Fact Check: Dems Accuse Conservatives of Book Bans – The Truth Revealed
The Left Claims Conservatives Are Engaging in a Draconian Campaign of Censorship
Far-left LGBT and gender activists, Democratic Party lawmakers, and much of the liberal media have spent recent years claiming the removal of certain books from public school classrooms and libraries equates to Nazi Germany’s book burnings.
The removal of this literature from schools has become such a hot-button issue that there is a national narrative that an all-out assault on reading is underway. On any given news day, a casual reader might come across a headline claiming not only that these so-called bans are taking place but also that there exists a virtuous group of people who are out to stop them.
Conservatives are naturally being blamed as the morally bankrupt left portrays the battle over what should and should not be taught in classrooms as an issue of censorship and indoctrination by the right.
It is generally omitted that many of these “banned” books are so graphic in nature that concerned parents have been asked to stop reading from them during school board meetings on account of their perversity and vulgarity.
Here is one example of a parent being asked by school administrators to cease reading from a book that is available to children but was deemed inappropriate at a forum for adults:
WARNING: The following video contains vulgar and blasphemous language that some viewers will find offensive.
Florida has taken a hardline stance against allowing such filth in classrooms. Other states that are also led by Republicans have taken major steps as of late to prevent small children from being exposed to depravity in literature.
But is a “book ban” in place anywhere in America?
Let’s take a look at not only the question but also the people who are making the claims, the books that are being “banned” and what exactly is in some of these books.
The Left Claims Conservatives Are Engaging in a Draconian Campaign of Censorship
Just this past week, pop music singer Pink was celebrated by much of the liberal media after she pledged to pass out books that are not permitted in elementary school classrooms in Florida during her concerts in the state.
Pink gave away 2,000 banned books at her South Florida shows this week in partnership with the literary and free expression advocacy group PEN America.
The singer said she wanted to highlight the rising wave of book bans in Florida. https://t.co/T9p3SMkhMe pic.twitter.com/auINo6s0Ic
— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) November 16, 2023
People magazine glowingly reported on the stunt with the headline, “Pink to Give Away 2,000 Banned Books About Race and Sexuality at Upcoming Florida Tour Stops.”
The left-leaning celebrity and gossip outlet conveniently left out that one of the singer’s own posts was hit with Community Notes on X for pushing false information about what is and is not allowed to be taught in Florida’s classrooms.
Some of the books Pink claimed were banned in Florida are actually recommended by the state in its Benchmarks for Excellent Student Thinking Standards for English Language Arts.
The following are some titles of books that have been banned from schools in Florida…. Lmk which book is pornography…. To Kill A Mockingbird, The Hate You Give, Forrest Gump, A Catcher In The Rye, The Hill We Climb, Girls Who Code, Atlas Shrugged, 1984, The Kite Runner, The…
— P!nk (@Pink) November 14, 2023
Pink’s false claims can be attributed to either ignorance about the issue or a marketing tactic to sell tickets.
But pushing the falsehood that books are being “banned” left and right is not isolated to singers.
The “book ban” lie has been pushed by everyone from President Joe Biden to LeVar Burton — who helped raise a generation of millennials with his PBS show “Reading Rainbow.”
Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger of Virginia, who is running for governor in her state, made the issue of “banned” books a part of her campaign rollout last week.
I’m officially running to become the next Governor of Virginia.
I’m a former CIA case officer, former federal agent, current Member of Congress, and mom to three great kids.
I know that when we rise above the chaos and division, we can focus on what matters most to Virginians. pic.twitter.com/rB5EoNnD2H
— Abigail Spanberger (@SpanbergerForVA) November 13, 2023
Days later, Democratic Maryland Gov. Wes Moore posted on the social media platform X that “book bans” were “threats to education.”
All around our country, I see threats to education. From book bans and shutting down curriculums to outright censoring educators, we have to recognize that the threats to our students’ education are threats to our strength as a nation. pic.twitter.com/AipJ7yB07F
— Governor Wes Moore (@GovWesMoore) November 17, 2023
A simple search of X posts yields seemingly unlimited results of claims of “book bans” on the platform that are unchallenged and widely shared:
In an age of unprecedented book bans, @levarburton is going to the mat for the freedom to read. “America loves to live in the shadows,” he says, “but we’re living in an age when the truth wants to come out.”
Read the full interview by @adriennemwest: https://t.co/o3zzHWneGO
— Esquire (@esquire) November 15, 2023
“These are people who would rather children not know the truth. Those kids will never know what they’re missing, but it’s our job to stand up for them, to be their voices and their advocates. That’s what being an elder in this society means to me.” https://t.co/o3zzHWneGO
— Esquire (@esquire) November 15, 2023
“Books have rescued me. Books have delivered me. Books have exalted me.”
Special guest Oprah Winfrey discusses protecting libraries, fighting book bans, and how reading changed her life. #NBAwards pic.twitter.com/6lm9rHHKpM
— Publishers Weekly (@PublishersWkly) November 16, 2023
Biden announces initiatives to “protect the LGBT community”:
• Federal resources to protect Pride celebrations
• A new coordinator to protect LGBT students from book bans
• More mental health resources
• Protect LGBT kids in foster care
• Steps to end LGBT homelessness pic.twitter.com/5P2xrjUWzc— The Recount (@therecount) June 8, 2023
In February, Business Insider not only claimed that conservatives are outright banning books but also jumped to the conclusion that the party would face a reckoning over the issue with voters in 2024.
“State GOP leaders have enacted laws or pushed for banning children from accessing certain books in school classrooms and libraries, and polling shows banning books is popular among Republicans,” the outlet reported. “But the issue could come back to haunt the GOP in the 2024 general election, with book bans remain unpopular with the general electorate.”
Claims That Republican Lawmakers Are ‘Banning’ Books Are Pure Fiction
While conservative lawmakers and advocacy groups such as Moms for Liberty are the tip of the spear in regard to protecting children by monitoring what ends up in their classrooms and on school library shelves, claims that any kind of “ban” is ongoing are patently false.
There is no ban on any literature anywhere in the United States, as banning literature would violate the First Amendment.
Conservatives are simply protecting children from perverse agendas or political themes that their minds cannot yet understand. Those are themes they can and most likely will discuss once they reach adulthood.
Florida’s schools have been on the frontline in the battle against deviancy in literature.
This year, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis debunked the narrative that he and others in the state were “banning books.”
“Exposing the ‘book ban’ hoax is important because it reveals that some are attempting to use our schools for indoctrination,” the GOP presidential candidate said in a statement in March.
“In Florida, pornographic and inappropriate materials that have been snuck into our classrooms and libraries to sexualize our students violate our state education standards,” he said. “Florida is the education state and that means providing students with a quality education free from sexualization and harmful materials that are not age appropriate.”
DeSantis listed four books that would not be permitted in Florida’s classrooms:
• “Gender Queer: A Memoir”
• “Flamer”
• “This Book Is Gay”
• “Let’s Talk About It”
The books contain explicit language, descriptions of sex acts, and some alarming descriptions of fetishes that are apparently popular in much of the LGBT community.
For example, “This Book Is Gay” explains to children that there are some people who engage in an act called “scatting,” which Urban Dictionary defines as a “sexual act entailing defecating onto the face of one’s partner.”
Karol Markowicz, a columnist for the New York Post, shared a glossary from the book in which it explains that some people consume feces during sex.
I know why I don’t want this in my kid’s school. Can anyone explain why any parent would? https://t.co/JGhIYtTouH pic.twitter.com/B0Fls1Pn9o
— Karol Markowicz (@karol) May 17, 2023
The Left’s Book ‘Ban’ Narrative Debunked
“This Book Is Gay” is not banned anywhere in the country.
In fact, the book by Juno Dawson is selling on Amazon and many other online retailers. Each of the other books cited by DeSantis is also available to purchase — as are other titles from common lists of supposedly “banned” books.
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The simple fact is that many adults with sound morals tend to agree that these books are for older audiences.
Tayler Hansen with TENET Media recently asked people who said they were broadly against “book bans” to read from some of the books that are being pushed onto children.
After viewing the materials for themselves, a number of people concluded they were inappropriate for classrooms.
Should we be banning books in schools?
Most people think no until they see the examples… @watchTENETnow pic.twitter.com/2NCjRWlx7e
— Tayler Hansen (@TaylerUSA) November 16, 2023
Amid the country’s ongoing culture wars, DeSantis and other prominent Republicans have thoroughly disproved the claims that conservatives are banning literature as part of a broad campaign to brainwash children.
What has happened is that in states where parents have classroom rights, the adults they have elected to represent them have chosen to ensure their children are only exposed to age-appropriate materials at school.
Books that the left has claimed are “banned” are available for sale online and in stores. Parents who choose to push such vile literature onto their children have every legal right to do so in their private time.
But the narrative that conservatives are on a nationwide crusade against reading is simply untrue and can be more accurately described as an attempt to spin the truth – which is that conservatives have become an effective firewall against an agenda that seeks to poison the minds of children.
FACT CHECK: Are conservatives coordinating to ban books in an effort to indoctrinate children and suppress free speech?
CONCLUSION: False.
The post Fact Check: Dems Attack Conservatives for ‘Banning’ Books – Here’s the Truth appeared first on The Western Journal.
Do concerned parents have valid reasons for wanting to remove certain books from school settings?
Schools? It’s a question that has been at the center of a heated debate in recent years, with the left claiming that conservatives are engaging in a draconian campaign of censorship. Far-left LGBT and gender activists, Democratic Party lawmakers, and much of the liberal media have been vocal in their opposition to the removal of certain books from public school classrooms and libraries, equating it to Nazi Germany’s book burnings.
The removal of these books has become a hot-button issue, with a national narrative suggesting that there is an all-out assault on reading. Headlines claim that bans are taking place and that a virtuous group of people is out to stop them. Conservatives are being blamed for engaging in censorship and indoctrination.
However, it is important to note that many of these “banned” books are graphic in nature, containing explicit content that concerned parents find inappropriate for their children. There have been instances where parents have been asked to stop reading from these books during school board meetings due to their perversity and vulgarity.
Recently, pop music singer Pink made headlines for pledging to distribute books that are not permitted in elementary school classrooms during her concerts in Florida. People magazine reported on the stunt with enthusiasm, conveniently leaving out the fact that some of the books Pink claimed were banned in Florida are actually recommended by the state in its Benchmarks for Excellent Student Thinking Standards for English Language Arts.
The false claims of banned books are not limited to singers. Prominent figures like President Joe Biden, LeVar Burton, and Democratic lawmakers have all perpetuated the narrative of book bans. Even the media has played a role in amplifying these claims, with articles suggesting that book bans could come back to haunt Republicans in future elections.
However, the truth is that there is no ban on literature anywhere in the United States. Banning books would violate the First Amendment. Conservative lawmakers and advocacy groups like Moms for Liberty are simply working to protect children from explicit and inappropriate content. Florida, in particular, has taken a hardline stance against allowing such materials in classrooms.
In debunking the narrative of book bans, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis explained that the state is not banning books but rather protecting students from pornographic and inappropriate materials. He listed four books that would not be permitted in Florida’s classrooms due to their explicit content.
The fact remains that these books, including “This Book Is Gay,” are widely available for purchase and are not banned anywhere in the country. It is important to recognize that many adults with sound morals agree that these books are for older audiences.
The question of whether these books should be allowed in school libraries is a valid one, and opinions on the matter may differ. However, it is crucial to base the discussion on accurate information and avoid perpetuating the false narrative of book bans. Conservative efforts to protect children from inappropriate content should be seen in the context of ensuring a quality education free from sexualization and harmful materials that are not age-appropriate.
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