When the Book- Burners Come to Your Town, Bands of Bounty Hunters: Jim Hightower

[appalachiablue]

- 'When the Book-Burners Come to Your Town,' by Jim Hightower, Common Dreams, March 15, 2023. Ed.

In the future Ron DeSantis would build, self-appointed bands of bounty hunters would be authorized to roam the countryside suing local libraries for having "banned" books on the shelves.

Not so long ago, book burnings were considered a festive group activity by assorted right-wing zealots. Today, though, burning seems so old-fashioned and, well... crude. Yet, the concept is burning hotter than ever among a gaggle of testosterone-driven Republican leaders eager to show voters that they will go to extremes to incinerate progressive ideas and people's personal liberties.

Rather than lighting bonfires, though, the new fad for GOP politicians is simply to use government power to ban the offending books (thus saving the expense of matches & lighter fluid).

It might not surprise you to learn that our Lone Star State's extremist political operatives are leading today's book-banning frenzy. One Jonathan Mitchell, for example, is going from town to town pushing Texas GOP officeholders to pass local ordinances he labels "Safe Library Patron Protection." Yes, patrons, censoring what you can read is necessary to "protect" you. The GOP ban prohibits libraries from having books, videos, etc. that contain "immoral content," which he defines as depictions of nudity, sexual behavior, mentions of masturbation, LGBTQ+ life, etc. It's also autocratically homophobic, making it illegal for librarians to display LGBTQ flags or even mention "LGBTQ Pride Month."

This repressive monomania stabs even deeper into our freedom of expression by concocting a "right" of right-wing vigilantes to enforce the ordinances. Yes, self-appointed bands of bounty hunters would be authorized to roam the countryside suing local libraries (& individual librarians) for having "banned" books on the shelves. To spur this political malice, Mitchell's scheme provides a $10,000 reward for every violation a vigilante finds (or fabricates).

Well, you say, thank God I don't live in Texas! But — Hello! — repression doesn't recognize state borders, so the pernicious idea of paid library marauders is spreading across the country. -- https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/book-burning-by-republicans
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- BostonPL_Books Banned in New England - Boston Public Library, Staff-created list
For Banned Books Week, we've created a list of books that have been banned/challenged in New England. For an interesting article from 2013 about censorship (or lack thereof) in Massachusetts, check out this link: http://bit.ly/2cRoVG5.

Boston Public Libraries
https://bpl.bibliocommons.com/list/share/114085694/702890347
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- * Burning Books & Destroying Education on the Path to Fascism- from Nazi Germany to Pinochet's Chile,
https://www.democraticunderground.com/1016346131
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- * School Book Bans By State, Take A Look. - Total Bans by State:

Texas: 801 bans, 22 districts
Florida: 566 bans, 21 districts
Pennsylvania: 457 bans, 11 districts
Tennessee: 349 bans, 6 districts
Oklahoma: 43 bans, 3 districts
Michigan: 41 bans, 4 districts
Kansas: 30 bans, 2 districts
Wisconsin: 29 bans, 6 districts
Missouri: 27 bans, 8 districts
Idaho: 26 bans, 3 districts
Georgia: 23 bans, 2 districts
Mississippi: 22 bans, 1 district
Virginia: 19 bans, 9 districts
Indiana: 18 bans, 3 districts
North Carolina: 16 bans, 5 districts
New York: 13 bans, 4 districts
Utah: 12 bans, 3 districts
https://pen.org/report/banned-usa-growing-movement-to-censor-books-in-schools/

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100217649254

[2naSalit]

1. I'm kind of surprised...

That they haven't started that bullshit here yet. But the legislature is only half done so, time will tell.

[appalachiablue]

2. Keep the "Moms for Liberty" and extremist groups at bay -

- (Wiki) MOMS FOR LIBERTY is an American conservative 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization that claims to advocate for parental rights in schools. The organization has campaigned against COVID-19 restrictions in schools, including mask and vaccine mandates, and against school curriculums that mention LGBT rights, race, critical race theory, and discrimination, and multiple chapters have also campaigned to ban from school libraries books that address gender and sexuality issues. MFL has been likened to the Tea Party movement and the Moral Majority organization. MFL has been criticized for harassment from its members, deepening divisions among parents, making it more challenging for school officials to educate students, and having close ties to the Republican Party rather than being a genuine grassroots effort. Many have classified the group to be extremist and it has also been designated as a hate group. Moms for Liberty was co-founded on Jan. 1, 2021 in FL.

**.. As of their first national gathering in Tampa, FL on July 14—17, 2022, MFL claimed to have 195 chapters in 37 states and nearly 100,000 members.Ideology and political party connections: MFL has been described as conservative. The leaders of MFL say that their organization is non-partisan, but is grounded in conservative values. Conservative media have welcomed the organization. In the first few months after its incorporation on Jan. 1, 2021, co-founder Tina Descovich appeared on The Rush Limbaugh Show and anti-vaxxer Naomi Wolf namechecked Moms for Liberty on the Fox News show Tucker Carlson Tonight. Breitbart News, Newsmax, and The Daily Caller also publicized MFL during its first year. All 3 founders are registered Republicans, and the organization has ties to the Republican Party..

- Advocacy and reception: The organization began by campaigning against COVID-19 related health safety restrictions in schools, challenging mask mandates and associated local policies. Members of Moms for Liberty broadened their agenda to encompass other school-related items, focusing on the way issues such as racism and religion are addressed in reading materials provided to students. Critics have accused MFL of deepening divisions among parents and making it more challenging for school officials to educate students..
** MFL was criticized for offering a bounty to members of the public who "caught" teachers introducing texts or lessons in violation of New Hampshire's new law restricting discussions of race in school classrooms. On Nov. 10, 2021, the New Hampshire Dept. of Education announced a website questionnaire to make it easier for the public to help enforce the law. A couple of days later, the NH Moms for Liberty chapter offered a monetary reward for doing so, tweeting: "We’ve got $500 for the person that first successfully catches a public school teacher breaking this law". GOP Gov. of NH Chris Sununu's spokesman said "The Governor condemns the tweet referencing 'bounties' and any sort of financial incentive is wholly inappropriate and has no place".

** Book banning efforts: According to The Daily Beast, a spreadsheet accompanying the Williamson County letter of complaint contained several other stated concerns about the county's curriculum. An article about police brutality against civil rights demonstrators in the 1960s was criticised for its "negative view of Firemen and police." A fictional account of the American Civil War used with 5th-graders was deemed unsuitable because of its depictions of "out of marriage families between white men and black women". A book about Galileo Galilei, an astronomer persecuted by the Catholic Church for theorizing the Earth revolves around the Sun, should, according to the spreadsheet, not be read without some counterbalancing praise of the church: "Where is the HERO of the church?", asks the spreadsheet notation, "to contrast with their mistakes? .. A picture book about seahorses was condemned for depicting "mating seahorses with pictures of positions and discussion of the male carrying the eggs....https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moms_for_Liberty