Newly elected school board president sworn in on stack of banned books

cross-posted from: kbin.social/m/politics@lemmy.world/t/685718

Pennsylvania’s Central Bucks School District was one of the places where Moms for Liberty lost big in the 2023 elections, with a right-wing school board majority swept out and replaced with Democrats. On Monday night, Karen Smith—who had been serving on the board in the Democratic minority prior to this election—was sworn in as the school board president, part of the wave of change from the anti-LGBTQ+, pro-book-banning board voted out in November. She made a powerful symbolic choice when it came to what book she’d be sworn in on: not the Bible or another religious book, but a stack of frequently banned books.

partial_accumen,

A great message incomplete without the books in question (From the article):

At the top of Smith’s pile of books was Elie Wiesel’s Holocaust survival memoir “Night,” a choice with particular local resonance. In January, after the board banned staff from advocating on “partisan, political, or social policy issues,” a Central Bucks librarian was told to remove the Wiesel quote, “I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.”

The other books Smith chose were: Toni Morrison’s “The Bluest Eye”; Donna Gephart’s “Lily and Dunkin,” which has a transgender main character; George M. Johnson’s “All Boys Aren’t Blue,” a memoir about growing up Black and LGBTQ+; Mike Curato’s graphic novel “Flamer”; and Susan Kuklin’s “Beyond Magenta.”

jaybone,

How on earth can you justify banning Night?

gregorum,

With hate and hypocrisy, just like how they justify everything else they do

M0oP0o,
@M0oP0o@mander.xyz avatar

Oh it is very much a great act of support and statement. The onion bit is just the reality that the statement has to be made and that yes, the headline is not fake.

themoonisacheese,
@themoonisacheese@sh.itjust.works avatar

The fucking irony in being forced to remove that quote holy shit

partial_accumen,

On one hand I’m glad the fascism is on full display now instead of hiding behind semi-acceptable words and actions. On the other and I’m surprised and fearful for those participating are either lacking the self awareness or fully embrace the evil they’re perpetrating on others.

Gork,

Maybe both. Probably skewed towards the latter but they see themselves as morally justified and not evil. Despite the irony of a “Moms for Liberty” shtick being banning books, the antithesis of liberty.

partial_accumen,

I could reply with “how can they not see how their actions are paralleled in the worst of human history?”, but then the irony arrives they’re not so big on reading books that would contain that history lesson.

kool_newt,

Bucks County, at least the New Hope area is a diamond in the garbage. I went during pride season and like a quarter of the houses had a rainbow and/or a sign saying something like “Hate has no home here”.

killeronthecorner,
@killeronthecorner@lemmy.world avatar

What a chad

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