of the pandemic, the lion’s share of COVID disinformation came from the right on Twitter, Twitter had to start banning a lot of accounts, and all of a sudden, instead of being against regulating businesses and tellingTwitter what to do, they say, we must tell Twitter what to do. Twitter’s free speech to do what they want as long as it’s not illegal on their platform goes out the window.
That’s an example of where their principle is in conflict with their actions when it’s no longer convenient.
And suddenly they wanna start banning books. They claim that the left wants to ban books that are inconvenient to the left, but who has been saying, for example, that the anti-vaccine anti Fauci book by Bobby Kennedy Jr. should be banned? No, what I say is it’s a dumb waste of money.
Don’t waste your money on that stupid book. Read actual books written by scientists and doctors and people who understand vaccines rather than a book by Bobby Kennedy, Jr.
We want to educate people so they don’t fall for buying these books in the first place.
Well, right wingers have a different perspective. Even though they claim to be against censorship, they are now putting together lists of books that should be banned. And it’s all being done to protect children. They say.
There’s a Tennessee school board that voted to ban the book Maus, which is a Pulitzer winning book that it’s sort of the, of the Holocaust in cartoon form. And they said it’s objectionable language in there, nudity, et cetera. There’s similar campaigns all over the country.
Oftentimes the books that they want to ban are called pornographic because of their depictions of black characters, LGBTQ characters, et cetera.
The Huffington post reported that in Texas Republican governor Greg Abbot is capitalizing on this movement to ban pornographic and obscene books all based on a list of about 800 books circulated by the Republican representative, Matt Krause.And a lot of those books are books written by women, written by people of color, written by LGBTQ writers, et cetera.
And of course we know that they are merely hypocrites because they don’t want to ban the Bible. They are for free speech, but they are banning books because of violence and nudity and all these things, but not banning the Bible. There’s murder in the Bible. There’s incest in the Bible. There’s genocide, there’s sexual content. There’s extramarital affairs.
I mean, what, it’s all in the Bible. And if you describe it to right wingers, and in fact, there’s videos of this being done. If you say, listen, there’s a book available in school libraries right now. And it contains a story of murder and of a guy who killing his brother, you know, incest genocide, should we have that book? And they go, absolutely not. And they say, oh, that book is the Bible.
They say, oh no, no, no. Different rules apply. So a few different stories here.
Number one, the stated principle of a free speech that they espouse means nothing to them when the results or the outcome are inconvenient.
Number two, a really good way to get kids interested in stuff is to tell ’em that it’s bad for them and that they shouldn’t do it. And so I recognize that to some degree, especially with kids, banning these books is going to make them interested in the books, but the bigger problem is the total control that these people want.
And a couple weeks ago I sent correspondents to a Trump rally in Texas and our correspondents talked to people and they said, is Joe Biden a communist? And they all said, yes, yes, yes. And then they asked, well, what policies make him a communist? They don’t know.
They don’t have any. And they asked, is critical race theory bad or good. And they would all say it’s bad. And then our correspondent would say what is critical race theory? And they’d say, I don’t actually know, something about LGBTQ, one woman said.
Those are the same people that want to be determining what your kids will learn in school. The same people that we talk to at the rallies are the people that are showing up at the school board meetings, demanding books be banned and saying, we know what children should be taught.
Horrifying, absolutely horrifying. And this is why when we say voting for president, very important. Senators, of course, very important. What’s happening at the state and municipality level, school, board, state, senator, state representative.
This stuff impacts the day to day for children, high school students, college students, and more. And so we can’t forget to remain active at the local level.
David Pakman
Share
. . .
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
More from David
Commentary
Our commentary partners will help you reach your own conclusions on complex topics.
Don’t get too excited about the new lithium deposit found in the US
11 hrs ago
Peter Zeihan
How shifting Russian targets impact global economy
Friday
Peter Zeihan
What explains West African coups? Will France respond?
Thursday
Peter Zeihan
Chinese housing overbuild may erode support for Xi Jinping
Wednesday
Peter Zeihan
Book bans represent latest chapter in right wing need for control
Feb 17, 2022
Share
. . .
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
By
Banning books at schools is just one step in the right wing strategy to control curricula and ensure students learn to conform to the conservative worldview. Maus is the latest book on the right’s “do not read” list. A Tennessee school board recently voted to ban the Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel about the Holocaust because of what it called objectionable language and nudity. Similar campaigns all over the country label books “pornographic” when, really, the right wingers are concerned about depictions of Black or LGBTQ characters.
Representative Matt Krause (R-TX) has gone so far as to create a list of about 800 books he claims are objectionable. According to the Huffington Post, Governor Greg Abbott (R-TX) is capitalizing on that list with a vague request to the Texas Association of School Boards to remove such content. Many of those books are books authored by women, people of color, and LGBTQ writers.
This battle is part of the same war pitting creationism against science-based stories about the history of the universe. We’ve been down this road with conservatives many times. They take a stand on free speech until it’s inconvenient to the worldview they espouse.
There’s a new right wing movement in the United States which is just like an offshoot. It’s a branching movement off of the movement focused on making what students around the country learn conform to the right wing worldview and ideology through the control over textbooks and curriculum.
One battle within this war was whether creationism would be taught alongside, science-based stories about the history of the universe. That’s the, that’s the war that we’re talking about.
A new battle that conservatives are now waging is that of trying to ban books from school libraries. And, this is an area of significant projection from the right, the right in the United States has taken over the last many years to pointing to the left and saying, you want to censor, you want to suppress, you want to stop the dissemination and discussion and debate around ideas. When in reality, it is they who overwhelmingly want to do that.
And unfortunately, this is a common thing with the right where they have their principles one of which is free speech until it’s no longer convenient to the worldview that they want to espouse.
Social media regulation is a really good example. When we saw at the start of the pandemic, the lion’s share of COVID disinformation came from the right on Twitter, Twitter had to start banning a lot of accounts, and all of a sudden, instead of being against regulating businesses and tellingTwitter what to do, they say, we must tell Twitter what to do. Twitter’s free speech to do what they want as long as it’s not illegal on their platform goes out the window.
That’s an example of where their principle is in conflict with their actions when it’s no longer convenient.
And suddenly they wanna start banning books. They claim that the left wants to ban books that are inconvenient to the left, but who has been saying, for example, that the anti-vaccine anti Fauci book by Bobby Kennedy Jr. should be banned? No, what I say is it’s a dumb waste of money.
Don’t waste your money on that stupid book. Read actual books written by scientists and doctors and people who understand vaccines rather than a book by Bobby Kennedy, Jr.
We want to educate people so they don’t fall for buying these books in the first place.
Well, right wingers have a different perspective. Even though they claim to be against censorship, they are now putting together lists of books that should be banned. And it’s all being done to protect children. They say.
There’s a Tennessee school board that voted to ban the book Maus, which is a Pulitzer winning book that it’s sort of the, of the Holocaust in cartoon form. And they said it’s objectionable language in there, nudity, et cetera. There’s similar campaigns all over the country.
Oftentimes the books that they want to ban are called pornographic because of their depictions of black characters, LGBTQ characters, et cetera.
The Huffington post reported that in Texas Republican governor Greg Abbot is capitalizing on this movement to ban pornographic and obscene books all based on a list of about 800 books circulated by the Republican representative, Matt Krause. And a lot of those books are books written by women, written by people of color, written by LGBTQ writers, et cetera.
And of course we know that they are merely hypocrites because they don’t want to ban the Bible. They are for free speech, but they are banning books because of violence and nudity and all these things, but not banning the Bible. There’s murder in the Bible. There’s incest in the Bible. There’s genocide, there’s sexual content. There’s extramarital affairs.
I mean, what, it’s all in the Bible. And if you describe it to right wingers, and in fact, there’s videos of this being done. If you say, listen, there’s a book available in school libraries right now. And it contains a story of murder and of a guy who killing his brother, you know, incest genocide, should we have that book? And they go, absolutely not. And they say, oh, that book is the Bible.
They say, oh no, no, no. Different rules apply. So a few different stories here.
Number one, the stated principle of a free speech that they espouse means nothing to them when the results or the outcome are inconvenient.
Number two, a really good way to get kids interested in stuff is to tell ’em that it’s bad for them and that they shouldn’t do it. And so I recognize that to some degree, especially with kids, banning these books is going to make them interested in the books, but the bigger problem is the total control that these people want.
And a couple weeks ago I sent correspondents to a Trump rally in Texas and our correspondents talked to people and they said, is Joe Biden a communist? And they all said, yes, yes, yes. And then they asked, well, what policies make him a communist? They don’t know.
They don’t have any. And they asked, is critical race theory bad or good. And they would all say it’s bad. And then our correspondent would say what is critical race theory? And they’d say, I don’t actually know, something about LGBTQ, one woman said.
Those are the same people that want to be determining what your kids will learn in school. The same people that we talk to at the rallies are the people that are showing up at the school board meetings, demanding books be banned and saying, we know what children should be taught.
Horrifying, absolutely horrifying. And this is why when we say voting for president, very important. Senators, of course, very important. What’s happening at the state and municipality level, school, board, state, senator, state representative.
This stuff impacts the day to day for children, high school students, college students, and more. And so we can’t forget to remain active at the local level.
Trump only winner as Republicans falter in second debate
On Sept. 27, at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, seven presidential candidates participated in the second Republican primary debate. This debate provided an opportunity for the candidates to explain why they believed they were more qualified than the party’s leading candidate, former President Donald Trump, who, once again, did not attend.
12 hrs ago
Trump is behind Biden impeachment inquiry
Mounting pressure from House Republicans has led House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to officially endorse an impeachment inquiry against President Joe Biden. These impeachment efforts have escalated alongside another unfolding legal drama — that of former President Donald Trump. Straight Arrow News contributor David Pakman argues that Trump, himself, is behind the scheme to impeach Biden.
Sep 25
McCarthy’s impeachment stunt lacks any evidence
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) recently announced his support for an impeachment inquiry against President Joe Biden. McCarthy’s announcement contradicts his prior position and aligns with the far-right’s ongoing push for impeachment. Straight Arrow News contributor David Pakman breaks down GOP arguments and concerns, concluding that no evidence exists to merit the inquiry in the
Sep 18
Are Trump’s lawyers really going to make these legal arguments?
Former President Donald Trump faced his fourth indictment, centered on his attempts to overturn his 2020 general election loss in Georgia, in August. Trump’s legal team is portraying this indictment as an assault on his freedom of speech, while prosecutors hold a different perspective. Straight Arrow News contributor David Pakman questions whether Trump’s legal team
Sep 11
Be mindful of Ramaswamy’s lying techniques
Following the first Republican presidential debate, Vivek Ramaswamy has climbed to the third position in the polls, trailing former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. In an effort to impede his momentum, other candidates have initiated a barrage of negative attacks against Ramaswamy, highlighting his shifting stance on critical issues. Straight Arrow News
Sep 5
Media Miss
Stories each side is underreporting
Rep. Bowman Backtracks After Office Slams GOP ‘Nazis’—In Memo Defending ‘Accidental’ Fire Alarm Pull
20 sources | 15% from the left
Trump’s civil fraud trial in New York to get down to business after fiery first day
11 sources | 0% from the right
Latest Opinions
Getty Images
Dem. Rep. Phillips leaves leadership post after pushing for Biden challenger
Watch 2:48
9 hrs ago
AP Images
Hundreds of migrants housed at O’Hare as Chicago deals with ongoing crisis
Watch 2:54
9 hrs ago
Getty Images
With home insurance premiums through the roof, some homeowners go ‘naked’
Watch 3:01
11 hrs ago
Getty Images
‘Beware!’: Tom Hanks warns of AI ad using his likeness
Watch 1:34
16 hrs ago
Reuters
Calif. Gov. Newsom appoints Laphonza Butler to fill Feinstein’s Senate seat
Watch 1:21
17 hrs ago
Popular Opinions
In addition to the facts, we believe it’s vital to hear perspectives from all sides of the political spectrum.
Trump only winner as Republicans falter in second debate
12 hrs ago
David Pakman
Chinese disappearances are no mere coincidence
13 hrs ago
Larry Lindsey
Politics of lesser evils is bad for all Americans
Friday
Dr. Rashad Richey
How a No Labels candidate might affect outcome of 2024 election
Thursday
John Fortier
Politics
Dem. Rep. Phillips leaves leadership post after pushing for Biden challenger
9 hrs ago
Calif. Gov. Newsom appoints Laphonza Butler to fill Feinstein’s Senate seat
Shutdown averted but Congress faces new challenges: The Morning Rundown, Oct. 2, 2023
Getty Images
U.S.
Hundreds of migrants housed at O’Hare as Chicago deals with ongoing crisis
9 hrs ago
‘Beware!’: Tom Hanks warns of AI ad using his likeness
California city first in nation to recognize legal rights of elephants
AP Images
International
Cuban officials call Molotov cocktail attack on its US embassy terrorism
Tuesday
Canadian lawmakers apologize after celebrating Ukrainian Nazi fighter
Nicaragua’s Catholic president is persecuting members of his own religion
Reuters
Tech
TikTok workers: China may have more control over user data than we think
Thursday
Musk makes cuts to X election integrity team
Ford pauses construction on $3.5 billion EV battery plant
Getty Images