Originally published at: "This was MY ass": Senator John Kennedy reads from one of the most banned books in the U.S. | Boing Boing
…
1 Like
Just a reminder here, that Kennedy is not the folksy ignoramus he plays… It’s an act. Most of these guys are not what they pretend to be - they are putting on an act to get support, because they think that they’re voters are like that and they want to be “relatable”…
23 Likes
[Kurt Vonnegut Jr. has entered the chat]
14 Likes
I get that, but my point is that there is a tendency to dismiss his politics as a byproduct of him being a southern hick who is just stupid. That’s not the case, and we really need to extract ourselves from that narrative. It helps no one except those in power keep fucking us all over.
24 Likes
Agreed, the “cause” doesn’t even really matter at this point—his words and actions do.
12 Likes
Unrelated, but one paragraph in that article is, well, kinda stupid.
There’s a history of politicians dialing up their affectations for the cameras. George W. Bush spoke with a thicker Texas accent than his parents
That could be because his parents weren’t from Texas and didn’t move there until adulthood. Yes, W cranked his Texasness up to 11, but saying he had a thicker Texas accent than his parents is like saying Chris Christie has a thicker New Jersey accent than I do. (I live in New Jersey but I’m from Texas)
16 Likes
I think it does, as it shows us the deeper mechanisms at work. If he can be dismissed as a dumb hick, he can do a lot more damage, both to the country and to the south especially.
True, but the point of the article stands, I think.
12 Likes
Now do Naked Lunch.
6 Likes
… I wasn’t even born when he died but when I see “Senator John Kennedy” I still think JFK 
8 Likes
I do think there has to be a line beyond which schools don’t feature sexual content. I’m not sure where I’d draw that line, or where this relatively benign passage should fall. It’s descriptive without being pornography and I’d guesstimate that most any teen should be able to handle it without an issue.
But I know for certain that debating that line should never be the priority when one side is so completely disingenuous and motivated by hatred and fear of the other. This yutz isn’t concerned about the well-being of children. He’s concerned with stamping out people he hates. Until folks who aren’t part of the powered majority are not at risk of being criminalized or killed just for being themselves, and until the Republican Party is completely removed from the halls of power, I won’t trust that any such debate is being held in good faith.
13 Likes
… and then again maybe censoring library books is not an appropriate subject for debate in the Senate
18 Likes
Yea, he’s just-plain-fascist folk…who graduated from Vanderbilt, then U. of Virginia Law, then on to Oxford. Not Oxford, Mississippi, that Oxford, in England. What a phony POS, but it works for him.
9 Likes
Imagine being a queer kid and never seeing yourself reflected in the world around you. And imagine finding a book that helps you understand yourself better, when maybe you’re living in a place where people are hostile to your very existence.
And yes, that includes books that have sexual explicit material. Because human being have sex and not allowing kids going through puberty (ALL kids, not just straight, cisgendered boys) to see reflections of various kinds of sexuality DOES cause harm.
I don’t. Banning books and hiding the reality of the lives of overs (and making up hideous lies about them) never ends well. It never ends with a more inclusive, more tolerant, more accepting society that has a health attitude towards sex.
And no, this isn’t “porn” just because it has a sexual explicit scene (or maybe more than that). Plenty of shit includes sexual material, but is not porn. Calling it porn is doing a real disservice to this book and is letting the far right dictate the discussion.
How about not letting the most strident, far right, bigoted, puritianical assholes dictate that, but rather let people decide what THEY feel is appropriate for their kids.
No, actually, it’s not. That leads to serious harm, young people not understanding sex, sexuality, their bodies, how they work, issues like consent and what is a violation of consent. This leads to all kinds of bad shit - teen pregnancy, sexual harassment, rape, anti-LGBQT+ violence, etc. I grew up in a state with abstience only sex ed. It fails to keep kids from having sex, and makes it more confusing, more painful, and more dangerous for everyone involved. So, no. That’s a bunch of hooey that kids don’t need to learn about sex.
Which is WHY you need sex ed and let kids have access to material that helps them understand sex better, not to hide it away until marriage…
This isn’t debate club. This is real life. We have a growing fascist movement that is using shit like this to cause real harm to real people. It’s not some intellectual exercise that we can debate. Real lives are on the line here…
Letting fascist draw the is the worst option of all. That is what is happening right now. They want to ban anything that talks about sex, gender, LGBQT+ issues, feminism, race, etc… anything they hate, they want gone.
As for this being porn, that’s just absurd. Again, let’s not let these chucklefucks dictate the discussion, which is what they are doing right now.
But THE chilDr3n!!! /s
14 Likes
I disagree that schools are the same as work.
So the rest of your meditations on what gay teenagers might find reflective of their experiences is moot.
Also - no one cares about changing your mind. A bit presumptuous.
13 Likes
That’s two questions and a demand; after reading all that I just don’t have the time to do your homework.
11 Likes
Yep.
And while I can’t relate to that exact experience, I grew up in a small town and didn’t have regular access even to our tiny public library. The school library was literally a life line for me.
Whenever people discount the impact of these school library book bans, citing access to public libraries, or to the internet, they’re really showing their privilege and how out of touch they are with the lived realities of a lot of low to middle income youth in this country. Especially in more rural areas.
Tl/dr version: school libraries are libraries. Banning books there = book banning. Period.
12 Likes
There is no both sides. Fucking fascists don’t get a side. (Disclosure: I’m in the crosshairs on this, both as a library employee and a queer person.)
As @anon59592690 says, I won’t do your homework for you, but maybe I’m feeling a bit more generous than she does, as I’ll at least point you to the American Library Association’s statement about censorship.
23 Likes
I’m not sure if you’re disagreeing with my comment here or not since you quoted me but I believe I made these points. My second paragraph stated that this is not the time for that debate or the person anyone should have it with. And I stated directly that this was not porn. So if that wasn’t clear, I wanted to say that we’re on the same page with both points.
8 Likes
14 Likes
Sure! I just wanted to highlight that particular point I was trying to make the person making the OP and asking for debate.
15 Likes
